flight changed from non-stop to 1-stop
 

I had booked a non-stop flight from DTW to BOS 1:35pm-3:26pm along with a non-stop from BOS-DTW 2:05pm-4:29. Now I have a flight change from NWA which is as follows DTW-BOS 1:35pm-3:26, BOS-IND 1:25pm-3:59 then IND-DTW 4:52pm-6:05pm.

My 2 questions are,1. what can I do to get back on a non-stop flight home with out costing me additional fees

2. If the first leg of the flight is late, and I miss the connecting flight, is NWA responsible to make sure I get on the next available flight back to DTW without costing me additional fees?

Thank you for the help

Welcome to Flyertalk!

Schedule changes happen -- especially on flights booked well in advance. NW now has you leaving DTW earlier and arriving later, let alone the 1-stop arrangement. To add insult to injury, you will likely be enjoying a CRJ flight as well.

It has been my experience that NW is willing to change to another flight that will suit your needs. If you booked this online, you should be able to investigate change options at NWA.COM. When you have selected the flights you would prefer, it will 're-price' the itinerary, and you should get a message that states 'no change in fees due to schedule change' or something like that. If you get advice of a fee, you can cancel out of it without being charged.

If that does not work, call the 800 number and talk to an agent. Explain that you have a timing problem with the new flight schedule, booked a direct flight and will not accept a re-route connection, etc.

Since NW changed your schedule, you can basically request what you want and they'll most likely honor it within reason. I had a flight cancel from MIA to MSP and they auto booked me to the nearest times which took me thru MEM to MSP. I ended up asking for the earlier nonstop to MSP and pushing back my connecting flight to LAX so that I could have a nice dinner with some friends with a long layover in MSP.

Call 800 number and request a change.....It should work

This is a couple months out at least, right? I'm not seeing the 2:05 flight at all for closer dates.

Okay, so you were on NW 381 (A319, 621 miles) and now they want to put you on... NW 4785 (CRJ, 816 miles) then NW 538 (A320, 241 miles).

You're not in this for the EQMs/EQSs, are you? Because that IND-DTW would give you the minimum of 500 miles, which, added to the 816 for BOS-IND, is more than double the mileage of BOS-DTW direct. :D

(And if they rebooked you in full Y - which might not be too much to ask for a random rebooking - you should get 50% bonus EQMs...)

If the airline makes the change, you can get all your money back without any fees or you can usually re-book any flight on the same day. I even did a date change once (I was a Plat) with a little pleading. The CRJ do suck.

MisterNice

Have you had experience with this?

Not personally, no - but when I've read about other people being rebooked, VDB'ed, IDB'ed, or whatever here on FlyerTalk, it appears common. I could certainly be wrong.

It's not intentional, it's agent error. If you ask for it, you will draw attention to it, and most certainly be booked in your originally booked fare class.

Oh, okay. My bad. Thanks for the correction!

I guess I was thinking it was along the lines of international VDBs where they offer business class on the flight they're bumping people to.

This often happens with VDB and happened with me last week with DL. My T class from MSP to ATL was subsequently changed to Y class from MSP to CVG and C class from CVG to ATL. So I picked up a few extra miles and a few extra EQM, not to mention 4 bump vouchers.

I wish I would had known about this site last year, when I really started to travel. ^

The other flights returning from BOS-DTW are in the early morning, so that's not an option but at least I know in the future that I can change my flight.

I love how they put you on a CRJ for the longest part of the flight. :rolleyes:

Thanks to everyone for their help, and I'm sure I will have more questions in the future.

I feel your pain. I wish I'd known about it in 2004, when after not setting foot on a plane for almost two years, I wound up doing 28K BIS in the last 4 months of the year, but on all different carriers and alliances, so earned no status. I wish I'd known about it in 2005, when I racked up 70K, again on all different carriers and alliances, and managed to still miss even silver. And I wish I'd known about it before I did a 1000+ CFM trip mostly on cheap CO fares with only 50% EQMs in March of last year... I would've made various elite levels a lot sooner! :)

They do it as aprt of the compensation or because it's all they have. The airport staff have no idea about miles or EQM.

I don't know what your location will be in Boston that day, but you may also want to look at the outlying airports (BDL, MHT). If you can get to one of those just as easy (MHT now offers FREE shuttle from the Boston Area), NW will consider rebooking you from one of these airports as well. So if you can find a non-stop (and non-CRJ) flight from Hartford, Manchester or Providence, ask to be moved to that.