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
#31
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: MCO
Programs: Delta - PM, HH - Gold, SPG - Gold, Marriott - Plat
Posts: 1,060
I had a two hour schedule change a couple weeks ago for a summer TATL trip. I noticed it on the itinerary but did not do anything to accept it. Yet somehow the change notice no longer shows on the itinerary so it looks like someone at DL "cleared"/accepted it for me without asking or telling me. In addition, I never received an email about the change.
So far the new time is sticking, but the episode is making me wonder whether DL is thinking about changing the schedule back to what it was or knows that there will be further schedule changes for the flight.
So far the new time is sticking, but the episode is making me wonder whether DL is thinking about changing the schedule back to what it was or knows that there will be further schedule changes for the flight.
#32
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,298
I don't know about the 2nd part, but I had the same experience with the "acceptance". It was a few months ago and it was some minor changes. I didn't bother accepting it, and knew I couldn't change it, but at some point it was back in green as if it was accepted.
It's scary that someone who failed to look at their itineraries could have some changes announced and "accepted" without their conset or knowledge and without any email notification. Once the change is "accepted", it can be hard to notice that there ever was a change.
#33
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
Programs: DL PM 1.57MM; AS MVPG 100K
Posts: 21,277
that said, it's 12 hours since I was on the phone to change our MSY-SEA reservations and I still haven't received a confirmation email ... the PNR in My Trips was updated within a minute or two
#34
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: MCO
Programs: DL exDM MM
Posts: 762
New Departure/Arrival Times Now Showing.
When I started this thread there was no obvious indication as to the change. My Flights now show the new times is red right below the original times. Nice!! Is DL IT actually reading these posts?
#35
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,298
This only works if you suspect that there was a change so that you have a reason to go back to find the original email and compare it to current flight times.
Last edited by MSPeconomist; Mar 2, 2015 at 7:43 pm Reason: typo
#36
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
Programs: DL PM 1.57MM; AS MVPG 100K
Posts: 21,277
I had a two hour schedule change a couple weeks ago for a summer TATL trip. I noticed it on the itinerary but did not do anything to accept it. Yet somehow the change notice no longer shows on the itinerary so it looks like someone at DL "cleared"/accepted it for me without asking or telling me. In addition, I never received an email about the change.
#37
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 100,298
No, I noticed the change before it disappeared from my itinerary. In this case, I vaguely remembered the original departure time because I had been trying to decide whether to move to an airport hotel for the last night before a relatively early departure.
#38
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: 36,000 feet
Programs: RR: A List Preferred. DL, UA, AA: may as well be nothing
Posts: 88
what amazes me is that DL is excellent at sending me "your flight has changed notice" when the only change is +/-5 minutes on the original flight schedule but then completely miss sending me anything whatsoever when, as last Friday, my flight was diverted out of a completely different airport, requiring a 1.5 hour bus ride to catch the flight...I had to rely on the hotel shuttle service to call and tell me!
#40
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: IAH
Programs: Delta Platinum & 2MM, Marriott Lifetime TIT, Hertz Pres Club, IHG Gold, *A Gold
Posts: 1,253
When I try to do it:
WE ARE UNABLE TO COMPLETE YOUR REQUEST
Your request to reissue this ticket cannot be completed at this time. Please try again later.
If you have any questions, contact us for help.
WE ARE UNABLE TO COMPLETE YOUR REQUEST
Your request to reissue this ticket cannot be completed at this time. Please try again later.
If you have any questions, contact us for help.
#41
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MKE/MSN
Posts: 239
That's funny cause I had a change on Delta happen on my returning flights from Florida. My flights got changed by ten minutes plus an aircraft change to an RJ that's not even Delta operated. And I would've been leaving at 6 in the morning. Got a free flight change over the phone so now I would be leaving Florida at 3 in the afternoon. Not having to step on an RJ and getting to sleep in later really pays off by calling for a free change
Last edited by MKEflyer95; Mar 3, 2015 at 6:50 pm
#42
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
Programs: DL PM 1.57MM; AS MVPG 100K
Posts: 21,277
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2014
Programs: Top Tier with all 3 alliances
Posts: 11,512
Technically, I believe the change has to be at least 60 minutes in your original departure or arrival time to request a new flight. However, I believe that for any original flight change of at least 15 minutes you can request to be switched to a different flight, assuming you present a plausible rationale for it and have elite status.
#44
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: IND
Programs: DL Diamond 4 MM, Marriott Titanium
Posts: 180
Pavlov Effect
I was scanning the topics on this forum and saw "There has been a change affecting your flight" and thought oh crap and started looking for the alternate flight button
#45
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: West of CLE
Programs: Delta DM/3 MM; Hertz PC; National EE; Amtrak GR; Bonvoy Silver; Via Rail Prfrence
Posts: 5,337
I got another one for a DCA-ATL-JAX itinerary where they changed the schedule, turning a 36 minute layover in ATL to a mere 33 minutes. When I went to see what my on-line options were, there was no indication of what flights I could change to for free, and when I clicked on one of the flights, delta.com reported that I could not book a change on line but had to call in.