Flight Itinerary Changes FREQUENTLY!

[drdaddy]

Another problem I have encountered is my air ititnerary. We decided that Princess' price, FLL - Vancouver and Fairbanks - FLL was way out of line. I booked American my self and saved $286 per ticket! And arranged the best seats I could with the best itinerary I could. BUT, American has changed the itinerary 3 times since late January and we still have 75 days left to go.

 

The inbound flight is long enough already. They made it even longer with longer layovers. I called them, not too nasty an attitude I might add, and they GLADLY changed it to whatever flight I wanted, at no charge. I was flabbergasted. Got a better routing than the original. But they did it again about 1 week ago and they changed it again. Today I noticed another change, one that made the flight over 15 hours long with layovers. But this one was the first leg, Fairbanks to Anchorage. It was on Alaska Air but it was an American flight number. American changed the flight to another Alaska Air (Alaska's own flight number this time) and I am back with a flight duration that will not kill is.

 

I guess this is one reason you cannot get any flight info from the cruise lines until 30 days out? I have never experienced this before to such a degree. Flight to Vegas leave 10 minutes different either way sometimes but with such long flights, this is getting to be a joke. It pays to check your flights and I guess your cruise personalizer so that matter DAILY.

[MichTraveler]

For those of us who book flights far in advance, the flights can change many times between booking and travel. They are usually stabilize within 30 days. NWA doesn't let you choose seats until 90 days before, while others such as UAL allow you to choose seats far in advance. Then each time the flight number changes, the seats change too. I find I spend quite a bit of planning time checking on flight changes and re-choosing seats. Still beats waiting until travel day and finding out the times have changed and you're stuck in undesireable seats. Hope you have a safe flight!

[Italy52]

Flight times, equipment changes, and seat assignments is a common occurrence for flights made far in advance. This practice is not limited to a particular airline either. The only thing one can do is monitor their flight arrangements regularly and contact the airlines when changes occur. I know it might seem like a pain, but it definitely prevents surprises later.

 

If you are a FF (frequent flyer) your itineraries should be posted to your account. When I make arrangements, I monitor our itinerary every couple of days. If there is a change, I call the airlines ASAP and get it resolved.

[jimbug]

Yes, almost every time that I've booked air far, far in advance (4-6 months or so), there have been changes with our flights.