Mar 15, 2020, 10:29 am
Last edit by: Maestro Ramen
FARE RULES:
I pulled down the DL fare rules (these are BUD-SEA but they all appeared nearly identical). I posted them on a share. We can easily grab the AF and KL variants if others need those.
Q: This is a fully flexible fare with free changes. Does that mean I can change the flight dates as I want without paying anything extra?
A: No. The airline simply doesn't charge a change fee. But depending on the fare rules, you will still need to pay the difference to the new price.
Q: But I read that some people could change their flights for free...?
A: The rules for this fare (linked to above) specify that historical pricing shall be used if either at least one flight from the ticket has been taken or the outbound remains the same. In other words, in order to be able to change your flights for free, you must have flown at least one flight from your booking. Otherwise, you can only change the inbound. The outbound has to remain the same or you will be charged the fare difference.
Q: Can I change the rest of the itinerary after flying the first segment without any other charges or additional fare differences?
A: Yes this is possible according to the fare rules where after completing the first segment, you can change the rest of the flights for free (with the condition that the same fare class is available- I-class - in this case. According to the fare rules, after flying the FIRST segment (in the case here BUD-XXX) the historical fare is used. Possible to use the first stopover at AMS or CDG (see post #830).
Q: But some people could change their outbound flights for free!
A: They got lucky. It was probably a bug on the website/in the app. When no flight from the ticket has been flown, the fare rules do not allow changing the outbound without repricing.
Q: Ok, ok, so I can only change the inbound for free. How do I do that?
A: You search for availability for alternative flights on ITA Matrix using "F ..I2FFHU" in the extension codes. You must search for round trip flights as this is a round trip fare. Then you ignore the outbound result (as long as you haven't flown at least one flight from your ticket) and just try to rebook your inbound on the website/app.
Q: I have found availability on ITA Matrix, but the app/website doesn't show me those flights!
A: Keep trying. Sometimes you may have to serach in a different way (split up the searches, e.g. HNL-LAX and LAX-BUD), sometimes you just have to repeat the search several times. But that's no guarantee the desired results will turn up (and without repricing).
Q: It doesn't work. Can I just call the airline to make the changes?
A: Please don't unless you need to. Calling can increase the risk for all of us that they'll change their mind and disallow all further changes, or simply cancel everyone's tickets. However, as this fare has now been running for months and has seen many calls made about it, it is reasonable to expect that calling will not cause issues at this stage. As best practice, avoid attracting attention on the low price paid, and avoid making additional demands or tempting your luck. Remember you get to fly a J ticket for the cost of a Y fare.
Q: How many times can I make changes?
A: In theory, as often as you like, but you can't make more than two changes online/in the app. After that, you'd have to call, which we are trying to avoid.
Q: I've changed my mind. Can I get a refund?
A: Yes, the fare was fully refundable. Just contact the airline or fill out a refund form online.
Q: Due to Coronavirus, I need to extend my travel plan beyond the original expiry date. What can I do?
A: For Delta tickets (starting with 006) you can travel at any point until December 2022. Changes to flights within a 10 month window can be done at any point on the app, following the rules above. If you want to fly later than 10 months from now, you can call Delta and ask them to "park" your ticket. You will receive a ticket number that ties to an eCredit which can be used later to buy tickets. As long as you keep the original itinerary, or if you have flown at least a segment, you will not be charged a fare difference. Bear in mind that the eCredit may only be refundable if your original flight was cancelled (which is very likely in those day and times). Note that only Delta in the US are able to do this so do not call the EU numbers (use Skype to save money on international calls). According to user feedback: iMessage agents seem to also be able to do this, but twitter agents not.
I pulled down the DL fare rules (these are BUD-SEA but they all appeared nearly identical). I posted them on a share. We can easily grab the AF and KL variants if others need those.
Q: This is a fully flexible fare with free changes. Does that mean I can change the flight dates as I want without paying anything extra?
A: No. The airline simply doesn't charge a change fee. But depending on the fare rules, you will still need to pay the difference to the new price.
Q: But I read that some people could change their flights for free...?
A: The rules for this fare (linked to above) specify that historical pricing shall be used if either at least one flight from the ticket has been taken or the outbound remains the same. In other words, in order to be able to change your flights for free, you must have flown at least one flight from your booking. Otherwise, you can only change the inbound. The outbound has to remain the same or you will be charged the fare difference.
Q: Can I change the rest of the itinerary after flying the first segment without any other charges or additional fare differences?
A: Yes this is possible according to the fare rules where after completing the first segment, you can change the rest of the flights for free (with the condition that the same fare class is available- I-class - in this case. According to the fare rules, after flying the FIRST segment (in the case here BUD-XXX) the historical fare is used. Possible to use the first stopover at AMS or CDG (see post #830).
Q: But some people could change their outbound flights for free!
A: They got lucky. It was probably a bug on the website/in the app. When no flight from the ticket has been flown, the fare rules do not allow changing the outbound without repricing.
Q: Ok, ok, so I can only change the inbound for free. How do I do that?
A: You search for availability for alternative flights on ITA Matrix using "F ..I2FFHU" in the extension codes. You must search for round trip flights as this is a round trip fare. Then you ignore the outbound result (as long as you haven't flown at least one flight from your ticket) and just try to rebook your inbound on the website/app.
Q: I have found availability on ITA Matrix, but the app/website doesn't show me those flights!
A: Keep trying. Sometimes you may have to serach in a different way (split up the searches, e.g. HNL-LAX and LAX-BUD), sometimes you just have to repeat the search several times. But that's no guarantee the desired results will turn up (and without repricing).
Q: It doesn't work. Can I just call the airline to make the changes?
A: Please don't unless you need to. Calling can increase the risk for all of us that they'll change their mind and disallow all further changes, or simply cancel everyone's tickets. However, as this fare has now been running for months and has seen many calls made about it, it is reasonable to expect that calling will not cause issues at this stage. As best practice, avoid attracting attention on the low price paid, and avoid making additional demands or tempting your luck. Remember you get to fly a J ticket for the cost of a Y fare.
Q: How many times can I make changes?
A: In theory, as often as you like, but you can't make more than two changes online/in the app. After that, you'd have to call, which we are trying to avoid.
Q: I've changed my mind. Can I get a refund?
A: Yes, the fare was fully refundable. Just contact the airline or fill out a refund form online.
Q: Due to Coronavirus, I need to extend my travel plan beyond the original expiry date. What can I do?
A: For Delta tickets (starting with 006) you can travel at any point until December 2022. Changes to flights within a 10 month window can be done at any point on the app, following the rules above. If you want to fly later than 10 months from now, you can call Delta and ask them to "park" your ticket. You will receive a ticket number that ties to an eCredit which can be used later to buy tickets. As long as you keep the original itinerary, or if you have flown at least a segment, you will not be charged a fare difference. Bear in mind that the eCredit may only be refundable if your original flight was cancelled (which is very likely in those day and times). Note that only Delta in the US are able to do this so do not call the EU numbers (use Skype to save money on international calls). According to user feedback: iMessage agents seem to also be able to do this, but twitter agents not.
{prem fare gone}: AF/KL/DL/VS: BUD-US from $750 R/T
Sep 26, 2020, 12:15 am
#1951
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL, A3 Gold, M&M SEN, FlyingBlue Gold, AS MVP Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Amb
Posts: 902
Here is a handy guide I’ve found for KL/AF: https://www.worldtrans.vn/webadmin/u...ch/AF%2015.pdf
Sep 26, 2020, 8:27 am
#1952
Join Date: Oct 2017
Programs: Delta PM, Hilton Silver, UA Plat
Posts: 261
Here is a handy guide I’ve found for KL/AF: https://www.worldtrans.vn/webadmin/u...ch/AF%2015.pdf
Sep 26, 2020, 10:17 am
#1953
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: RDU
Posts: 713
Here is a handy guide I’ve found for KL/AF: https://www.worldtrans.vn/webadmin/u...ch/AF%2015.pdf
Sep 26, 2020, 12:38 pm
#1954
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: AMS
Programs: BAEC Silver, Flying Blue Gold, TK M&S Nobody
Posts: 2,468
Thanks for sharing this link. It's helpful to see it spelled out in the flowchart that "If same booking class is not available, collect the fare difference" instead of the ambiguous language on the AF website "If the original fare is no longer available, however, you will need to pay any fare difference". So while the dates and details vary from the most recent DL policy, it's nice to see that they both offer class-to-class ("I" to "I") rebooking beyond November 30. Now, getting this taken care of with an AF agent or an OTA is a different story, but nonetheless this is really helpful.
Sep 26, 2020, 11:27 pm
#1955
Join Date: Dec 2009
Posts: 337
Here is a handy guide I’ve found for KL/AF: https://www.worldtrans.vn/webadmin/u...ch/AF%2015.pdf
Sep 27, 2020, 12:45 am
#1956
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL, A3 Gold, M&M SEN, FlyingBlue Gold, AS MVP Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Amb
Posts: 902
Very nice info. Thanks wmaciej We have 5 tickets (on KLM stock) leaving BUD 12 Dec. If I am reading all this right, it looks like we should be able to have our tickets re-issued for summer next year (2021) as long as I find "I" class available. Am I understanding it correctly that based on this at least, you can not adjust your departure from someplace other than BUD, if that was the original ticket (ie BUD-SFO, then SFO-BUD) Would really like to be able to possibly change it to someplace else such as PRG or VIE or MUN, but suspect that is hoping against hope. Also I guess would want to hold off for a bit yet considering that (at least on ITA Matrix) the EoS is sometime in mid Aug. If possible, would like to get to late Aug or early September to use the BUD-SFO tickets.
Sep 27, 2020, 2:27 am
#1957
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 31
Is this the first change to your booking? I’ve made an involuntary change when a flight was cancelled to push it to November and now KLM are trying to charge me €2000+ fare difference for pushing it into next year (“sir, we’ve waived the change fee!”, “well, thanks for nothing, changes are free on this fare”). My experience with KLM is nothing but horrible - I have made a mental note to only book with DL going forward.
Sep 27, 2020, 2:38 am
#1958
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: AMS, JFK/EWR/LGA
Programs: Flying Blue/Platinum, TK/Elite Plus, QR/Platinum, LH/FTL, Marriott/Platinum
Posts: 293
Is this the first change to your booking? I’ve made an involuntary change when a flight was cancelled to push it to November and now KLM are trying to charge me €2000+ fare difference for pushing it into next year (“sir, we’ve waived the change fee!”, “well, thanks for nothing, changes are free on this fare”). My experience with KLM is nothing but horrible - I have made a mental note to only book with DL going forward.
Sep 27, 2020, 3:54 am
#1959
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL, A3 Gold, M&M SEN, FlyingBlue Gold, AS MVP Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Amb
Posts: 902
That is exactly my experience with KL. There was an involuntary change due to flight cancellation, had the trip pushed to October 2020. Now, when there is another cancellation, I am trying to push the trip to February. Exact same routing, same class - KL is still trying to charge fare difference. They don’t give any reasoning. Very disappointed.
Sep 27, 2020, 11:05 am
#1960
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: AMS, JFK/EWR/LGA
Programs: Flying Blue/Platinum, TK/Elite Plus, QR/Platinum, LH/FTL, Marriott/Platinum
Posts: 293
Instead, I called DL's line in the Netherlands and reached a cheerful KLM agent. He quickly checked DL's policy and told me that so long it's the same routing and the same fare class, fare difference should be waived for travel through Sep 30, 2022. He proceeded to build in the itinerary which I wanted, confirmed that routing (same stopover & connection cities even) stayed the same and all flights were kept in the same booking class (J and I), sent me a new email to let me double check the flights, before he reissued the ticket. Absolutely pleasant and painless. Now the ticket is on KL stock instead of DL so that's a hit for FB earnings, but I can live with that I guess...
Sep 27, 2020, 11:56 am
#1962
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: AMS, JFK/EWR/LGA
Programs: Flying Blue/Platinum, TK/Elite Plus, QR/Platinum, LH/FTL, Marriott/Platinum
Posts: 293
331 days only.
For anyone that needs to rebook a 006 ticket, the detailed waiver rules are here: https://pro.delta.com/content/agency...etin-5---.html
It doesn't look like many DL agents are actually familiar with the the "Class to Class" rebooking rules, especially for new travel dates beyond 3/31/2021. If you are quoted a huge fare difference and that you keep the original O&D and booking class (J and I), please ask the agent to check these waivers in details.
For anyone that needs to rebook a 006 ticket, the detailed waiver rules are here: https://pro.delta.com/content/agency...etin-5---.html
It doesn't look like many DL agents are actually familiar with the the "Class to Class" rebooking rules, especially for new travel dates beyond 3/31/2021. If you are quoted a huge fare difference and that you keep the original O&D and booking class (J and I), please ask the agent to check these waivers in details.
Sep 28, 2020, 9:41 am
#1965
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 31
Just give them a call! On Messenger it’s like talking to robots. Phone agents know the policy and rebook you in two seconds - the only prerequisite is to have availability on I class.