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
Mar 30, 2021, 3:47 pm
#2446
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 119
AF/KLM make it real hard to make flight changes. The agents always have to go to the back office to see if there’s any reprice despite me telling them I had a fully flex fare that should allow me to change dates on my return flight without repricing as long as I stick with original booking class. This just eats up 2-3 days each time I wait for them to recalc.
Mar 30, 2021, 4:32 pm
#2447
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 272
I also just rebooked my budapest-lax trip from June/August to October/January with Delta (second date change). Told them I wanted a class to class date change because of covid in hungary, got transferred to the international desk, paid $28 extra taxes (switched from bud-cdg-lax-cdg-bud to bud-ams-sea-lax-cdg-bud b/c I class availability was limited), and am all set. I did have a 5 hour schedule change but did not mention it. I was told any future changes will incur repricing and fare difference. I'm betting Hungary will be open by Oct - they've got 5 vaccines approved, have near the highest % vaccinated in EU.
I used the ITA matrix to find I class flights, and then used delta.com to see if they were actually available. Nice that delta.com tells you booking class. If you see Z class, that means I class is available (Z is below I). Very very very slow, but free.
I used the ITA matrix to find I class flights, and then used delta.com to see if they were actually available. Nice that delta.com tells you booking class. If you see Z class, that means I class is available (Z is below I). Very very very slow, but free.
Mar 31, 2021, 1:18 am
#2448
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: BER
Programs: OW Sapphire, *A Gold
Posts: 982
Mar 31, 2021, 4:46 am
#2449
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Posts: 568
Booked Delta through Expedia US (I know....). Took a while to convince the agent of the flex ticket conditions. Was able to select identical flights in I class in Jan 2022 but failed - the message the agent received was 'the airline is finalizing its schedule and cannot not accept the HNL-SLC segment at the moment. Try again later.'. Not sure if that was true or if the agent just wanted to get rid of me 
Mar 31, 2021, 12:45 pm
#2452
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: AMS
Programs: BAEC Silver, Flying Blue Gold, TK M&S Nobody
Posts: 2,457
Mar 31, 2021, 1:18 pm
#2453
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 390
Mar 31, 2021, 1:19 pm
#2454
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: AMS
Programs: BAEC Silver, Flying Blue Gold, TK M&S Nobody
Posts: 2,457
Mar 31, 2021, 2:18 pm
#2455
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 272
Apr 1, 2021, 2:39 am
#2456
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: BER
Programs: OW Sapphire, *A Gold
Posts: 982
Yes I able to use the Matrix now to find "i" class, but whenever I check with Delta website it only show as [OZ} & [OC] on the payment pay. Did I check it correctly with Delta? i try to run the whole month of October but nothing show up with Delta for "i" class even thought Matrix show it available?
Apr 5, 2021, 11:44 am
#2458
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Posts: 568
Managed to speak/chat with 4 Expedia-agents today. None of them were unable to change my flights, they came with different reasons (like: "AMS-BUD has to be operated by Delta!" & "We don't have any availability after September"). Was going to call Delta to ask whether they could take over the ticket against a fee. To my surprise, the UK agent was super helpful and accommodating. Took over the ticket without charge, made a new PNR, put in all my flights for Jan 2022, checked the fare rules (I class, HIP) & sent the new itin for confirmation to the pricing desk. He said this normally would be unneccary, but since I had an invol change last autumn, a manual check is needed now. Promised me I would hear from Delta within 24 hours (hopefully a new e-ticket).
Apr 6, 2021, 4:28 am
#2459
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Belgium
Posts: 270
Another update on my 006 ticket AMS-HNL-OGG-LIH-LAX-AMS (managed to add intra-Hawaii flights in the beginning and change departure city to AMS when
Hungary closed their borders)
I’ve been trying to postpone my outbound to HNL (scheduled May 15) for the last few weeks with no success. Yesterday I chatted with a DL rep who took a long time to read the fare rules. He told me it was impossible to change my outbound without flying a segment first and that I should wait and see if DL extends the flexible change waiver.
He then said the fare allowed unlimited stopovers and he could change the other flights, as long as we didn’t touch the AMS-HNL portion. So I asked if he could add a stopover in NYC as well when flying LAX-AMS and he agreed.
I now have a great ticket with a few days in 3 different Hawaiian islands, a couple weeks in LA and the week before Christmas in NYC, but chances are slim I’ll be able to fly it if they don’t extend the waiver :-(.
Time will tell.
Edit: A question just came to mind. If I route my outbound through CDG or LHR (so AMS-CDG-LAX-HNL for example), will they let me board the AMS-CDG flight as a EU citizen if I’m not allowed into the US? That would give me the option to move the rest of the outbound to the future then.
Hungary closed their borders)
I’ve been trying to postpone my outbound to HNL (scheduled May 15) for the last few weeks with no success. Yesterday I chatted with a DL rep who took a long time to read the fare rules. He told me it was impossible to change my outbound without flying a segment first and that I should wait and see if DL extends the flexible change waiver.
He then said the fare allowed unlimited stopovers and he could change the other flights, as long as we didn’t touch the AMS-HNL portion. So I asked if he could add a stopover in NYC as well when flying LAX-AMS and he agreed.
I now have a great ticket with a few days in 3 different Hawaiian islands, a couple weeks in LA and the week before Christmas in NYC, but chances are slim I’ll be able to fly it if they don’t extend the waiver :-(.
Time will tell.
Edit: A question just came to mind. If I route my outbound through CDG or LHR (so AMS-CDG-LAX-HNL for example), will they let me board the AMS-CDG flight as a EU citizen if I’m not allowed into the US? That would give me the option to move the rest of the outbound to the future then.
Apr 6, 2021, 5:07 am
#2460
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: AMS
Programs: BAEC Silver, Flying Blue Gold, TK M&S Nobody
Posts: 2,457
Edit: A question just came to mind. If I route my outbound through CDG or LHR (so AMS-CDG-LAX-HNL for example), will they let me board the AMS-CDG flight as a EU citizen if I’m not allowed into the US? That would give me the option to move the rest of the outbound to the future then.
However, it sounds like you're going direct AMS-US at the moment so getting that European bounce might be hard. I think the schedules are probably relatively firm for May already and the agent correctly told you that the first fare component is not changeable before departure. If you're scheduled on a flight that's still reading ok - especially if it's one which is operating now - I think your chances are slim.
*Edit: pretty sure we've had at least one person try to modify after the first segment without success - can't remember who.
Edit the Second: Missed the actual question - no, I don't think you'd be allowed to board in Amsterdam if it was a connection [less than 24 hours] though it's possible that an overnight connection would be ok.
Last edited by etiene; Apr 6, 2021 at 9:54 am