Help!! Delta changed my flight schedule by TWO DAYS!?

Question

We are flying to Belize for our honeymoon on Delta. Delta has recently changed their schedules eliminating our Wednesday flight home. They have graciously (cough, cough) offered to move our return flight to the Mon before or Fri after, which puts us in a bind as we have already paid for our NON-REFUNDABLE hotel stay through Wed morning, and do not have the money or to stay two days longer. They have also offered to refund our money, but now, less than a month out, all other flights are nearly double what we paid and we can't afford those. HOW DO I GET DELTA TO BUY US OTHER TIX TO GET HOME OR PAY FOR THE DAYS WE WILL MISS OUT ON OUR HOTEL OR THE DAYS WE WILL STAY LONGER?

Answer 1

i recently had my itinerary changed by only an hour... however snce it was the difference between getting home at 11 30 at night, or 12:30 the next morning... american airlines, refunded me in full.  

the woman who i called even got on the phone with me and helped me cancel my hotel stay for free.

its their problem they changed your flight, tell them you want to cancel completely then find a cheaper more convenient flight somewhere else.

btw clear a 3 hour block of time to be on the phone with them.  and just be tough.  tell them the change is completely unacceptable and that you need it canceled with no penalties... keep asking for a supervisor if necessary!

good luck

Answer 2

You should be contacting them not Yahoo answers.  Get on the phone with them.

Answer 3

You need to review the International Contract of Carriage (see below).  By my cursory reading, it seems that this is an Involuntary Revised Routing (Rule 80, paragraph C.2).

Given that this is a DL-initiated schedule change, they are required to do one of the following:

- Transfer you to the destination or connection point at a different time on a flight they operate (which they've done)

- Endorse the ticket over to another airline.  This should be your next request from DL.

- If there is an earlier arrival possible, DL may be required to put you in First Class on that flight.  Given your question, though, it seems that the only earlier flight is not reasonable.  Save this for future reference, though.

- Provide a full refund, with no fees applied.  

As it appears DL is unable to get you to your destination on the stated day of travel, you should push for DL to put you on another airline.  Note that if fares are higher, DL cannot charge you the difference.  However, if fares are lower, DL must refund the difference.  

The DL customer service reps should be familiar with the rules, but it is obviously less costly for them to refund your money or put you on an alternate DL flight than it is to pay for you to go on another airline.  This is why they pushed that option.  They are REQUIRED to put you on another carrier, though, so force the issue if needed.

Edit:

@wkharris: If you look at the Contract of Carriage I linked below, you will see that one of Delta's obligations includes booking the segment(s) in question on another carrier, should the passenger refuse the refund.  The refund is, of course, the cheapest "out" for Delta, but clearly not the best deal for the passenger.

@Emily W: Taking the refund, booking a cheaper flight on your own, and then asking Delta to refund you the difference is not good advice.  After Delta provides the refund, they have fulfilled their obligation to the passenger and are under no further obligation, legally, to compensate any further.  DL should be the ones to rebook the original poster on another airline and eat any additional cost, or refund the fare difference if cheaper.  Also, the reason why American gave you the refund is because the change resulted in you arriving on a different day, even though it was only an hour.  That is key.

@Jon: Absolutely correct!

Answer 4

Good luck with getting a airline change.  The airline caveats cover just about everything.  Another possibility is to go to you mother or father (who ever has the softer touch) in tears saying the your Wedding and Honeymoon are ruined.  That you would love to stay a few days longer but can't aford it. . . .  Let them stew over it for a day or two and you will get your great honeymoon.   :-)

Answer 5

I contacted Delta because they changed my flight itinerary.  So I called customer service and was told that normally airlines do not give hotel vouchers but I can try asking by going to www.delta.com and go to Contact Us.  I then wrote up a letter stating what happened by including my confirmation number.  I just did this today so Delta says to give them about 3-4 days to process your request.

Answer 6

When you bought the Delta tickets, Delta took on the responsibility of getting you to home ON the date you wanted to get there. There should be no compromise on that. If Delta itself had to cancel the flight for any reason, they must offer to endorse your ticket on another airline. This basically means that they have to arrange for another airline to take you, and if there's a difference in price, they will have to eat it. You shouldn't be asked to pay anything. What I'd suggest is that you call the Delta customer service reps and tell them that you MUST get back on Wednesday- you can't compromise. Tell them that you want your tickets endorsed on another airline. Explain that you booked your flight on Wednesday for a reason and that you stand to lose a good amount of money if you can't. Be firm and confident and they'll realize they can't pull anything over you :)

Good luck!

Answer 7

To use the industry lingo, they have to reaccomodate you on another carrier, at their expense.  In other words, they should buy you a ticket on American or some other airline.  2 days is utterly unreasonable.

If they refuse, ask to speak to a supervisor, or call back to get a different customer service agent.

Answer 8

Delta will not pay for the additional hotel days or buy you a ticket on another airline, delta was contracted to get you home on the days you stated, since your flight schedule was changed by more than 90 minutes delta will offer you a refund to your airline tickets if you call them. otherwise come home 2 days early or stay 2 days later.