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
#2206
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: NYC, MSY
Programs: DL DM, 1.5MM, NEXUS, Sky Club Lifetime, Admirals Club Lifetime, LowValueCustomer everywhere
Posts: 6,447
Massive changes this weekend.
I have 7 trips booked for October - December. Every one of them has had changes and 6 of them have had equipment downgauges. The only exception is a TATL R/T that was a 763 and still is.
I have 7 trips booked for October - December. Every one of them has had changes and 6 of them have had equipment downgauges. The only exception is a TATL R/T that was a 763 and still is.
#2207
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,326
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.
#2208
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: London/JAX
Programs: DL PM, BA Gold, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold, Radisson Premium, Global Entry, CLEAR
Posts: 872
Thanksgiving is looking kinda weird for me, just looked at MOB-SBN on Nov 28th and when you book it that way they only give you one option which leaves at 6AM even though there's available flights later in the day if you look at MOB-ATL and ATL-SBN individually. Not sure why it's doing that.
#2210
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2012
Location: MCO
Programs: AA, B6, DL, EK, EY, QR, SQ, UA, Amex Plat, Marriott Tit, HHonors Gold
Posts: 12,809
#2211
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: OSH
Programs: SWRR, HH, SM, TSA Pre
Posts: 758
I got impatient and didn't wait a day to call. DL screwed up all four legs. My ATW-MSP flight got moved up 10 minutes, somehow added to that DL blocked all four C+ seats. That necessitated them to move me to a later flight to keep me in C+ which in turn, hosed my connection in MSP. Talk with an agent and get that fixed, back on my original flight, but in row 7 instead of 1. The agent then tells me that I have an impossible connection on the way home. Would have been nice if the website would have shown me that. So I now have to change my connection on the way home. Got refunded "as a one time courtesy" the money I had paid to upgrade ATL-ATW last week. Was also told I would get an adjustment for being dropped from C+ to MC on my first leg. Hang up and look at the seat map online, of course my seat I had on the MSP-MCO leg to sit with my buddy is taken by someone else.
#2212
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: DL PM; IHG PlatAmb; Hilton Dia; Marriott Plat; Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,326
I got impatient and didn't wait a day to call. DL screwed up all four legs. My ATW-MSP flight got moved up 10 minutes, somehow added to that DL blocked all four C+ seats. That necessitated them to move me to a later flight to keep me in C+ which in turn, hosed my connection in MSP. Talk with an agent and get that fixed, back on my original flight, but in row 7 instead of 1. The agent then tells me that I have an impossible connection on the way home. Would have been nice if the website would have shown me that. So I now have to change my connection on the way home. Got refunded "as a one time courtesy" the money I had paid to upgrade ATL-ATW last week. Was also told I would get an adjustment for being dropped from C+ to MC on my first leg. Hang up and look at the seat map online, of course my seat I had on the MSP-MCO leg to sit with my buddy is taken by someone else.
Yes, this is why waiting until a Monday after a schedule change for travel months from now is often the wiser course.
Coordinating seat assignments with someone on a different reservation is always difficult.
#2213
Moderator: Hawaii-based airlines & Hawai'i forums
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Ka ʻĀpala Nui, Nuioka
Programs: NEXUS/Global Entry, Delta, United, Hyatt, IHG, Marriott, and Hertz
Posts: 18,043
My SFO-JFK for the Saturday after US Thanksgiving went from 76Z to 764 (when I originally booked, it was on a 75S).
#2214
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: DTW
Programs: Alaska, Delta, Southwest
Posts: 1,663
Great, my Thanksgiving trip home changed aircraft and I got kicked from a window to a middle seat... And every seat in the cabin other than the ones we're assigned are blocked (not occupied, but showing X's).
#2215
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: DL Diamond, UA Premier Gold
Posts: 2,939
The weekend schedule change process is still in progress. Check back tomorrow or in a few days when everything has settled.
#2217
Join Date: Feb 2020
Location: London/JAX
Programs: DL PM, BA Gold, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold, Radisson Premium, Global Entry, CLEAR
Posts: 872
#2218
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 297
I had a schedule change on my GOT-CDG-MSP-BOS sort of mileage run flight but ended up getting GOT-AMS-DTW-BOS with an A350 suite so kind of excited about that
The Biggest shocker? Called on a Saturday evening at 11:30, less than 2 minutes on hold!
The Biggest shocker? Called on a Saturday evening at 11:30, less than 2 minutes on hold!
#2219
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 16
#2220
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: CMH
Programs: Delta SkyMiles (Silver), AAdvantage, Sun Country, FmrUS Airways Dividend Miles, Northwest WorldPerks
Posts: 353
My ATL-SAN flight next month went from a 764 to 763 of some kind; can't see the seat map to determine what flavor of 763 it is yet.
The arrival time moved up two hours somehow. Didn't know DL could move two cities closer on Schedule Change Saturday, but here we are.
The arrival time moved up two hours somehow. Didn't know DL could move two cities closer on Schedule Change Saturday, but here we are.