JW6130

What is the current Delta policy on change of operating carrier allowing for flight changes/refunds?

I've never had a problem getting Delta to change my flights at no charge with zero hassle when the Delta Connection carrier changes. Because of this, I look forward to Delta's ridiculousness that is Schedule Change Saturday.

Recently, I was told that they can't make a free change due to a change in operating carrier anymore. They made the change for me anyway (as I think they should have), but I got scolded.

Was I wrong? Or was the agent incorrect?

Either way, check your flights carefully, as they took a hatchet to a bunch of my flights today. Changes in timing, aircraft, operating carriers, etc. Their re-seating algorithm was especially bad today, and put me in middle seats in a few cases.

ryandc99

Moderator Note:

This post was extracted to start a new thread, rather than leaving open the 5+ year old thread here:
Change of operating carrier, refund denied

Ryandc99
Moderator Delta Air Lines

flyerCO

No change. Just normal agent misinformation. DOT is clear that change of carrier, even of regional means refund must be offered.

Often1

The agent was nonetheless correct.

The DOT rule requires the carrier to refund the ticket at passenger request. But, OP was looking for a fee-free change. That is not required by DOT rules and is a matter of carrier discretion.

flyerCO

DL will make a free change if it means keeping the money. While not required by DOT, I dont know of any airline that wont instead. (How fare they'll go in making that change can vary)

Often1

My response was to the assertion that DOT rules required the change OP sought, not whether DL (or any carrier) would likely do so. To be clear, if done, it is done as a CS gesture, not by legal requirement.

v11a

Did the agent tell you he could only do a refund or was he telling you he couldn't do either.

MSPeconomist

DOT says OP is entitled to a full refund, to the original form of payment. If OP desires, he/she can then purchase a new ticket, but often this means that low fare class availability is lost for the unchanged segments, so the replacement ticket can be more expensive. If the agent agrees to change the ticket without charging the change fee, as others have said this is a customer service gesture. However, often DL agents are willing to do this if you ask nicely because this can be easier than cancelling and booking the new ticket.

JW6130

The agent said that he would change my flights as a courtesy, but that he couldn't change them in the future due solely due to a carrier change.

I suppose I could have asked for a refund, but I wanted alternate flights. The arrival time change turned what was initially not a great flight option into a worse flight option. The alternate flights weren't great, but they at least got me back to closer to my original flight arrival time.

It all worked out, but this is good to know for the future.

MSPeconomist

If the time change was big enough, you could have asked for a refund on that basis (and probably got the change as a courtesy or time-saving device).

Some agents and supervisors aren't aware of the DOT rule about changes from one RJ carrier to a different RJ carrier and can't find the information easily in their internal documentation. I've had to insist at times.