Schedule Change

 
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Comments 34

  1. rizrizriz says:

    subscribe

  2. Max says:

    Hi Rene!

    I had a schedule change about a month ago on my flight leaving tomorrow. I never called in because it didn’t know if I wanted my late flight or early. One of two of my upgrades cleared at the window and it looks promising that my 2nd UG will clear at the gate. I was thinking about calling in and asking to swap flights to an earlier one but I’d rather keep my UG. Can the PM desk tell me if I will clear or not if I switch to the early flight? None of the flights show UG available on delta.dumb so I don’t think anything will clear right away. Thoughts? Strategy?

    • rene says:

      @Max – Your upgrades do not auto carry over when you choose to change. If Delta force changes you they should.

  3. Deborah says:

    Hi Rene,

    If I get a schedule change that alters the departure and arrival time, can I use both to my advantage?

    Example-
    Original PDX-AMS 1:10pm-8:30am
    Reschedule PDX-AMS 1:20pm-8:20am

    Is that considered a 20 min change or only 10 min?

    Thank you!

    • rene says:

      @Deborah – Just 10. But if it changes again you can add the first 10 to the next one.

  4. Deborah says:

    @Rene-Thanks. That’s what I thought. We’re flying SLC-PDX-AMS-JNB in Nov on low level biz award tickets. We’ve had several small changes adding up to about 22 minutes so far. Would like to switch to the ATL-JNB flight but we’re going to need a bunch more changes!

    • rene says:

      @Deborah – Yeah over 30 and I bet they will think about it. If you have had any city connection changes then you are in business!

  5. Oliver Graff says:

    @Rene,
    I had a schedule change that resulted in my flight leaving and arriving 1.75 hours earlier, when I went to change it online it said there would be a balance due, and when I looked at the conditions it says that they only allow changes when the schedule change delays the flight. Have you had luck getting them to allow you to make changes for free on the phone when the flight moves earlier?

  6. Carol says:

    I have several trips scheduled yet for 2016. I try to check every Saturday for schedule changes that have occurred. However Delta doesn’t show date they made the change to my itinerary so I’m always having to refer back to my records to see if a new change has taken place.
    Any tips for how to handle this more easily?

    • rene says:

      @Carol – There is none. Delta is worthless at this. You have to check the confirmation email you got vs what is live on Delta.com. Sorry, it stinks, but that is the way it is. Keep in mind Delta blocks AwardWallet that could so help us here. 🙁

  7. Sam says:

    Rene,

    Love the schedule change rule you taught me- I use it often. What are your thoughts on pressuring a Rep to change the DAY or a ticket if there was a schedule change- say + or – one day. I am PM for what its worth. Impossible or doable?

    Thanks.

    • rene says:

      @Sam – Not sure what you are asking. Are you asking can you request day before or after? If so, most of the time no. Unless MASSIVE change. Think 6+ hours.

  8. Guy Thomas says:

    Hi Rene:
    Big schedule change coming up for flights from Narita to Bangkok. Delta has announced that it it abandoning the route (NRT/BKK). I have 5 flights (Delta One) confirmed between Oct 1 and June 28. I hate the idea of loosing Delta to Bangkok. Delta serviced Bangkok in the 80’s abandoned the flights in the 90’s and started again with the NWA merger. Great connection thru Narita. So the word is they are stopping many flights from USA to Narita and flying direct from SEA. But I can find no information on if Bangkok will be permanent or temporary. I certainly hope they are going to try to fly SEA/BKK in the near future… On my flight back to USA this week the steward in from BKK to NRT thought it would be temporary and the steward on the NRT to PDX flight thought it would be permanent.. I wrote a letter to Delta and received a quick reply which the answer was like asking a politician a question, they just give me a very nice answer but went in a circle. I learned nothing.. Abandoning one of the top cities in the world where every flight is full, everyday I do not understand… I am Diamond (have been since Diamond started) and meet with other Americans (all Diamond) in Thailand frequently.. We hate this move and are wondering what airline to jump from the Mother Ship to if this is permanent. As of today you can’t book a ticket to Bangkok after Oct 30.
    Please like to know what you have heard or what information you could find out about this terrible decision to abandon one of the top cities in the world.
    Thanks

    • rene says:

      @Guy – They are closing the station and moving all Delta folks who want to to other locations.

  9. SIMON says:

    Rene, about what time do these schedule changes occur?

    • rene says:

      @Simon – Around noon ET just about each Saturday but they can start sooner and it can take all day long. That is why I say check Sunday to be sure.

  10. Deborah says:

    I received a massive schedule change. I booked PIH-SLC rdtp as positioning flights for an AA award ticket to AKL. On the outbound we have gone from a 6pm departure to a 7AM departure. I already know my change options and don’t care for any of them. My question is how long do I wait to see if they add flights back? They usually have 3 a day and cancelled 2. There are 3 flights the day before and day after. I received this change July 31 so it’s already been 2 months.

  11. Deborah says:

    @Rene-I’m sorry I wasn’t clear. The PIH-SLC flights are on DL. They are the only carrier out of PIH. The flights are in mid-Jan. Do you think there is any chance DL will put the afternoon or evening flight back in the schedule? It’s very weird that they cancelled 2 of the 3 flights out of PIH for the day and 3 of the 5 out of IDA same day. The airports are 1 hr apart. The days before and after have the full schedule for both airports.

    • rene says:

      @Deborah – Oh I have less than zero idea about Delta scheduling. It is all about how much money they can make on any given route. They are quick to cut anything that is not a gold mine for them.

  12. Jamie says:

    Hey Deborah,

    Don’t wait – time is of the essence because if AA needs to open up a revenue fare bucket for you, you want that done earlier, because you’ll find frustration and headache when there’s only 1 seat left and revenue management is giving you dirty looks. Your connection to Auckland is valuable, so could you not connect in CLT or ORD, for example? AA should put you on one of these flights without issue, but I would not wait for the original to be added back. That’s a gamble and one I don’t think will be to your benefit.

    Let’s take this offline if you’ve got specific questions – message me on Twitter @theforwardcabin

    BTW – greetings from PHL!

  13. Rick says:

    Hi Rene, what are the rules for what we can request re DL schedule changes (i.e. if my flt changes by xx time, I can get yy)? Are the rules different for domestic vs. international? Are they different if a flt is changed to earlier vs. later? I’m looking at an international biz award tkt JFK – ZRH that was changed from 8:30 PM to 6:27 PM 6 months out. Would DL allow me to change my destination from ZRH to somewhere else in Europe in biz for the same miles regardless of current award availability? On top of that, delta.dumb priced it at way below the level one rate (not a sale, just mispriced.) Would the mileage rate I paid be the same for a new destination in the same region (e.g. VCE)?

  14. JMDADY says:

    For me the schedule change is one of Convenience not money. Flying from Honolulu to LAX I have a 14 hour lay over to go on to San Diego. Well, I only live 1hr from either airport and don’t really want to wait around 14 hours with my wife and 4 kids 1 hour from home. I’m considering mailing any things purchased and or luggage from Hawaii to my house and then jumping off in LAX and making the 1 hour drive home. Or…… chances are the same plane is not going to be used so maybe they can pull my bags and give them to me…or heck, I can drive 1 hour to my house hang out at home instead of the airport for 13 hours and then drive 1 hour to SD and go pick up my bags. What say you?

  15. Colleen says:

    My schedule changes are flights that Delta is no longer servicing–I live in Cincinnati and Delta seems to be jumping ship. I used to love the direct flight to Richmond, Virginia but that stopped in 2015. I have used the red eye from LAX to CVG too, but it now has stopped. What’s the deal? Thanks!

    • rene says:

      @Colleen – Delta is cutting any routes it can not fill. You may have to connect now or wait and see if they bring it back. I miss the days CVS was a hub!

  16. Annika says:

    My schedule changes involve a connection at JFK that is being reduced from 70 minutes to 49 minutes – SFO-JFK-DUB – Arrival at T2- Departure from T4. The departing flight at 9.20pm to Dublin is the last possible flight of the day.
    According to the “JFK-connection” thread on Flyertalk the minimum time required to get from T2 to T4 is 50 min (shuttle).
    After two calls as a PM, Delta is still refusing to change the itin for free to an alternative one that would have longer/more connections. Agents claim it still is within official MCT.

    What would you recommend I do ?

  17. r says:

    Hi Rene,

    I have an award reservation using Delta miles on Virgin Atlantic. There has been a schedule change both sides. 1 hour + while going to London and 50 minutes while coming back. (I know it is less than that golden 1 hour mark!)

    My first priority is to get rid of the London return as I am planning to fly to another destination before returning to US. The second would be to improve my onward flight as a) i have a long stopover in ATL. b) would prefer delta metal.

    are both possible? I know i could just cancel the itinerary for free but right now finding saver award on that particular route is turning out to be a pain. best I can get is JFK-LHR for 87000 miles which would still require me to get to JFK on my own!

    what would be your advice?

    thanks

  18. MW says:

    Hi Rene;

    When you get a chance, can you give me an idea how long it usually or should take for schedule related ticket changes to get re-issued if it cannot be confirmed while on the call?

    Also I’ve come across about 6 times over the last few years where ticket changes were supposed to be sent over to the manual re-issue desk but would find out later that it hadn’t been sent and only change notes found on the file. Tech issue?

    Thank you!

    • rene says:

      @MW – It should not take more than a day or two. Clearly, depending on flight time, you may need to call to push it much faster. You make a good point that things can take way too long or not happen and we need to see the re-issue to ensure all is correct and done!

  19. MW says:

    Thanks so much Rene! Much appreciated.

  20. Annoyed in SF says:

    René,

    Do you know why all 767 planes have disappeared from the SFO – JFK route? All flights lately have been on 757-200s which I find too cramped for a nearly 6 hour flight. There used to be at least one wide body flight a day but no more. What happened?

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