Mar 15, 20, 11:29 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
Dec 2, 20, 11:16 am
#2191
Join Date: Apr 2017
Location: London / Amsterdam
Programs: Flying Blue
Posts: 212
Originally Posted by fridgy
im sorry for your loss of such ticket.. but guys, isnt this like the most flexible ticket you could get? everyone is changing them easily with the same booking class rule.
Originally Posted by etiene
There are three different ticketing airlines involved, and they're aren't all singing from the same sheet for everybody. The flexibility of the original ticket would only come into play after flying one leg - and even there people have had problems.
Not even considering HU entry restrictions. It's taking up to much time to manage now.Not a problem to take this 'loss' though, I'm sure there's another deal around the corner, hopefully when the world is in a better place.
Dec 2, 20, 1:54 pm
#2192
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Manchester, UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 307
Originally Posted by kyushuman
Looking at changing my (DL ticketed and changed twice already) that has luckily had a new cancellation.
Looking at Delta.com and trying to reconstruct the same itinerary, I'm only seeing D, C, and J classes. No "I" class in August at least for the several dates I've checked. Also open to July.
Do I need to find I class by searching for the entire itinerary, or can I look segment by segment? (for example, can I look at BUD-JFK separately from JFK-STT)?
I do currently have a stopover in JFK for a few days, but such a complicated itinerary seems hard for DL.com to figure out. And Google Flights is useless (it shows "no flights available" for BUD-STT using SkyTeam for most dates in Biz in August)
Is there a website you guys use for finding fare buckets availability (that isn't an expensive paid site)?
Thanks for any troubleshooting advice!
Looking at Delta.com and trying to reconstruct the same itinerary, I'm only seeing D, C, and J classes. No "I" class in August at least for the several dates I've checked. Also open to July.
Do I need to find I class by searching for the entire itinerary, or can I look segment by segment? (for example, can I look at BUD-JFK separately from JFK-STT)?
I do currently have a stopover in JFK for a few days, but such a complicated itinerary seems hard for DL.com to figure out. And Google Flights is useless (it shows "no flights available" for BUD-STT using SkyTeam for most dates in Biz in August)
Is there a website you guys use for finding fare buckets availability (that isn't an expensive paid site)?
Thanks for any troubleshooting advice!
It'll be more work than Expertflyer which is totally worth the cost imo but that's your decision
Dec 2, 20, 3:41 pm
#2193
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: FCO
Posts: 495
Originally Posted by kyushuman
Looking at changing my (DL ticketed and changed twice already) that has luckily had a new cancellation.
Looking at Delta.com and trying to reconstruct the same itinerary, I'm only seeing D, C, and J classes. No "I" class in August at least for the several dates I've checked. Also open to July.
Do I need to find I class by searching for the entire itinerary, or can I look segment by segment? (for example, can I look at BUD-JFK separately from JFK-STT)?
I do currently have a stopover in JFK for a few days, but such a complicated itinerary seems hard for DL.com to figure out. And Google Flights is useless (it shows "no flights available" for BUD-STT using SkyTeam for most dates in Biz in August)
Is there a website you guys use for finding fare buckets availability (that isn't an expensive paid site)?
Thanks for any troubleshooting advice!
Looking at Delta.com and trying to reconstruct the same itinerary, I'm only seeing D, C, and J classes. No "I" class in August at least for the several dates I've checked. Also open to July.
Do I need to find I class by searching for the entire itinerary, or can I look segment by segment? (for example, can I look at BUD-JFK separately from JFK-STT)?
I do currently have a stopover in JFK for a few days, but such a complicated itinerary seems hard for DL.com to figure out. And Google Flights is useless (it shows "no flights available" for BUD-STT using SkyTeam for most dates in Biz in August)
Is there a website you guys use for finding fare buckets availability (that isn't an expensive paid site)?
Thanks for any troubleshooting advice!
Dec 2, 20, 4:24 pm
#2194
Join Date: Apr 2018
Posts: 22
Originally Posted by xslash10x
You should be able to change it to any date as long as the fare class stays the same. HUCA.
See my post above.
See my post above.
Dec 2, 20, 5:01 pm
#2196
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PlatMM, BA Silver, AlaskaAir, HHonors DIA, Accor, Marriott Titanium, IHG Plat Amb, UA Silver, AA
Posts: 4,389
Originally Posted by Sciamano
I had the same issue. You have to search the entire itinerary but bear in mind that the actually I fare isn't as flexible as our original was.
BUD-JFK
JFK-STT
STT-MSP
MSP-BUD
Dec 2, 20, 5:32 pm
#2198
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PlatMM, BA Silver, AlaskaAir, HHonors DIA, Accor, Marriott Titanium, IHG Plat Amb, UA Silver, AA
Posts: 4,389
Originally Posted by ChocolateFactory
Just use ITA Matrix...
Dec 3, 20, 12:20 am
#2199
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Munich
Programs: QR Platinum, TK Elite Plus, SQ Gold, BA Gold, VS Gold, Globalist, HH Diamond
Posts: 100
Originally Posted by kyushuman
Is there a website you guys use for finding fare buckets availability (that isn't an expensive paid site)?
Thanks for any troubleshooting advice!
Thanks for any troubleshooting advice!
Dec 9, 20, 6:15 am
#2200
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: AMS
Programs: KLM Elite for life; LH Senator for life
Posts: 210
With a very good and effective staff member of Expedia (they exist!!!) I could finally change my itinerary (KL Ticket) of end December 2020 to October 2021 without paying anything. One flight in December was cancelled (with certificate of cancellation) and replaced with a flight which would make flying that schedule technically impossible (arriving in ATL later than departure flight to AMS).
No discussions about the 30 days time period.
Main issue was that due to an earlier involuntary itinerary changes of my December 2020 schedule - which was organized by Expedia and myself - a new KL ticket had been issued. I did not know that this means that conditions of this new ticket are apparently applying. The earlier change of a flight in class C (ATL –AMS) had to be replaced by a new C class and could not be an I class without paying extra. Remarkable!!
No discussions about the 30 days time period.
Main issue was that due to an earlier involuntary itinerary changes of my December 2020 schedule - which was organized by Expedia and myself - a new KL ticket had been issued. I did not know that this means that conditions of this new ticket are apparently applying. The earlier change of a flight in class C (ATL –AMS) had to be replaced by a new C class and could not be an I class without paying extra. Remarkable!!
Dec 9, 20, 7:03 am
#2201
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 363
Originally Posted by kyushuman
Looking at changing my (DL ticketed and changed twice already) that has luckily had a new cancellation.
Looking at Delta.com and trying to reconstruct the same itinerary, I'm only seeing D, C, and J classes. No "I" class in August at least for the several dates I've checked. Also open to July.
Do I need to find I class by searching for the entire itinerary, or can I look segment by segment? (for example, can I look at BUD-JFK separately from JFK-STT)?
I do currently have a stopover in JFK for a few days, but such a complicated itinerary seems hard for DL.com to figure out. And Google Flights is useless (it shows "no flights available" for BUD-STT using SkyTeam for most dates in Biz in August)
Is there a website you guys use for finding fare buckets availability (that isn't an expensive paid site)?
Thanks for any troubleshooting advice!
Looking at Delta.com and trying to reconstruct the same itinerary, I'm only seeing D, C, and J classes. No "I" class in August at least for the several dates I've checked. Also open to July.
Do I need to find I class by searching for the entire itinerary, or can I look segment by segment? (for example, can I look at BUD-JFK separately from JFK-STT)?
I do currently have a stopover in JFK for a few days, but such a complicated itinerary seems hard for DL.com to figure out. And Google Flights is useless (it shows "no flights available" for BUD-STT using SkyTeam for most dates in Biz in August)
Is there a website you guys use for finding fare buckets availability (that isn't an expensive paid site)?
Thanks for any troubleshooting advice!
Dec 10, 20, 6:11 am
#2202
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,040
Data point on AF. Had a flight cancelled and found new dates with I class. Agent sent it away to recalculate fare they now want $2000 more per person. Have pointed out their policy lets see what they they come back.
Dec 10, 20, 6:12 am
#2203
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: Delta Gold, OW Sapphire,Aeroplan Silver, VS Silver, ITA Gold
Posts: 317
Originally Posted by onlysuites
Data point on AF. Had a flight cancelled and found new dates with I class. Agent sent it away to recalculate fare they now want $2000 more per person. Have pointed out their policy lets see what they they come back.
Dec 10, 20, 10:36 am
#2204
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Programs: BA Silver, EY Gold, HH Diamond, IHG Plat
Posts: 12,040
Originally Posted by fridgy
just HUCA when they start mentioning repricing or speaking to manager
Anyone know of a quick way to get a written reply from AF? Would Twitter or FB messenger be quick? Just want to get something in writing that they won't change without a fee so I can book new tickets and pursue them for the costs under EU261.
Last edited by onlysuites; Dec 10, 20 at 11:10 am
Dec 10, 20, 10:41 am
#2205
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: Delta Gold, OW Sapphire,Aeroplan Silver, VS Silver, ITA Gold
Posts: 317
Originally Posted by onlysuites
Onto my 6th phone call. Very rude staff I must say! I am trying to be as polite as I can but they just don't want to know.
Anyone know of a quick way to get a written reply from AF? Would Twitter or FB messenger be quick? Just want to get something in writing that they won't change without a fee so I can book new tickets and pursue them for the costs under EU261.
Anyone know of a quick way to get a written reply from AF? Would Twitter or FB messenger be quick? Just want to get something in writing that they won't change without a fee so I can book new tickets and pursue them for the costs under EU261.
