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
#2536
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 337
What's the best way to see if/when Delta is bringing back an MSP-BUF nonstop? This was around before the pandemic but got canceled during 2020. I just looked at some June dates and I noticed there's a nonstop that I can book, but I was wondering if there was a way to see something official on when it starts and what the schedule looks like and if it's running every day.
#2537
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PIT, BWI, or IPT
Programs: Dividend Miles, WorldPerks
Posts: 1,302
TBH, I would not even trust the fact that they might publish a MSP-BUF. We were on one earlier this year (like in Jan/Feb time period) but what originally was OAK-MSP-BUF (~8 to 9+ hour travel time) has now become something more like OAK-MSP-DTW-BUF (and is closer to 15+Hour travel time!) We get to enjoy the Delta Hub tour in about a month, with the return something like BUF-DTW-SLC-OAK, and again very long travel day.....heck we could have flown to Europe R/T and still spent less time than these two flights are gonna be. Sigh.....the joy of booking a large party (7 pax)
#2539
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 337
Been a pain with these due to:
1. 2 different PRN's
2. Used chase points AND then Regional upgrades on 5, other two tickets were done str8 from Delta as First Class
3. Needed 7 seats each time.
Just recently found out the family members on the second PRN (that was not using RUC's and bought directly from Delta.com) are not going and have canceled and requested refund (wish we knew that month or so back, would have been easier then to find available space. Oh well, will use the few Skyclub certs to all of us hang out at least one of the long layovers (have to look at any positive bits at this point)
#2540
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 337
#2541
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,425
#2542
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 46
If my (international) return flight is delayed by more than 2 hours, it is obvious that I can ask for a free change to that flight. However, am I in that case entitled to also change the outbound flight that is unaffected by a schedule change? I do want to keep the dates the same (as I have been able to move the outbound with a change in the return date to keep the lenght of the trip the same). Agent says no, but not sure whether this is a HUCA case.
#2543
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
If my (international) return flight is delayed by more than 2 hours, it is obvious that I can ask for a free change to that flight. However, am I in that case entitled to also change the outbound flight that is unaffected by a schedule change? I do want to keep the dates the same (as I have been able to move the outbound with a change in the return date to keep the lenght of the trip the same). Agent says no, but not sure whether this is a HUCA case.
Since the return date isn't changing, no, you aren't entitled to a free change on the outbound. You can always ask, but I think you'd have a pretty hard time making that case unfortunately. You could get a free refund for the whole trip and start over (but I guess that's more expensive).
#2544
Join Date: May 2021
Posts: 46
Just to get on the same page, sounds like you're talking about a schedule change, not a delay. (Delay is a day-of flight thing, while schedule change happens in advance).
Since the return date isn't changing, no, you aren't entitled to a free change on the outbound. You can always ask, but I think you'd have a pretty hard time making that case, I'm afraid. You could get a free refund for the whole thing and start over (but I guess that's more expensive).
Since the return date isn't changing, no, you aren't entitled to a free change on the outbound. You can always ask, but I think you'd have a pretty hard time making that case, I'm afraid. You could get a free refund for the whole thing and start over (but I guess that's more expensive).
Thank you for your response, this does not qualify for a HUCA then. It is indeed a lot more expensive to rebook, hence my attempt to use the schedule change of the return to change to my preferred outbound!
#2545
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Brooklyn, NY
Programs: DL Silver, AA, UA, B6, WN
Posts: 430
My JFK-RSW Christmas flights shifted earlier, as usual :-P, but this time I decided to see what happened if I did try to change them (they only went a half hour earlier but 8:05a to 7:30a on the outbound is much more painful than a half hour change later in the day). Anyway, there were flights there now that weren't there before at much better times, so I switched both ways and I got 12.5K miles returned to me, so that was a win.
#2546
In Memoriam, FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Durham, NC (RDU/GSO/CLT)
Programs: AA EXP/MM, DL GM, UA Platinum, HH DIA, Hyatt Explorist, IHG Platinum, Marriott Titanium, Hertz PC
Posts: 33,857
Check your schedules because there are going to be more of these coming:
As demand for summer travel surges, Delta trims schedule in effort to avoid disruptions
As demand for summer travel surges, Delta trims schedule in effort to avoid disruptions
#2547
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,190
If my (international) return flight is delayed by more than 2 hours, it is obvious that I can ask for a free change to that flight. However, am I in that case entitled to also change the outbound flight that is unaffected by a schedule change? I do want to keep the dates the same (as I have been able to move the outbound with a change in the return date to keep the lenght of the trip the same). Agent says no, but not sure whether this is a HUCA case.
#2548
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SJC/YUL
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,878
Me too of course. But this change was only 2 hours. That kinda invalidates the exactly X days argument... I guess you could try an exactly X minutes argument, harder case to make tho
#2549
Join Date: Jan 2011
Programs: AS, DL, AA, AC, BA, UA
Posts: 70
I've got a one-hop Main award ticket that I'm kinda hoping gets schedule changed so I can switch to non-stop. I noticed that I could do a paid upgrade of either one or both segments to First. If I only upgrade one segment, does anyone know what happens if I get the schedule change and am offered the ability to switch to the non-stop for free? Will I be offered First for free or will my partial upgrade get lost and I will have just ended up paying a lot more for a Main non-stop?
[this is a very long thread - I searched both it and the web, but apologies if I missed this nugget somewhere.]
[this is a very long thread - I searched both it and the web, but apologies if I missed this nugget somewhere.]
#2550
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,190
I've got a one-hop Main award ticket that I'm kinda hoping gets schedule changed so I can switch to non-stop. I noticed that I could do a paid upgrade of either one or both segments to First. If I only upgrade one segment, does anyone know what happens if I get the schedule change and am offered the ability to switch to the non-stop for free? Will I be offered First for free or will my partial upgrade get lost and I will have just ended up paying a lot more for a Main non-stop?
[this is a very long thread - I searched both it and the web, but apologies if I missed this nugget somewhere.]
[this is a very long thread - I searched both it and the web, but apologies if I missed this nugget somewhere.]