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
#2131
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: Delta Platinum; Hilton Diamond; Marriot Gold
Posts: 1,118
right?! I booked a very cheap transcon and upgraded with miles. I knew for a fact the time would change (as the changes have been happening regularly on this route). I went from a sub-$400 transcon domestic FC on Saturday morning to a prime $1800 Friday evening D1 flight. Called Singapore, and they actually apologized for my original flight being messed up and sorry that I had to take a flight a day earlier. Whoops, that was my intent the whole time
#2132
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: midwest
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 920
So, DL pushed out an equipment change and booted me and my companion off a pair of flights. We were booked SJU-ATL-MSP (well, we originally bought SJU-MSP but were unshocked to find they cancelled that flight days after booking). Oh, and this is for after Thanksgiving, so 3+ months out.
We went from SJU-ATL-MSP to leaving SJU 90 minutes earlier and connecting thru JFK. Do not want.
I can't make a change online, that's disabled, must call. The agent can't push me into C+ (where we booked originally) because it is oversold by 3 pax. He says he's at a dead end.
I ended up escalating to a very nice supervisor, who also can't force C+. Since it's a 764 now (upgauge from 737), I accept a preferred Y seat pair to get off the JFK routing. There's not much in the way of involuntary downgrade comp officially, but I negotiated an offer that seemed fair.
The core of it is: The supervisor said that for two months now, he's been handling calls like mine. High status pax getting bounced off flights because of equipment changes or tiny time changes.
He agreed there is no way a ('22 requalified) Plat on a paid C+ should be so low on the priority for a smaller C+ cabin to be the one selected to get bounced to a less desirable ITN, but it is automated and, in his opinion, not working correctly. He agreed that after two months of this problem persisting, its bad and that management is somehow not aware or doesn't care.
Supervisor also said there is no manual way for anyone even at his level to oversell C+. He says 'it just doesn't happen, they do oversell Y of course.' So, he says, how is the system showing -3 for C+? What will other ticket holders do when they open their schedule change and can't even select a seat?
He did note in my record that we took an involuntary downgrade, so if (when!?) the 764 goes away, maybe (hahahaha) we can get back into C+?
Really, It's no way to run an airline.
(I'm also bummed we lost a chance at a domestic P.E. seat sold as C+, but that's beyond what we'd originally booked, so easy to let go)
We went from SJU-ATL-MSP to leaving SJU 90 minutes earlier and connecting thru JFK. Do not want.
I can't make a change online, that's disabled, must call. The agent can't push me into C+ (where we booked originally) because it is oversold by 3 pax. He says he's at a dead end.
I ended up escalating to a very nice supervisor, who also can't force C+. Since it's a 764 now (upgauge from 737), I accept a preferred Y seat pair to get off the JFK routing. There's not much in the way of involuntary downgrade comp officially, but I negotiated an offer that seemed fair.
The core of it is: The supervisor said that for two months now, he's been handling calls like mine. High status pax getting bounced off flights because of equipment changes or tiny time changes.
He agreed there is no way a ('22 requalified) Plat on a paid C+ should be so low on the priority for a smaller C+ cabin to be the one selected to get bounced to a less desirable ITN, but it is automated and, in his opinion, not working correctly. He agreed that after two months of this problem persisting, its bad and that management is somehow not aware or doesn't care.
Supervisor also said there is no manual way for anyone even at his level to oversell C+. He says 'it just doesn't happen, they do oversell Y of course.' So, he says, how is the system showing -3 for C+? What will other ticket holders do when they open their schedule change and can't even select a seat?
He did note in my record that we took an involuntary downgrade, so if (when!?) the 764 goes away, maybe (hahahaha) we can get back into C+?
Really, It's no way to run an airline.
(I'm also bummed we lost a chance at a domestic P.E. seat sold as C+, but that's beyond what we'd originally booked, so easy to let go)
Last edited by RaflW; Aug 10, 2021 at 1:51 pm Reason: clarity, typos
#2133
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: OSH
Programs: SWRR, HH, SM, TSA Pre
Posts: 757
Should I be worried that my early morning flight ATW-MSP no longer lists what type of RJ it is? Before this weekend it was listed as a CRJ9, now it just says CRJ. I'm booked into C+, it lists only the first row as C+, but won't let me change my seat out of 1A.
#2134
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
"CRJ" means CRJ-200.
#2135
Join Date: Jul 2014
Programs: Delta Gold
Posts: 210
#2137
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: OSH
Programs: SWRR, HH, SM, TSA Pre
Posts: 757
Yeah it's a CRJ-200. The system is correct in that only row 1 is C+. I assume 1A is the only open seat. I think for a while 1C and D were blocked until ~24 hours before the flight...not sure if that's still the case or not. Either way on C and D, if you want C+, you'll have to put up with the 1st row.
I can deal for a 73 minute flight rather than a 4+ hour drive, especially when it's a positioning flight.
I will have three new aircraft out of the four legs on this trip. Oh, the wonders of flying from an outstation rather than a hub.
#2140
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: OKC
Programs: DL DM/2.768MM, Global Entry, Titanium_Marriott, GHertz
Posts: 6,752
I have quite a few tickets and all the changes today are from Jan to June 2022.
#2142
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 241
I have a trip coming up Oct 14 to 18 from New York to London. I was originally booked on DL 3/4 but a few months ago on a SCS, the DL 3/4 flights were cancelled and I was automatically moved to DL 1/2. Low and behold I checked today and DL 3/4 are now for sale again. I called Delta around 1pm ET. The new system answered and surprisingly no wait for an agent. I had used GUCs in both directions and GUC space was not available on the outbound. But the agent said he'd do some work to get it overridden and agreed to call me back. 20 minutes later I received the call back and all was taken care of. Moral of the story - if you were dropped from DL 3 / 4 or another multiple times a day flight, check to see if it might have been added back later. I presume now that the UK is open for visitors, demand has increased somewhat justifying the second flight on Delta metal.
Pleasantly surprised for the flights added back and NO wait (albeit as a DM).
Dave
Pleasantly surprised for the flights added back and NO wait (albeit as a DM).
Dave
#2143
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,186
I have a trip coming up Oct 14 to 18 from New York to London. I was originally booked on DL 3/4 but a few months ago on a SCS, the DL 3/4 flights were cancelled and I was automatically moved to DL 1/2. Low and behold I checked today and DL 3/4 are now for sale again. I called Delta around 1pm ET. The new system answered and surprisingly no wait for an agent. I had used GUCs in both directions and GUC space was not available on the outbound. But the agent said he'd do some work to get it overridden and agreed to call me back. 20 minutes later I received the call back and all was taken care of. Moral of the story - if you were dropped from DL 3 / 4 or another multiple times a day flight, check to see if it might have been added back later. I presume now that the UK is open for visitors, demand has increased somewhat justifying the second flight on Delta metal.
Pleasantly surprised for the flights added back and NO wait (albeit as a DM).
Dave
Pleasantly surprised for the flights added back and NO wait (albeit as a DM).
Dave
#2144
Join Date: Jan 2018
Posts: 241
Sorry DL 1 and DL 2 is the earlier departure and return from JFK to LHR. DL 3 and 4 is the latter. DL 3 and 4 have been removed from the schedule most of the time since the start of the pandemic. I think at one time there was also a third set of flights DL 5 and 6. The rest are Virgin Atlantic operated.
#2145
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: DL Diamond, UA Premier Gold
Posts: 2,937
Seems Delta has made a major switch in strategy. Instead of posting a full schedule far out and cutting a month at a time later, they have pulled down the entire schedule in chunks. Last week was Oct/Nov/Dec and today was January/February/March/April/May/June. Sounds like some pretty major cuts for 2022. A lot of the RDU and CVG non-hub flying is gone as an example.