Is it normal practice for airlines in the USA to keep altering their departure times?

[bobhsv]

Have just been checking things re our trip to the States. A reasonable amount of air time is booked, as we have 3 cruises, plus land, in different areas.

 

Our times for the Dallas to Miami codeshare sector have altered a few times, and are back to just a 2hr layover (being from Sydney Aust). Ok, I am getting used to this, and will check right up until our departure.

 

Now I see online where our flights from Anchorage to LAX via Seattle....some 5 weeks later....have dived from a 12.30pm departure, to a 7am departure. We have not had any emails regarding this. I consider it a huge change in times. We won't even be off the ship in Whittier at 7am:eek:

 

Questions are....Is this normal practice for the USA? Am I going to have to check online constantly, esp during this last cruise?

 

Thanks, Jen:)

[ducklite]

It is normal. You need to call your carrier NOW to get the Anchorage flight changed.

[kelkel2]

Unfortunately, yes it is normal. I hate it, which is why I don't book with Delta anymore...THey do it all the time and it drives me crazy!

[alcpa1]

Delta is not the only airline that changes times and equipment!

 

Jen,

Call your airline to change your flight. When you have such a substantial change they must either accommodate you accordingly or refund your fare. That's the rule. Because the change exceeds 5 hours you have the upper hand. It would be best to look at your airline's schedule to pick another flight or two and then call the airline. The alteration will go much more smoothly.

 

Good luck!

[bobhsv]

Thanks. All sorted. Seems I will have to keep a stronger eye on this, as sounds like it may happen again. Must be frustrating for you all if it happens regularly.

 

Jen

[FlyerTalker]

There are MANY Alaska flight from ANC to SEA. And an equal amount from SEA to LAX. If you give AS a call, I suspect they may be able to assist you with something that works better. It cannot hurt to call.

[bobhsv]

There are MANY Alaska flight from ANC to SEA. And an equal amount from SEA to LAX. If you give AS a call, I suspect they may be able to assist you with something that works better. It cannot hurt to call.

 

 

Thanks. We originally booked a specific time, which by the way is still available. I have no idea why they changed us to 7am, but it has been changed back to original time again. The second sector Seattle to LAX was unaltered......that is atm:D

 

I was just wondering how often this happens....and seems quite a bit. eg the Dallas/Miami has changed 4 times so far, with a 4hr layover/2hr/4hr/then back to 2hr. I was advised to keep an eye on the Anchorage flights as during cruise season they book quickly. The others I can work around. I admit it was frustrating me a bit (all the changes so far), as obviously other things are planned. Thanks for all your advice. I appreciate it so much......and will keep watching now that I know.

 

I realise your air traffic is prob tenfold compared to Oz, which explains a lot of the time changes I guess. Much appreciated guys!

 

Jen:)

[Fattony]

If we answer yes, will the airines change? Lots of airlines chang eitineraries. I haven't experienced it with Delta more than with any other carrier.

 

We have a complicated international flight, involving 4 different carriers, soon, so I've kept track of the flights on a regular basis. Booked through US Airwlays, and they recently sent me an e-mail alerting me to a change in the itinerary. Turned out to be just a flight # change on a United flight included in the ticket.

[marco]

I remember last year we had reservations on Delta and made them several months before the trip. I don't know how many e-mails we received regarding flight time changes however, all were between 3 and 12 minutes difference. I also recall a while back (again, on Delta) they had terminated a non-stop flight we were booked on after we had made the reservations. I called and was rebooked on different flights requiring connections. No big deal, but the agent made such a big deal out of "and of course, there is no charge for changing your flights" Well.....duh......you cancelled my flight and there would have even been a remote possibility that you would charge me a changing fee to put me on a different flight!?!?!?!?!?

[bobhsv]

I remember last year we had reservations on Delta and made them several months before the trip. I don't know how many e-mails we received regarding flight time changes however, all were between 3 and 12 minutes difference. I also recall a while back (again, on Delta) they had terminated a non-stop flight we were booked on after we had made the reservations. I called and was rebooked on different flights requiring connections. No big deal, but the agent made such a big deal out of "and of course, there is no charge for changing your flights" Well.....duh......you cancelled my flight and there would have even been a remote possibility that you would charge me a changing fee to put me on a different flight!?!?!?!?!?

 

 

We didn't get an email. I found it online, so no idea when it changed. Not to worry....I now know to keep looking at it.

 

Funny you should say about the complimentary 'no charge'....when our flights were altered, our prepaid seats also went into oblivion. Lucky I keep receipts. They are not with Delta btw.

 

No worries now.......

Jen:)

[kenish]

It sounds like your flights are quite a few months in the future. Although you should always keep checking, the flight times are much less likely to change inside the 1-2 month mark.

 

Were the DFW-MIA flight on AA and the ANC-SEA-LAX flights on AS booked as QF codeshare flights? That may explain (but not excuse) why you were switched to other flights when your original flights still exist. Just speculation on my part; others with more expertise can comment.

 

Someone stated there is a "rule" that you must be rebooked if your flight time changes substantially. There is no government regulation to this effect in the US. In fact, the Contract of Carriage for most airlines worldwide state they must get you from A to B, but also state they are not obligated to get you there at any specific time. The timetable is merely a "handy suggestion" where the CoC is concerned! That said, airlines are generally willing to rebook when a change is more than 2 hours.

[bobhsv]

It sounds like your flights are quite a few months in the future. Although you should always keep checking, the flight times are much less likely to change inside the 1-2 month mark.

 

Were the DFW-MIA flight on AA and the ANC-SEA-LAX flights on AS booked as QF codeshare flights? That may explain (but not excuse) why you were switched to other flights when your original flights still exist. Just speculation on my part; others with more expertise can comment.

 

Someone stated there is a "rule" that you must be rebooked if your flight time changes substantially. There is no government regulation to this effect in the US. In fact, the Contract of Carriage for most airlines worldwide state they must get you from A to B, but also state they are not obligated to get you there at any specific time. The timetable is merely a "handy suggestion" where the CoC is concerned! That said, airlines are generally willing to rebook when a change is more than 2 hours.

 

Yes, we are 3mths out, so plenty of time. All the flights come under one alliance, with Qantas being the main and initial carrier. QF Syd/Dallas, QF/AA Dallas/Miami, AA Miami/LAX, Alaskan/Anchorage to LAX with changeover to AA (still under Alaskan) for the Seattle to LAX leg, QF LAX/Syd. All ticketed togther. We have separate flights Burbank/LV return.

 

When first booked, they all appeared on our Qantas booking manager. Then bit by bit, they went across to the other airlines. I hope that makes sense.

 

I will leave it and check again in a months time.....except for the Anchorage flight, as we are on a schedule with this one ie after 12.30pm, not before.

 

Thanks for explaining it to me:)

[marco]

I don't know if there is a "minimum" amount of time when they change flight times, but when they change the times, you sometimes can take a completely different flight with no changing charge. Family was on a 7AM departure (which they were not all that keen on leaving that early) The flight time changed by 12 minutes, they called and said, "since the departure time changed, can we take the 1PM flight instead?" They said "yes, no charge". But the reason they did not book the 1PM departure in the first place, was that it cost $80 more pp than the 7AM flight. Go figure!!!!!!!

[cluso]

We had Delta multi-city tickets VPS-LAS-PDX ( direct flight-codeshare Alaska Airlines) then back to VPS booked 6 months in advance. We are Silver and Million Milers. I always check for changes, sometimes you get emailed, sometimes not. When I checked this, the LAS-PDX was completely dropped. After several calls and several hours, verdict was Alaskan Alirlines had changed the flight time by 1 & 1/2 hours , but even though they had the same flight number and plenty of seats available, Delta could not rebook us on this flight because it was not the "same category". They offered to let us fly the day before or the day after (not a player for our needs), or refund our $$ (to rebook exact same flight was more than $200 a person) or they could switch us to a non-direct flight going through SLC arriving somewhat later and was twice as long as the nonstop flight. They said it was Alaskan Airlines fault, but it sure felt like bait and switch. They had our money, we had our tickets--felt like that was an issue between the airlines. So we are going through SLC--didn't want to disappoint the kids/grandkids. But still PO'd!

[Zach1213]

I don't know if there is a "minimum" amount of time when they change flight times, but when they change the times, you sometimes can take a completely different flight with no changing charge. Family was on a 7AM departure (which they were not all that keen on leaving that early) The flight time changed by 12 minutes, they called and said, "since the departure time changed, can we take the 1PM flight instead?" They said "yes, no charge". But the reason they did not book the 1PM departure in the first place, was that it cost $80 more pp than the 7AM flight. Go figure!!!!!!!

 

12 minutes seems like an awfully small amount of time for a free change. Was there a connection that was already tight to begin with, so that the 12 minutes put the connection under "minimum connection time"?

[Globaliser]

12 minutes seems like an awfully small amount of time for a free change.

Of course, airline staff can sometimes be very kind.

 

Once, I arrived at GLA very early for my flight to LHR. There was another flight before mine, so I asked whether it would help the airline for me to move to the earlier flight. "No," said the agent, "I can't move you on your ticket. But leave your boarding pass with me in case anything changes."

 

Ten minutes later, she calls me over to her desk. "Your flight has just picked up a fifteen minute delay, so I can now put you on the flight that's just started boarding over there. Here's your new boarding pass."

[VillaHappy]

Airtran loves to do this. They are very good at communicating via email when there is a change. To me, it's not a big deal to change a flight from 7am to 7:15am. But I read the email to see what the details were.

 

Because of the minor change, we were given the option to change our flights. I was excited to learn that, for free, we were able to switch our flight from the day after the cruise to the day of the cruise.

[Blondebomb]

I answered the phone and it is a recording saying my son's plane for later next month (Thanksgiving time) the time had changed. I mulled it over in my head and thought, hmm only by a few minutes.

Then I had that light bulb moment. I had book the round trip ticket going the WRONG WAY! thru PRICELINE no less.

In complete panic, I called Delta and explained what I had done wrong. I remember her name was Irene ( because, hurricane Irene, made us miss our Bermuda cruise a few months earlier) She couldn't have been nicer. I was at the panic and lump in my throat, on verge of tears. ( my dad had had a stroke) I wanted my son home for Thanksgiving.

Instead of Priceline,(who couldn't help me) she went to several upper people at Delta and got the fee waved. I only payed an extra $50 for what could have been a horrible mistake.

 

So now I am so glad for when they contact me about a flight change. :)

 

Susan PS. Never book a flight when you have been up too late!