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
#2146
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
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.
#2147
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: DCA
Programs: DL SkyMiles Platinum Medallion
Posts: 279
This is helpful. The downside, for customers, may be flights pricing at the inventory of the reduced schedule. (I have been booking far out knowing there would be skd changes but while there was still a lot of open cheaper fare bucket inventory at what I assumed to be lower prices.)
Last edited by dtwtransport; Aug 14, 2021 at 3:41 pm
#2148
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
True. The current situation of selling a pre-covid schedule and then flying a covid schedule probably wasn't sustainable tho.
#2149
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Arlington, VA
Programs: DL DM, 1.5 MM; AS MVP Gold 100K; HHonors Diamond; AMEX Platinum
Posts: 487
I used to, but I'm tired of dealing with schedule changes every Saturday. So, nothing for me on DL in 2022. I'll book them when (and if) I feel confident that I'll get the trips that I've planned and paid for.
#2150
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,331
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.
#2151
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,185
#2153
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: DTW
Programs: Alaska, Delta, Southwest
Posts: 1,663
Hey, I've booked a one-way Alaska cruise for next year, and I'm starting to look into the flights - it'll be DTW-YVR outbound on 5/27 (morning preferred) and either ANC-DTW or FAI-DTW returning on 6/10 (overnight).
The outbound DTW-SEA that I want is showing sold out even though the seat map shows none occupied (I'm guessing inventory just hasn't been loaded yet, or it's about to be canceled?). Only other options on Delta get in very late. I'm thinking of booking a refundable United DTW-ORD-YVR in case the Delta itinerary doesn't open up, and then canceling that one if it does.
Returning, a 2-hour layover in MSP is $380, a 4-hour layover in either MSP or SEA is $255, and a 6-hour layover in SEA is $195 (same first leg but later connections). I assume it's a pretty sure bet that, if I pick the 6-hour layover, at some point before then there will be a schedule change that lets me switch for free? (I'd have no problem risking it, but my wife and her 70-year-old mother will be with us.)
The outbound DTW-SEA that I want is showing sold out even though the seat map shows none occupied (I'm guessing inventory just hasn't been loaded yet, or it's about to be canceled?). Only other options on Delta get in very late. I'm thinking of booking a refundable United DTW-ORD-YVR in case the Delta itinerary doesn't open up, and then canceling that one if it does.
Returning, a 2-hour layover in MSP is $380, a 4-hour layover in either MSP or SEA is $255, and a 6-hour layover in SEA is $195 (same first leg but later connections). I assume it's a pretty sure bet that, if I pick the 6-hour layover, at some point before then there will be a schedule change that lets me switch for free? (I'd have no problem risking it, but my wife and her 70-year-old mother will be with us.)
#2155
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: LAX
Programs: DL DM, UA PG
Posts: 46
Cheers
#2157
Join Date: Jul 2004
Programs: DL; AA; UA; CO; LHLX; NZ; QR; EK; BA
Posts: 7,408
Winter 2021-22 Europe/TATL schedule changes in full swing this weekend…
- ATH year-round dropped; now ends mid November (last JFK-ATH looks like it’s Nov 17) and restarts Mar 8 2022 for now
- LIS year-round also pauses after early January 2022 and resumes Mar 7 2022 for now
- BRU canceled for winter season; restarting Mar 26 2022 for now
- JFK-FRA, JFK-ZRH and ATL-MUC still in plans to restart on 30 October with the latter two at reduced frequencies
- DTW-FRA pushed till mid-December restart
- ATH year-round dropped; now ends mid November (last JFK-ATH looks like it’s Nov 17) and restarts Mar 8 2022 for now
- LIS year-round also pauses after early January 2022 and resumes Mar 7 2022 for now
- BRU canceled for winter season; restarting Mar 26 2022 for now
- JFK-FRA, JFK-ZRH and ATL-MUC still in plans to restart on 30 October with the latter two at reduced frequencies
- DTW-FRA pushed till mid-December restart
#2158
Join Date: Aug 2013
Programs: DL DM 1MM; IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 190
One is still in limbo for me. Anyone else having a similar situation as this? Basically, I was checking in on a December reservation (12/30 ATL-SCL / DL 147) over the weekend, and noticed that particular flight is no longer for sale on 12/30. But, it still is showing up in my itinerary. Agent confirmed that it was either going to be cancelled or have a schedule change, though nothing has happened yet. I'd like to know sooner rather than later, especially because this is something I had confirmed and re-ticketed GUCs for, which obviously adds another layer of complexity if it auto-rebooks something that I don't want. Right now the only ATL-SCL flights on 12/30 involve codeshares, so thinking that may be causing a problem, especially with the GUC?
Cheers
Cheers
#2159
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: OKC
Programs: DL DM/2.768MM, Global Entry, Titanium_Marriott, GHertz
Posts: 6,751
I recently lost ATH-ATL on Nov 4 (or nearby) and today lost ATL-ATH on Oct 28.
Both days now routed through JFK, but wondering if they could be gone soon and I would be forced to move to AMS or CDG.
Both days now routed through JFK, but wondering if they could be gone soon and I would be forced to move to AMS or CDG.
#2160
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 153
Non stop MSP-TYS gone as of 12/16 Sucks as we are flying down to Knoxville to spend the holidays down in the Smoky Mountains and now have to route thru ATL. Adds 3 hours and a connection which is annoying during the holidays. Love this flight and it is always full, sad they removed it today.