hurnik

I didn't think of this until now (someone mentioned it to me elsewhere).

Originally booked 2 First tickets (Z fare) from CZM to ALB for travel on 6/18/19. Tickets purchased on 10/25/18.
On or around 11/12/18 is when I found out that Delta cancelled all service to/from CZM except on Saturdays.
I had Delta re-route on 11/12/18 so that the return is via CUN instead.

Someone said if I'd asked Delta for a refund of the fare difference since typically CUN is cheaper than CZM.
I did not think of that.

Of course, NOW the fare is more.

So first:
I have no idea if this is something Delta would routinely do if asked.

Second:
I'd have no idea what the fare difference (if any) would be. I imagine Delta would know?

The BASE fare on the date of purchase for the original ticket was $385.00 The total after all the taxes and fee fees was approx. $475 (474.57)

Thank you.

flyerCO

They'd offer a refund of what you paid. Not a fare difference.

Also using OW fares to pin down a fare decrease isn't going to work. You need to price it as the full RT you had vs the full RT you have now.

hurnik

Thanks. We never had a RT ticket on Delta. It was always one-way from CZM to ALB and then changed to CUN to ALB. We fly another airline on the way down. Although that may be a moot point if Delta's normal policy is you either cancel or change. I just didn't know if they'd even issue a credit for a fare difference if it was even a difference.

MSPeconomist

flyerCO

This is likely. Since OP has added that he's flying a different airline for the outboubd this is within reality . It would have been difficult otherwise (time consuming) to otherwise do it with RT ticket with different destination and return points.

Often1

This is not a question of refunding the fare difference. OP is entitled to a refund of the ticket as the flight has been cancelled. He may then purchase a new ticket, presumably xCUN. As it costs less, he will save the difference. It is possible that a random agent will refund the fare difference, but unlikely and not necessarily helpful.

The historical price of the xCUN ticket is irrelevant.

SamOF

It's not at all unlikely. In this situation, asking for his ticket to be repriced as ticketed using historical fares from the destination he got moved to is a completely reasonable request, and I would be shocked if Delta didn't do it for him.

flyerCO

it may be a reasonable request. However it's not an easy thing for them to calculate most times. Since OP added he's only flying OW (other half is on OAL he mentions in later post) though it's fairly straight forward.

Often1

It may be both a reasonable ask and quite doable by DL. But, it is neither the practice nor required by OP's contract with DL. Thus, OP may get lucky and find an agent willing to go through this and find a supervisor to approve it. But, that is pure luck. Most likely, it will be a refund with the option to rebook at current prices.

hurnik

Thanks All! I do have an EF sub, so I will start with that. For some reason it just never occurred to me to ask/check.
Thanks again for the advice and possible options and outcomes.
Very much appreciated!

Wimsta

I have done what you're describing, but for RT tickets, and despite the person arguing that you'd have to be lucky I didn't get the feeling that I was getting lucky.

When I have been rebooked my experience with DL and UA has been quite different.

With DL I just observed that since I was placed onto the cheaper flight, I wanted to be refunded the difference. It did take a few minutes, but I was able to have the accommodation made. I actually think the person ended up issuing me a flight credit that exceeded the difference now that I think about it, maybe that was easier.

With UA they regularly changed my routing so that instead of connecting SFO I would connect DEN, they gave me significantly more headache, but it was true that I'd paid $100 a ticket more for my preferred routing, and times.

This is the part I do also get confused about, because it is regularly pointed out that your route is not guaranteed, only the final destination, however we pay more for some routings than others...

jdrtravel

Agreed. Actually I believe I have had an agent just tell me that they are issuing me a credit for later use because the new ticket is cheaper, without me ever asking. My assumption is that this is just standard practice. I would guess that OP's new ticket was more expensive, and due to the cancellation the agent waived any need to collect a change fee or fare difference.

MSPeconomist

Wimsta

For the sake of clarity, the flight was not cheaper at the time of the change, it was cheaper at the time of booking.

Essentially I said, "I paid $40 more when I booked my flight so that I could avoid traffic by flying on flight_______, but now you've put me onto that flight, so I'd like my $40 back."

I get flights are cancelled, but I do think being accommodated according to fare differences at the time of booking is reasonable. I also think losing your seat when being placed on another flight is worth consideration. DL has agreed with me on these points--when I called--and UA has fought me on these points...

MSP is probably right, and there are probably not many people who care as much as I do.

hi55us

How do you look up historic flight prices on Expert Flyer? Digging through their website now...