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
#707
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: Back in Reds Country (DAY/CVG). Previously: SEA & SAT.
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returning PRG-CDG-LAX-SMF in premium economy, got hit with a schedule change resulting in a 6 hour LAX layover, up from our originally scheduled 3 hours and 30 minutes
because it is premium economy, not a lot of other options, can fly PRG-CDG-ATL-SMF and get home 90 minutes earlier. unfortunately nothing good to SFO either.
travel is not till fall so will let this marinate for a while I guess and see if an earlier LAX-SMF gets added back in...otherwise will have to decide whether to switch to ATL, or buy a separate $60 WN ticket on a more reasonable departure time and have them drop off the segment LAX-SMF. what i'm really hoping for is a business class sale so i can just take a refund or an exchange of the ticket altogether and get a better routing in a better cabin.
because it is premium economy, not a lot of other options, can fly PRG-CDG-ATL-SMF and get home 90 minutes earlier. unfortunately nothing good to SFO either.
travel is not till fall so will let this marinate for a while I guess and see if an earlier LAX-SMF gets added back in...otherwise will have to decide whether to switch to ATL, or buy a separate $60 WN ticket on a more reasonable departure time and have them drop off the segment LAX-SMF. what i'm really hoping for is a business class sale so i can just take a refund or an exchange of the ticket altogether and get a better routing in a better cabin.
You do say nothing good into SFO - doesn't AF fly to SFO? Why wouldn't PRG-CDG-SFO work?
AF also flies into SEA. Would PRG-CDG-SEA-SMF be an option too?
ETA: VS has Premium Economy. Some potential options there. PRG-AMS/CDG-LHR-SFO (though double-connecting and only getting to SFO may not be ideal). Maybe PRG-LHR on Czech Airlines if there's a DL Codeshare, then VS in PE to SFO, or VS to LAX or SEA then onward to SMF?
Last edited by ATOBTTR; Jun 30, 2018 at 8:22 pm
#708
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: PHL / KOA
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Posts: 232
This change also effected our PHL DTW SLC HNL trip booked through Delta Vacations. When I called them they stated that our out bound had 2 connections and that is all they could re-book us on. They they offered PHL DTW SEA HNL. I informed they that was not acceptable and we would cancel and book with someone else. They said that the we let me know in 24 to 48. Hours. Delta Vacations customer service is now poor at best.
#709
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: VPS
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#710
FlyerTalk Evangelist
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This change also effected our PHL DTW SLC HNL trip booked through Delta Vacations. When I called them they stated that our out bound had 2 connections and that is all they could re-book us on. They they offered PHL DTW SEA HNL. I informed they that was not acceptable and we would cancel and book with someone else. They said that the we let me know in 24 to 48. Hours. Delta Vacations customer service is now poor at best.
#711
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: PHL / KOA
Programs: DL PM / MM Ex UA & US Gold Starwood & Hilton Gold
Posts: 232
Your problem is very similar to ours. When we booked the only one connection flight was PHL ATL HNL in Delta 1. The cost was almost double what we paid. They have since added PHL MSP HNL which we would have booked. When DL added this flight I asked about changing our flights and they informed me it would cost
$ 800.00 more per person I said No Thanks.
$ 800.00 more per person I said No Thanks.
#712
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I wonder if you have a broken fare, not one component PHL-HNL, but maybe PHL-SLC + SLC-HNL. It could save you money but if they want to continue to apply all fare rules after schedule changes it will limit your options.
#713
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Premier Gold
Posts: 151
Schedule change from Delta One Nonstop to Delta First Connecting
I bought a sub $800 Delta One SFO-BOS round trip that had a schedule change eliminating the SFO-BOS non-stop flight (changed to SFO-DTW-BOS in F) and also changed the return BOS-SFO flight to 90 minutes earlier. I intended to sleep on the outbound flight. Would I be able to change to SFO-JFK-BOS (Delta One SFO-JFK) without much problem and change the return to BOS-JFK-SFO (Delta One JFK-SFO) departing closer to my original departure time? Also, if the non-stop redeye is reinstated and/or the return flight changes back to its original time would I be able to change again without a charge?
Thanks,
misterfuss
Thanks,
misterfuss
#714
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I bought a sub $800 Delta One SFO-BOS round trip that had a schedule change eliminating the SFO-BOS non-stop flight (changed to SFO-DTW-BOS in F) and also changed the return BOS-SFO flight to 90 minutes earlier. I intended to sleep on the outbound flight. Would I be able to change to SFO-JFK-BOS (Delta One SFO-JFK) without much problem and change the return to BOS-JFK-SFO (Delta One JFK-SFO) departing closer to my original departure time? Also, if the non-stop redeye is reinstated and/or the return flight changes back to its original time would I be able to change again without a charge?
Thanks,
misterfuss
Thanks,
misterfuss
Last edited by ATOBTTR; Jun 30, 2018 at 8:21 pm
#715
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: UA Premier Gold
Posts: 151
As long as your SFO-BOS fare was in D1, I don't think you would receive much pushback to get SFO-JFK-BOS. If necessary, elevate to a supervisor but I suspect you shouldn't have to. For your second question, that is more iffy. Generally you're allowed one change and then unless there's another schedule change, you won't get another free one. In your case, it's hard to say. I do think you could make a case (and that you had the nonstop originally which was canceled should be visible to DL) but whether or not DL would allow it through is going to be hit or miss.
Last edited by misterfuss; Jun 30, 2018 at 8:42 pm Reason: to add quote
#716
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As long as your SFO-BOS fare was in D1, I don't think you would receive much pushback to get SFO-JFK-BOS. If necessary, elevate to a supervisor but I suspect you shouldn't have to. For your second question, that is more iffy. Generally you're allowed one change and then unless there's another schedule change, you won't get another free one. In your case, it's hard to say. I do think you could make a case (and that you had the nonstop originally which was canceled should be visible to DL) but whether or not DL would allow it through is going to be hit or miss.
Agree on the last part. Would have a case, but most likely no, however doesn't hurt to ask.
#718
Join Date: Mar 2011
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Posts: 4,023
If you want to wait to see whether SFO-BOS restarts with D1 service, why would you call immediately? Wait until a few days before and make the change to whichever flight you want. (You could theoretically end up with zero open seats on your given day to fly between JFK and SFO, but that seems very unlikely.)
#719
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#720
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