Disappointing itinerary change
 

Hi everyone,

Long time FT reader, first time poster. I have an upcoming trip from MSP-OGG. Several months back I booked MSP-HNL, connecting to OGG via a Hawaiian Airlines interisland flight. I recently received a notice of an itinerary change. Delta padded the arrival time by 40 minutes (same departure time) meaning my connection in HNL was under an hour. Rather than move me to a later HA flight they switched me to MSP-LAX, connecting LAX-OGG. Instead of the D1 cabin on the A330 I am domestic F on 75Y MSP-LAX and 75H LAX-OGG. When booking several months back this itinerary was available for significantly less, but since I only do this trip once per year I feel that having the D1 hard product on a 9 hour flight is worth the extra cost. By the time I was able to discuss this with a representative there was no inventory left on the MSP-HNL flight. The representative stated that because this is an "equivalent" change (1 stop, F ticket for F ticket) nothing can be done.

I get that there are much bigger problems in the world than mine. I'm sure it will still be an enjoyable trip. Personally I'd rather have my old itinerary back, but if I am forced to be bumped to a flight I could have had for $1100 less, this doesn't sit quite right with me. Is it worth pursuing this with a supervisor? You all fly way more than I do these days so I'm curious to hear your thoughts. And if I should just suck it up and deal with it, feel free to tell me that too. Thanks all!

If you mean no award inventory, that's a problem Delta can fix. If you mean no inventory for sale, that is a problem. Can you fly another day to preserve a MSP-HNL-OGG routing? Ask DL for that.

It's not an award ticket so I presume the cabin is now sold out for my day of travel. The trip is for a conference so the dates are set. Theoretically I could leave a day or 2 early but blocking more time away from work without much notice isn't ideal. I'll look into it though.

When are you flying? When did you notice the itinerary change?

It seems like DL changed MSP-HNL to a 767 instead of an A330 (at least on some days), which would explain the increase in flight time. Also, schedule changes sometimes trigger weird inventory changes, so if this was a recent change (ie, today), you may want to wait and then call back.

Travel date is 2/9. I received the notice early last week. I still have the original email from booking where departure time was 11:20, arrival time 3:52. Now it shows up as 11:20 departure, 4:30 arrival. I too have noticed the occasional 763 or 764 equipment substitution but this particular date is still listed as an A330.

1. I would call DL back and keep pushing for your originally-booked flight with a new connection on HA. Even if the D1 cabin was full yesterday, does not mean that it is full today.

2. You are absolutely entitled to a full refund of your ticket and thus if you do choose to accept the LAX connection, you could purchase that as a new ticket.

3. Work on other itineraries and have them in hand. It is relatively easy for an agent to plug in a routing and see if there is availability. What is harder, is asking for creativity. If something is available but there is some issue about fare rules or fare bucket, DL should not enforce those because this is involuntary. Just politely ask for a supervisor.

As an aside but to help your cause, do not use terms such as "padding" as to the schedule change. That may be due to a change in aircraft, a change in prevailing winds or tracks across the Pacific. Padding implies something nefarious and you have no way of knowing this.

Something may be going on with the Saturday schedule changes, as all single-connection options to get to OGG on 2/9 are zeroed out in first. Some of the flights show unassigned seats in the seat map, so it's possible a little inventory will return after the schedule change situation clears. Check again later tonight or tomorrow and hope something becomes available.

Thanks ATOBTTR for the suggestions. I am flying home on the 767 from OGG-SLC so I know it's at least operating some of those days. I do prefer the A330 but this would definitely be preferable to any of the options through LAX. ATL is an intriguing option I hadn't thought about. I will definitely pursue it further.

You are absolutely correct, thank you for that. It was not an equipment change but an update in prevailing wind forecast could well have factored into the time change. Calling it padding wasn't fair.

Thanks to all others for your suggestions too!

It's schedule change Saturday where it is common to zero out inventory on certain flights. Just wait until tomorrow when the dust settles, and I bet it will open back up.

Did you get a resolution to this? The MSP-HNL flight you were booked for was indeed sold out. I wouldn't stop with this until you get an appropriate resolution.

I chuckle at them saying it's an "equivalent" change. Haha, not a chance. Disappointing that they didn't do more to help you. Very poor service, and it's a clearly the equivalent of a bait-and-switch situation.

Padding may not be the most accurate term, but the schedule change is their fault regardless. Since there wasn't an equipment change, the original schedule was erroneous. It's either their honest mistake or simple incompetence from the planning department. DL has flown MSP-HNL with the A330 for years in all conditions. They know how long it takes in the winter, summer, you name it. There's no excuse for such a significant schedule flight length change.

DL always schedules some ~30 min greater flying time for 767s vs A330s, while 747s are the fastest. Back when DL had 4-5 daily HNL-NRT flights (before the massive downscaling that DL has been undergoing the last few years as it yields more and more business to others, as the inferior service levels on DL just can't compete with most other carriers) you could see it easily. 747 ones were fastest. A330 flight (same day same route) had +10 min, while 767 had +40 min (vs 747, +30 min vs A330). Probably based on the aircraft actual flying speed.

Absolutely, but since there was no equipment change, no significant change should happen with the flight time.

Interestingly when ATL/MSP-HNL switch to 767s later this spring, DL has not changed the flight time to compensate for the slightly slower 767.