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
#2191
Join Date: Sep 2011
Programs: Delta DM, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,495
Had a schedule change on an award ticket MSP - BOS - AMS - STR. Flight MSP to BOS leaving .2+ hours earlier, nothing else changed. Got the e-mail, tried changing online, didn't let me. Called this morning. So here is the good news: Was quoted a 59 min callback time, got call back after 35 min. Was trying to get on the MSP - AMS nonstop that connects to the same AMS STR flight.
So here comes the bad news. I was on the phone for about an hour, they came up with all kinds of reasons why the change wouldn't go through. In the end they claimed that KLM didn't have any award space on the AMS - STR portion, and they (agent + ticketing) couldn't rebook me because they need KLM award space, even though I am on that flight, on an award ticket. My question is, is this a case of HUCA or should I just suck it up and spend 4 hours more in planes and airports?
So here comes the bad news. I was on the phone for about an hour, they came up with all kinds of reasons why the change wouldn't go through. In the end they claimed that KLM didn't have any award space on the AMS - STR portion, and they (agent + ticketing) couldn't rebook me because they need KLM award space, even though I am on that flight, on an award ticket. My question is, is this a case of HUCA or should I just suck it up and spend 4 hours more in planes and airports?
#2192
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 16
I noticed Delta a schedule Change from Mid-October until December and some things that I found out is less Boeing 717s flying out of Dayton, Wichita, and Des Moines, and replaced by flying on a CRJ 900s on those routes. Also OKC is nearly on All Boeing 717 with one on a CRJ 900s & one on a A320. I am not sure if it’s Delta deciding to put Boeing 717s back into Storage and instead of being out more A319/A320s, they are bringing out more CRJ 900s.
#2193
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
I noticed Delta a schedule Change from Mid-October until December and some things that I found out is less Boeing 717s flying out of Dayton, Wichita, and Des Moines, and replaced by flying on a CRJ 900s on those routes. Also OKC is nearly on All Boeing 717 with one on a CRJ 900s & one on a A320. I am not sure if it’s Delta deciding to put Boeing 717s back into Storage and instead of being out more A319/A320s, they are bringing out more CRJ 900s.
#2194
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,066
#2195
Join Date: Aug 2012
Programs: National Executive Elite, Avis Chairmans Club, Hertz Presidents Circle
Posts: 328
I noticed my nonstop DL1409 ATL-ANC in October and November have been upgraded to 767-400er instead of 767-300er. November flight the travel time increased by 40 minutes with this aircraft change. However departure time is about 30 minutes earlier, basically negating any difference.
Great that I'll be in premium select now since I was at the front of comfort+.
Great that I'll be in premium select now since I was at the front of comfort+.
#2196
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 1,278
I noticed my nonstop DL1409 ATL-ANC in October and November have been upgraded to 767-400er instead of 767-300er. November flight the travel time increased by 40 minutes with this aircraft change. However departure time is about 30 minutes earlier, basically negating any difference.
Great that I'll be in premium select now since I was at the front of comfort+.
Great that I'll be in premium select now since I was at the front of comfort+.
#2197
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
The 332s and 333s are starting upgrades this year, but for reasons beyond my understanding, D1 is not included. They are definitely due. I'm really surprised they're not getting the 339 suites.
#2201
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: SJC/SFO. EWR/JFK
Programs: AS MVP 100K, DL PL
Posts: 542
#2202
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
#2203
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: New England
Programs: American Gold, Marriott Gold, Hilton Silver
Posts: 5,644
If they did a schedule change, am I entited to be rebooked on an itinerary similar to my original one?
What I booked:
BOS-SEA
5+ hour connection in SEA
SEA-ANC
They rebooked me on a shorter connection, but the longer connection is still available. The website won't let me back on it, but if I call, will they put me back on it? Gold Medallion booked on a Z fare if that matters.
And on my return, I booked:
ANC-SEA
1hr30min connection to be safe
SEA-BOS
The rebooked me onto a 30 minute connection. Yikes!
The website won't let me rebook onto any other flights without a fare difference, and most flights don't have Z availability so I can't get on them at all.
On the bright side, all of the A321s were swapped with lie-flat 757s.
What I booked:
BOS-SEA
5+ hour connection in SEA
SEA-ANC
They rebooked me on a shorter connection, but the longer connection is still available. The website won't let me back on it, but if I call, will they put me back on it? Gold Medallion booked on a Z fare if that matters.
And on my return, I booked:
ANC-SEA
1hr30min connection to be safe
SEA-BOS
The rebooked me onto a 30 minute connection. Yikes!
The website won't let me rebook onto any other flights without a fare difference, and most flights don't have Z availability so I can't get on them at all.
On the bright side, all of the A321s were swapped with lie-flat 757s.
#2204
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
If they did a schedule change, am I entited to be rebooked on an itinerary similar to my original one?
What I booked:
BOS-SEA
5+ hour connection in SEA
SEA-ANC
They rebooked me on a shorter connection, but the longer connection is still available. The website won't let me back on it, but if I call, will they put me back on it? Gold Medallion booked on a Z fare if that matters.
And on my return, I booked:
ANC-SEA
1hr30min connection to be safe
SEA-BOS
The rebooked me onto a 30 minute connection. Yikes!
The website won't let me rebook onto any other flights without a fare difference, and most flights don't have Z availability so I can't get on them at all.
On the bright side, all of the A321s were swapped with lie-flat 757s.
What I booked:
BOS-SEA
5+ hour connection in SEA
SEA-ANC
They rebooked me on a shorter connection, but the longer connection is still available. The website won't let me back on it, but if I call, will they put me back on it? Gold Medallion booked on a Z fare if that matters.
And on my return, I booked:
ANC-SEA
1hr30min connection to be safe
SEA-BOS
The rebooked me onto a 30 minute connection. Yikes!
The website won't let me rebook onto any other flights without a fare difference, and most flights don't have Z availability so I can't get on them at all.
On the bright side, all of the A321s were swapped with lie-flat 757s.
#2205
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: OSH
Programs: SWRR, HH, SM, TSA Pre
Posts: 757
I knew it was going to happen. My ATW-MSP flight for October got changed. I got moved to a flight taking off at 10:58, connection MSP-MCO takes off at 10:00. Oddly they are still selling my original flight that was scheduled to take off at 7:00. Is this a typical IT screw up and just let it play out before I do anything? Or call now with options? I'm meeting a friend in MSP and flying the rest of the way together, any chance DL will let me fly on the late afternoon flight the day before? I'll pay for an airport hotel for the night. Otherwise I guess I'm changing my connection point and sitting at MCO for a couple hours waiting.