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
#1981
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PIT, BWI, or IPT
Programs: Dividend Miles, WorldPerks
Posts: 1,302
What a weird Saturday I had. My simple domestic labor day trip blew up (a week after I booked non refundable rental car since I thought early Sept was finalized). Then all of the PIT-ATL flights around the holidays were switched to 757's. These are always 717's during the holidays. Odd. Did anyone else see other odd changes like this?
#1982
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 1,885
What a weird Saturday I had. My simple domestic labor day trip blew up (a week after I booked non refundable rental car since I thought early Sept was finalized). Then all of the PIT-ATL flights around the holidays were switched to 757's. These are always 717's during the holidays. Odd. Did anyone else see other odd changes like this?
#1983
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 193
Thanks, I really wish DL would allow all tickets to be modified online rather than having to call in and waiiiiiiiiiiiiit
#1985
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: PNS
Programs: DL FO, UA, AA
Posts: 700
Not sure if it's down or not but how is the best way to get a hold of the Singapore reservations desk on an Android phone? Sorry for hijacking your question but I would be able to help answer if I even knew how to contact them to begin with. TIA.
#1986
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Brooklyn
Programs: Bolt Bus Rewards
Posts: 1,283
Rescheduled 1st flight Metal Changed
Outbound JFK>AMS>SPU Return DBV>JFK The tickets are Main Cabin.
Outbound originally scheduled on DL 49 Departing at 5:20
Now scheduled on DL9357 Operated by KLM Departing at 6:30
The seat selection on the DL flight were included. Choosing seats now incurs a charge. Any recourse?
1 carry on and one checked bag were included. Any idea on what is included with KLM being the first flight? Again, any recourse if charged?
This will also play heck with the multiplier.
It was also an accident that I found out about the change. They have not notified me.
Outbound originally scheduled on DL 49 Departing at 5:20
Now scheduled on DL9357 Operated by KLM Departing at 6:30
The seat selection on the DL flight were included. Choosing seats now incurs a charge. Any recourse?
1 carry on and one checked bag were included. Any idea on what is included with KLM being the first flight? Again, any recourse if charged?
This will also play heck with the multiplier.
It was also an accident that I found out about the change. They have not notified me.
#1987
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
Outbound JFK>AMS>SPU Return DBV>JFK The tickets are Main Cabin.
Outbound originally scheduled on DL 49 Departing at 5:20
Now scheduled on DL9357 Operated by KLM Departing at 6:30
The seat selection on the DL flight were included. Choosing seats now incurs a charge. Any recourse?
1 carry on and one checked bag were included. Any idea on what is included with KLM being the first flight? Again, any recourse if charged?
This will also play heck with the multiplier.
It was also an accident that I found out about the change. They have not notified me.
Outbound originally scheduled on DL 49 Departing at 5:20
Now scheduled on DL9357 Operated by KLM Departing at 6:30
The seat selection on the DL flight were included. Choosing seats now incurs a charge. Any recourse?
1 carry on and one checked bag were included. Any idea on what is included with KLM being the first flight? Again, any recourse if charged?
This will also play heck with the multiplier.
It was also an accident that I found out about the change. They have not notified me.
As for credit call DL after and ask for original routing credit.
For seat, do you have status? If not seats towards the back are free. Farther forward and economy comfort require charge if no status.
#1988
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Brooklyn
Programs: Bolt Bus Rewards
Posts: 1,283
Checked bag is based on marketing not operating carrier of 1st flight, so no change.
As for credit call DL after and ask for original routing credit.
For seat, do you have status? If not seats towards the back are free. Farther forward and economy comfort require charge if no status.
As for credit call DL after and ask for original routing credit.
For seat, do you have status? If not seats towards the back are free. Farther forward and economy comfort require charge if no status.
I haven't had status since MQD's. None of the seats, including the back of the plane are free.
#1989
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: DL Diamond, UA Premier Gold
Posts: 2,939
Another website which tracks schedule changes shows a lot of Fall/Winter cuts were made last weekend. Europe, Canada and domestic. Demand must not be what Delta had hoped.
Last edited by DLASflyer; Jul 13, 2021 at 9:14 am
#1990
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,070
UA also loaded a bunch of October domestic cuts this past weekend. It seems DL is not the only one still seeing weakness in demand.
#1991
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Brooklyn
Programs: Bolt Bus Rewards
Posts: 1,283
Outbound JFK>AMS>SPU Return DBV>JFK The tickets are Main Cabin.
Outbound originally scheduled on DL 49 Departing at 5:20
Now scheduled on DL9357 Operated by KLM Departing at 6:30
The seat selection on the DL flight were included. Choosing seats now incurs a charge. Any recourse?
1 carry on and one checked bag were included. Any idea on what is included with KLM being the first flight? Again, any recourse if charged?
This will also play heck with the multiplier.
It was also an accident that I found out about the change. They have not notified me.
Outbound originally scheduled on DL 49 Departing at 5:20
Now scheduled on DL9357 Operated by KLM Departing at 6:30
The seat selection on the DL flight were included. Choosing seats now incurs a charge. Any recourse?
1 carry on and one checked bag were included. Any idea on what is included with KLM being the first flight? Again, any recourse if charged?
This will also play heck with the multiplier.
It was also an accident that I found out about the change. They have not notified me.
Agent 1 You must (re)pay the seat selection fee.
Agent 2 You must (re)pay the seat selection fee.
Agent 3 Here's the confirm code for KLM. Try going through their website. Seat selection was free working through the KLM website.
#1993
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: DL Diamond, UA Premier Gold
Posts: 2,939
https://www.patreon.com/Enilria
He’s the guy who used to post weekly schedule change threads on Airliners.net but set out on his own a few months ago. Still informative but no longer free.
He’s the guy who used to post weekly schedule change threads on Airliners.net but set out on his own a few months ago. Still informative but no longer free.
Last edited by DLASflyer; Jul 13, 2021 at 10:12 pm
#1994
Join Date: Oct 2020
Posts: 120
https://www.patreon.com/Enilria
He’s the guy who used to post weekly schedule change threads on Airliners.net but set out on his own a few months ago. Still informative but no longer free.
He’s the guy who used to post weekly schedule change threads on Airliners.net but set out on his own a few months ago. Still informative but no longer free.