Last edit by: Zorak
Delta rolls out schedule changes pretty much every Saturday, though the scope/impact can vary. During this time, seat maps may be locked out, may show the wrong aircraft layout, etc. while changes are occurring. If you are not traveling immediately, FT conventional wisdom is to wait until Sunday (or even Monday in the case of major schedule adjustments where things take longer) for things to settle down, then take stock of your upcoming itineraries to see what changes have occurred and what changes/refunds you may be entitled to.
You are entitled to a full refund to original form of payment, even for a ticket that was purchased as a non-refundable ticket, if any of the following occur as a result of schedule change:
The airline would rather keep your money than refund it, so they will frequently accept any vaguely reasonable rerouting that you propose. This includes, by policy, changing origin and/or destination within 100 miles, rebooking +/- two days, and changing outbound/return date to keep the length of the trip the same post-rebooking.
If none of the above conditions for a refund is true, you may still be entitled to a free change -- in your trip summary there will be a notice about changes/refunds, and per the "conditions apply" popup link in that text:
If possible, you may wish to try modifying your flights online first -- there have been data points where the site allowed a free rebooking even though it did not technically fall into the above categories. NOTE however that self-rebooking online is known not to work if you have (1) any trip involving upgrade certificates (whether cleared or not), (2) if you have self-upgraded by picking an upgraded seat that said FREE (instead of waiting for the automated upgrade system sweep to reseat you in an upgraded seat), this seems to inhibit self-rebooking as well.
Otherwise, suggested best practice is to research your preferred alternative rebooking beforehand (whether DL flight search, Google Flights, ITA Matrix etc.) so that you can speak with an agent already knowing what you want, and ask for it; this will be much more efficient than having an agent find alternatives for you.
Other notes/FAQs:
You are entitled to a full refund to original form of payment, even for a ticket that was purchased as a non-refundable ticket, if any of the following occur as a result of schedule change:
- departure or arrival delay of 2hrs or more
- increase in the number of flight segments (non-stop to connecting, 1-stop to 2-stop, etc.)
- change resulting in a connection below the Minimum Connection Time for a given airport (do a Google search for "site:flyertalk.com minimum connecting time XXX" with the airport code to find the relevant thread if one exists)
- any change in operating carrier, i.e. operated by Delta mainline before the schedule change and Delta Connection after the change
- it is also a commonly-held belief that a change from Delta Connection to mainline, or from one Delta Connection carrier to a different Delta Connection carrier, also qualifies for a full refund -- if anyone has documentation of this, a link would be great...
The airline would rather keep your money than refund it, so they will frequently accept any vaguely reasonable rerouting that you propose. This includes, by policy, changing origin and/or destination within 100 miles, rebooking +/- two days, and changing outbound/return date to keep the length of the trip the same post-rebooking.
If none of the above conditions for a refund is true, you may still be entitled to a free change -- in your trip summary there will be a notice about changes/refunds, and per the "conditions apply" popup link in that text:
If a Delta schedule or routing change has delayed your departure or arrival by more than one hour, you may be eligible to select an alternate flight at no additional charge. Note that the below conditions may apply:
- Your origin, destination and travel date must remain the same
- Alternate flights must be available, and you can only modify once as subsequent changes may result in additional fees
- Voluntary changes to other flights not impacted by a Delta schedule change may result in additional fees
Otherwise, suggested best practice is to research your preferred alternative rebooking beforehand (whether DL flight search, Google Flights, ITA Matrix etc.) so that you can speak with an agent already knowing what you want, and ask for it; this will be much more efficient than having an agent find alternatives for you.
Other notes/FAQs:
- Even if you voluntarily choose a preferred rebooking, you have a high likelihood of success claiming Original Routing Credit since the original reason for the change was involuntary.
- If you booked through a travel agency, including online travel agencies (OTA) such as Expedia, Chase Ultimate Rewards, etc. you will have to contact them, not Delta, to request rerouting if the automatic rebooking is not satisfactory to you.
- There have been reports of an agency insisting that a change of 2 hours was required (per the "pro" site) for a free change, even though the popup on the DL site says 1 hour
- You can sometimes get Delta to take over a travel agency ticket; this is subject to a $50 fee to take over the ticket, although sometimes agents decline to collect it
Consolidated Delta Schedule Change Discussion Thread
#1936
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,326
Just had a few international schedule changes taken care of, but noticed the agent didn't actually reissue the tickets. Given there was a date change and flight change, I'm guessing this should have been done and need to call back. The agent said the changes were 'saved.' I know things can be put in a queue to be reissued, but not sure if those are the same thing. Would appreciate if folks have experience with this.
#1938
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,326
I'd just give it time and if it's not ticketed in a day or two cll again.
Unrelated, for some reason, two times this week on a single NCE-CDG-JFK, Delta has automatically rebooked me on different flights than I want to be on, after I spent time on the phone with an agent getting on those flights, and those flights remain available. Trying a third time now. Any thoughts what the heck is going on (Mid-week)?
Unrelated, for some reason, two times this week on a single NCE-CDG-JFK, Delta has automatically rebooked me on different flights than I want to be on, after I spent time on the phone with an agent getting on those flights, and those flights remain available. Trying a third time now. Any thoughts what the heck is going on (Mid-week)?
#1939
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: San Antonio
Programs: DL DM, Former AA EXP now AY Plat, AC 75K, NW Plat, Former CO Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 27,052
I'd just give it time and if it's not ticketed in a day or two cll again.
Unrelated, for some reason, two times this week on a single NCE-CDG-JFK, Delta has automatically rebooked me on different flights than I want to be on, after I spent time on the phone with an agent getting on those flights, and those flights remain available. Trying a third time now. Any thoughts what the heck is going on (Mid-week)?
Unrelated, for some reason, two times this week on a single NCE-CDG-JFK, Delta has automatically rebooked me on different flights than I want to be on, after I spent time on the phone with an agent getting on those flights, and those flights remain available. Trying a third time now. Any thoughts what the heck is going on (Mid-week)?
#1940
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,326
#1941
Join Date: Mar 2021
Programs: Marriott Ambassador - Delta Diamond - United Silver - Frontier 100k - Sixt Plat
Posts: 581
Just got back from my trip, EWR-ATL-BHM and back.
My EWR-ATL Flight got delayed about 24 hours before the flight making my connection time under 15 minutes from landing to take off of next flight. I thought maybe the app would redo my whole flight but it didn't. I submitted a request for help via text and was still sitting at the gate for the earlier flight I chose through the app (I stopped getting "do you still need help" texts around 15 hours after requesting help). Luckily it didn't cost me anything extra but I didn't want to take the risk of missing my connection or hoping for a car pickup. Just really surprised I didn't get a call or anything from Delta regarding an impossible connection being made.
My EWR-ATL Flight got delayed about 24 hours before the flight making my connection time under 15 minutes from landing to take off of next flight. I thought maybe the app would redo my whole flight but it didn't. I submitted a request for help via text and was still sitting at the gate for the earlier flight I chose through the app (I stopped getting "do you still need help" texts around 15 hours after requesting help). Luckily it didn't cost me anything extra but I didn't want to take the risk of missing my connection or hoping for a car pickup. Just really surprised I didn't get a call or anything from Delta regarding an impossible connection being made.
#1942
#1943
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, MM, NR; HH Diamond, Bonvoy LT Gold, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Diamond, others
Posts: 12,159
Just had a few international schedule changes taken care of, but noticed the agent didn't actually reissue the tickets. Given there was a date change and flight change, I'm guessing this should have been done and need to call back. The agent said the changes were 'saved.' I know things can be put in a queue to be reissued, but not sure if those are the same thing. Would appreciate if folks have experience with this.
#1944
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: PDX
Programs: DL Plat, UA Plat 1MM, AS MVP, Hyatt Discoverist, Avis Presidents Club, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 3,938
Had some flights in early August see minor schedule adjustments overnight -- small time changes and one aircraft substitution (739 to A321).
#1945
Join Date: May 2008
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM; UA 1K; AA 1MM
Posts: 4,520
From sometime in early August onward, flights to/from ATL and another DL hub appear to all be getting renumbered to 3 digit flight numbers. This doesn't seem to apply to fights between ATL and focus cities (e.g. AUS). Not sure if there's a broader approach in renumbering occurring here.
#1946
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: LAX/BUR, RDU
Programs: DL SM, AAdvantage, SPG
Posts: 1,360
From sometime in early August onward, flights to/from ATL and another DL hub appear to all be getting renumbered to 3 digit flight numbers. This doesn't seem to apply to fights between ATL and focus cities (e.g. AUS). Not sure if there's a broader approach in renumbering occurring here.
Seems like RDU-JFK, which had 3x A319s on the schedule, is back to all RJs through early November. I knew it was too good to be true
#1947
Join Date: Feb 2019
Programs: Delta. AA, National EE, HH
Posts: 162
From sometime in early August onward, flights to/from ATL and another DL hub appear to all be getting renumbered to 3 digit flight numbers. This doesn't seem to apply to fights between ATL and focus cities (e.g. AUS). Not sure if there's a broader approach in renumbering occurring here.
My DL1570 is now DL819. My booking has not updated but I see the change on a dummy booking.
Plus my second leg is now 25 mins later but has been "upgraded" from a 738 to an A320. Woot Woot
Last edited by AZwldcats; Jun 26, 2021 at 10:43 am
#1949
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: ANC
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 1,859
Seeing changes today for 5 out of my 6 upcoming reservations ranging from August - November. Looks like *some* firming of the fall schedule is starting to take place as lots of the "placeholder" flights that have been there for months are being modified. Still lots more changes between now and then I'm sure.
#1950
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: IAH
Programs: Delta Platinum & 2MM, Marriott Lifetime TIT, Hertz Pres Club, IHG Gold, *A Gold
Posts: 1,253
My non-stop PDX-ICN on October 2nd has been canceled. Non-stop service was supposed to begin 9-Sep-2021. Looks like its 1-Nov-2021 now.
Sept. 9 launch date is subject to change due to evolving travel restrictions, government authorization and demand.
Sept. 9 launch date is subject to change due to evolving travel restrictions, government authorization and demand.
Last edited by CO-PLAT; Jun 26, 2021 at 3:48 pm