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
May 13, 2020, 10:26 am
#1186
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PlatMM, BA and Alaska Emerald, HHonors DIA, Accor, Marriott Titanium, IHG Plat Amb, UA Silver, AA
Posts: 4,514
Thanks!
May 13, 2020, 11:24 am
#1187
Join Date: Feb 2012
Programs: Flying Blue Platinum, Le ClubAccor Gold
Posts: 776
The best thing to do is to wait for a cancellation.
June trip was 5/6 flights cancelled and as 747jetter said, I was able to postpone a flight to next year when there was « I class » availibility and keeping more or less the same routing.
July trip is still intact, so wait and see. Maybe I would postpone the first leg to « before November 30th » to keep the trip « alive and the rest of the trip to next summer... But in any case, let’s wait for some flights to be cancelled.
May 13, 2020, 1:26 pm
#1188
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: SE+, OWS
Posts: 372
May 13, 2020, 1:39 pm
#1189
Join Date: Mar 2017
Location: AMS
Programs: BAEC Silver, Flying Blue Gold, TK M&S Nobody
Posts: 2,468
ETA: there is also nothing in the fare rules to support that doing that. It seems to have been possible for those who were lucky enough to be able to change the first fare segment - we don’t know why that was possible or how to identify those that can (even assuming it wasn’t just entirely random) so it’s not much use discussing it.
Last edited by etiene; May 13, 2020 at 2:07 pm
May 13, 2020, 4:27 pm
#1190
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 37
Unfortunately for various reasons I had to cancel my ticket. I called the Delta desk in Budapest, which initiated the refund process. Shortly afterwards I received an e-mail that my ticket value has been converted to Delta eCredit although I specifically asked for a cash refund. Since I could not get an available agent at the US refunds department hotline and the desk in Budapest was already closed I asked Delta via Twitter for help and their answers confused me. Despite my booking showing I2FFHU they said that it would be a non-refundable fare and I could not receive a cash refund. So my question is: Did I do something wrong? Any suggestions on what to do now? I always thought that this fare is fully flexible (which would be indicated by the quoted I2FFHU in the fare base code)
May 13, 2020, 4:34 pm
#1191
Join Date: Feb 2016
Posts: 244
I see, thank for pointing that out. I dont have a cancellation. It’s just that i was hoping things might be more travel friendly in 2021. As it happens, i do have a notification on the booking to say that there has been a change to the schedule but all the flight times and route is still exactly as booked. Ive tried to change to September online To see if that made a difference but it didnt and I cant do that either.
Forgive my ignorance but I thought the fare rules allowed changes to dates if the passenger’s plans changed
Forgive my ignorance but I thought the fare rules allowed changes to dates if the passenger’s plans changed
May 13, 2020, 10:27 pm
#1192
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: VIE/PRG
Programs: FB Platinum, Marriott Platinum Elite
Posts: 1,592
No, I had not any cancellation. The flights were scheduled but I knew I will not be able to travel. Texted DL, knew when was "I" available and we went flight after flight. Done without calling.
May 14, 2020, 1:59 am
#1193
Join Date: Apr 2019
Posts: 68
Go on Google Flights and see if you can even pull your flight up. Mine was doing the same thing - there was a message that my schedule has changed, but no indication of what did. I then looked it up on Google Flights and couldn't pull up one segment (SEA-AMS). I messaged an agent on iMessage and was told that route was pulled from schedule. Was able to change my flight to November with a EOS return.
May 14, 2020, 3:47 am
#1194
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Belgium
Posts: 270
Just searched Google Flights and the Delta website and my flight on July 10 from AMS-LAX at 5:35pm isn't bookable anymore. Not in Business Class and not in Economy.
The status on the Manage My Trip section of the Delta website is still confirmed and there's plenty of open seats left. Does this mean there's a high chance that in the coming days I'll get a notification that the flight has been cancelled?
The status on the Manage My Trip section of the Delta website is still confirmed and there's plenty of open seats left. Does this mean there's a high chance that in the coming days I'll get a notification that the flight has been cancelled?
May 14, 2020, 3:55 am
#1195
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: DXB
Programs: Marriott Titanium Elite, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, BA Silver, A3 Gold, Sixt Diamond
Posts: 2,811
Yes. It means they’re no longer selling tickets for that flight. So it’s highly likely they have already decided it will be cancelled, but haven’t officially announced it yet.
May 14, 2020, 3:56 am
#1196
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: STR-BUD-ZRH-MUC-FRA
Posts: 210
Unfortunately for various reasons I had to cancel my ticket. I called the Delta desk in Budapest, which initiated the refund process. Shortly afterwards I received an e-mail that my ticket value has been converted to Delta eCredit although I specifically asked for a cash refund. Since I could not get an available agent at the US refunds department hotline and the desk in Budapest was already closed I asked Delta via Twitter for help and their answers confused me. Despite my booking showing I2FFHU they said that it would be a non-refundable fare and I could not receive a cash refund. So my question is: Did I do something wrong? Any suggestions on what to do now? I always thought that this fare is fully flexible (which would be indicated by the quoted I2FFHU in the fare base code)
I can imagine that currently there is a lot of confusion on refunds esp. those tickets which are FF and not directly related to Covid 19. Worst case you can try to do creditcard charge back?
May 14, 2020, 5:55 am
#1198
Join Date: Jul 2017
Programs: SE+, OWS
Posts: 372
May 14, 2020, 6:17 am
#1199
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 37
I2FFHU I asked AirFrance (my ticket stock) about the fare rules on Facebook, reply was "yes your ticket is fully flexible 100% refundable but it has to be done via your agency - try it with the facebook team of the airline who has issued your ticket - then your agency (or airlinewebsite) for clarification.
I can imagine that currently there is a lot of confusion on refunds esp. those tickets which are FF and not directly related to Covid 19. Worst case you can try to do creditcard charge back?
I can imagine that currently there is a lot of confusion on refunds esp. those tickets which are FF and not directly related to Covid 19. Worst case you can try to do creditcard charge back?
May 14, 2020, 7:34 am
#1200
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: BA Gold, Delta Plat
Posts: 186
. Also my old e-ticket number seems too long for the Saudia website.