Jul 10, 2016, 5:48 pm
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
May 25, 2020, 4:58 pm
#1246
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: DL DM 2MM, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 15,200
I'm certainly not advocating nor so I expect DL to be running anywhere near as full schedule. But as others have said and we are experiencing, if they cut flights to the point where the most things left are sold out 4-6 weeks from now then that would suggest they've cut too many and not left options for pax to rebook.
I'm not looking to travel to MCO, just referred to it since that was a topic of discussion.
Sure if a pile of people end up canceling and free up seats then it may work out, but this interim period is just a mess.
I'm not looking to travel to MCO, just referred to it since that was a topic of discussion.
Sure if a pile of people end up canceling and free up seats then it may work out, but this interim period is just a mess.
May 25, 2020, 5:00 pm
#1247
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
I'm certainly not advocating nor so I expect DL to be running anywhere near as full schedule. But as others have said and we are experiencing, if they cut flights to the point where the most things left are sold out 4-6 weeks from now then that would suggest they've cut too many and not left options for pax to rebook.
Sure if a pile of people end up canceling and free up seats then it may work out, but this interim period is just a mess.
Sure if a pile of people end up canceling and free up seats then it may work out, but this interim period is just a mess.
May 25, 2020, 5:01 pm
#1248
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 3,461
Flying SCL-NYC via ATL, originally scheduled to arrive in ATL about an hour before the connection. The SCL-ATL segment was updated today, and now arrived in ATL an hour after the connection departs. There is a notice that this change "may" cause me to miss my connection. May!
They have scheduled me to miss my connection by a freaking hour. I am incredulous that they would 1) schedule me to miss a connection so overtly, and 2) treat the matter so casually.
Will I be charged a fare difference as a result if a later connection is more expensive? And if so, should I press them to waive any fare difference? And finally, if they do want to charge me a fare difference, is there any benefit to keeping the current itinerary, miss the connection, and force them to accommodate me at the airport?
They have scheduled me to miss my connection by a freaking hour. I am incredulous that they would 1) schedule me to miss a connection so overtly, and 2) treat the matter so casually.
Will I be charged a fare difference as a result if a later connection is more expensive? And if so, should I press them to waive any fare difference? And finally, if they do want to charge me a fare difference, is there any benefit to keeping the current itinerary, miss the connection, and force them to accommodate me at the airport?
I realize this may be hard to believe but they didn’t do this to you on purpose. It’s a computer.
And you’re a great idea of just showing up at the airport and acting like you had No idea your schedule had changed to get a free night in Atlanta Is not going to happen. they’re going to look at your connection and say “your connection won’t work, we just rebooked you have a connection tomorrow. have a nice day”.
So quit taking this so personally, and call Delta and get it fixed. LOL
May 25, 2020, 5:07 pm
#1249
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: JFK / LGA.. EWR is not part of NYC!
Programs: Brand loyalty is for suckers
Posts: 1,047
I realize this may be hard to believe but they didn’t do this to you on purpose. It’s a computer.
And you’re a great idea of just showing up at the airport and acting like you had No idea your schedule had changed to get a free night in Atlanta Is not going to happen. they’re going to look at your connection and say “your connection won’t work, we just rebooked you have a connection tomorrow. have a nice day”.
So quit taking this so personally, and call Delta and get it fixed. LOL
And you’re a great idea of just showing up at the airport and acting like you had No idea your schedule had changed to get a free night in Atlanta Is not going to happen. they’re going to look at your connection and say “your connection won’t work, we just rebooked you have a connection tomorrow. have a nice day”.
So quit taking this so personally, and call Delta and get it fixed. LOL
As for me, I'm not "taking it personally". I think you can understand how it's possible to be frustrated by the sheer stupidity of the automated booking system of a multibillion dollar airline that can't recognize a connection won't work if I land an hour after the flight departs. I don't think they're doing it to spite me.
May 25, 2020, 5:28 pm
#1250
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: DL DM 2MM, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 15,200
It is kind of annoying when the schedule change creates a negative connection, and trying to change it online to fix the issue results in an error telling me that due to a schedule change I have to call reservations.
May 25, 2020, 5:47 pm
#1251
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
Yeah it would be great if they could find a way to do it online that way the phone lines aren't flooded so much.
May 26, 2020, 10:17 am
#1252
Moderator, Delta Skymiles and Mileage Run
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Seat 2A
Programs: DL Diamond/MM, Hyatt Diamond, former AS MVPG 75K, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 2,940
Hi Folks - Kind Moderator warning to keep this thread on topic - Schedule Changes.
I am going to split out some of the "Has DL cut too far" into a new thread:
Has DL Cut too many flights? Analysis and discussion of schedule cuts.
Ryandc99
Moderator, Delta Air Lines
I am going to split out some of the "Has DL cut too far" into a new thread:
Has DL Cut too many flights? Analysis and discussion of schedule cuts.
Ryandc99
Moderator, Delta Air Lines
May 26, 2020, 12:48 pm
#1253
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Huntsville, AL
Programs: DL DM 1.929MM, Hilton Lifetime Diamond, IHG Platinum, Avis CHM, Marriott Titanium (lifetime gold)
Posts: 7,860
Delta.com shows nothing available for LAX-HSV on that day.
Guess it would work if I get a Delorean ride between gates at DTW. (But Orbitz shows DL availability on those dates.)
May 27, 2020, 4:45 am
#1254
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,062
I've got one of those later in June. LAX-DTW-HSV has turned into LAX-DTW-ATL-HSV with a -50 minute layover in DTW.
Delta.com shows nothing available for LAX-HSV on that day. Guess it would work if I get a Delorean ride between gates at DTW. (But Orbitz shows DL availability on those dates.)
Delta.com shows nothing available for LAX-HSV on that day.
Guess it would work if I get a Delorean ride between gates at DTW. (But Orbitz shows DL availability on those dates.)
May 30, 2020, 9:09 am
#1255
Join Date: Sep 2012
Posts: 1,331
Got a 3-hour schedule change this morning. What's frustrating is my original flights are still available, and bookable in the same class (J). One of the flights shifted by 10 minutes but it still easily meets MCT and is perfectly fine. The website will sell it to me right now, in J, which is the same class of service I purchased.
But they moved me onto a 3-hour earlier departure so now I have to deal with it.
Call-back time for PM line is 3 hours, 45 minutes. This is getting rather frustrating now - every attempt I've made to fly Delta this summer has been thwarted.
But they moved me onto a 3-hour earlier departure so now I have to deal with it.
Call-back time for PM line is 3 hours, 45 minutes. This is getting rather frustrating now - every attempt I've made to fly Delta this summer has been thwarted.
May 30, 2020, 9:11 am
#1256
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
Another thing I've noticed is that the pricing is all over the place. I just checked this morning on the pricing of a flight I'm taking early next week and it had fallen by $87 from when I had actually booked it. With no change fees right now it's very easy to use the online flight change tool and get that money back in an e-credit.
May 30, 2020, 9:19 am
#1257
Join Date: Mar 2020
Posts: 85
First Saturday in forever I escaped a big enough change to not have to contact customer service, likely because I was proactive. Couple days ago I saw the booking screen on everyday but Saturday had turned "not available" for the Shanghai > ICN > SEA flight, which indicated they only got approved by China to fly the route once a week. So I called to change the date and also changed my destination since I had a free change due to the last week change, and I need to meet my wife in a different location. Today's update was only a 1hr 15min shift in the schedule, but they clearly consolidated the Detroit flights and other dates that I assume will show as cancelled once the weekend is up. Had I not changed the date, they might have been too overbooked for that single flight by the time I got through CS. Maybe, just maybe my PVG > SEA flight will actually happen as we get down to the last few days.
Last edited by givionte; May 30, 2020 at 9:26 am
May 31, 2020, 7:56 am
#1258
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: NYC, SHA/PVG, PEK/PKX
Programs: DL PM, AS 100k, National EE, Hertz PC, Marriott Platinum, Hilton Gold
Posts: 93
First Saturday in forever I escaped a big enough change to not have to contact customer service, likely because I was proactive. Couple days ago I saw the booking screen on everyday but Saturday had turned "not available" for the Shanghai > ICN > SEA flight, which indicated they only got approved by China to fly the route once a week. So I called to change the date and also changed my destination since I had a free change due to the last week change, and I need to meet my wife in a different location. Today's update was only a 1hr 15min shift in the schedule, but they clearly consolidated the Detroit flights and other dates that I assume will show as cancelled once the weekend is up. Had I not changed the date, they might have been too overbooked for that single flight by the time I got through CS. Maybe, just maybe my PVG > SEA flight will actually happen as we get down to the last few days.
May 31, 2020, 10:43 am
#1259
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: PNW
Programs: FreeAgent; DL Silver; IHG Diamond/ Ambassador
Posts: 705
Scheduled to fly PSC-SEA-AUS (Austin) vv in July. It seems DL will not be flying from SEA to AUS but instead from SLC-AUS???
My itinerary now shows PSC-SEA (misconnect) SEA-SLC-AUS. Same with the return, there is a misconnection in SEA. If I try and book a new trip, I get a schedule for PSC-SLC-AUS. On the return, AUS-SLC is not an option, even though my new itinerary has it. Instead, it is routing me AUS-ATL-SLC-PSC (almost 12 hour journey!).
Called the reservations line for Gold and it mentions a call back time of 4.5 (!) hours. Last time I called about a month ago, it was only a two minute wait.
My itinerary now shows PSC-SEA (misconnect) SEA-SLC-AUS. Same with the return, there is a misconnection in SEA. If I try and book a new trip, I get a schedule for PSC-SLC-AUS. On the return, AUS-SLC is not an option, even though my new itinerary has it. Instead, it is routing me AUS-ATL-SLC-PSC (almost 12 hour journey!).
Called the reservations line for Gold and it mentions a call back time of 4.5 (!) hours. Last time I called about a month ago, it was only a two minute wait.
May 31, 2020, 11:50 am
#1260
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
Looks like DL went from 1x ATL-VLD to 2x ATL-VLD. It's a little annoying for me as the 1x left at 3 PM arriving me there when I wanted to get there and now the flights are in the morning and evening but I'm glad to see more frequencies especially on routes to smaller airports.