It's been said before but...check your flight times!

[natish3000]

We are flying American out of Cincinnati into Miami for Enchantment Apr 29, 2006. We booked our air in Sept 2005.

The flight times were almost perfect.

Then I checked the times two days ago and our 2:16pm return flight was changed to 8:40PM. Not a real big deal just had some time to kill.

Today I checked again and now our flight down, which was to arrive at 10:30am is arriving at 4:30pm (sailing is at 5:00pm) and our return is leaving at 10:30am (Ship docks at 9:00am).

So we had to change both flights.

We went ahead and took the advice of the MANY wise folks here and are now flying in the day before and departing the day after.

As long as the flights aren't cancelled, we'll make them now for sure.

So, if you booked your own flights, check them often so there are no last minute suprises.

[Sheffie]

Good advice. I recently checked our friends' itinerary and it was a MESS! This is their first cruise and they were on different flights than us. I am so glad that I checked or they would have really been in a mess that might not have been able to be straightened up at the last minute. Returning from San Juan, they had them going from SJU to Orlando and then from Fort Lauderdale to Richmond and then from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale! It took HOURS on the phone to get it all straightened out, but it is fine now.

[cb at sea]

I know others have had problems like this on other airlines, but the only time this has happened to me was with American. What's up with them?? I, too, had a huge mess-up with our itinerary. It's fixed, for now, but who's to say it won't happen again? Very frustrating!!!

[Lauriebugg]

Good advice! Are you flying Delta? Flying into Miami from our home in Cincinnati I would be flying in the same day. We fly the day before though for Monarch of the Seas because of sailing from Los Angeles so that is comforting. Just curious if it was Delta because they are changing so much.

[Mike&Nancy]

If you book them yourselves, and IMHO, even if the cruise lines book them, you should keep an eye on them for that particular reason alone. We've used Delta exclusively to fly from Kansas City to Miami and FLL, and inevitably when we book early to get decent rates, when I check back a few months later, EVERYTHING has changed. Flight times, seats, stops, etc. And like everyone else, it takes forever to iron everything out. So, recently when we've flown, in particular to San Francisco, we've taken Midwest Express(best care in the air). So far So good. And I know they have a non-stop from here to FLL, and are reasonable. So, I have every intention of booking with them when the time comes. But, the end result is.....check, check, and re-check. Heck, I'm sure everyone keeps an eye on their cruise price, don't they?? Same should go for the airlines.

 

Happy cruising, everyone. Can't wait until ours.

 

 

Mike!!:D

[CruisinDawn]

United phones me & emails me if there is any change in our flight. If American offers this sign up for it, can really help avoid headaches.

 

Last week my husbands flight from Montana was canceled because of weather. When he met his traveling partner for breakfast he already knew that the flight had been canceled and they had already booked him on the next flight. The other gentleman had not signed up for the service, had no clue his flight was canceled and by the time he spoke with United the next flight was full. He had to wait another few hours for the 2nd flight out. :(

 

BonVoyage

Dawna

[sailor05]

I had 2 perfect flights booked out of Dayton, Oh. on American Airlines. Both were non-stop flights at near perfect times. Without even notifying me, they cancelled both flights and re-booked me on flights that were like 12 hours in duration. The return flight was to depart Miami at 9:00 in the morning, which absolutely would not have worked. So I cancelled the flights and got a refund. So now I'm back to square one.

Keep checking your flight times up unti the day you leave!!!

[natish3000]

It is through American and yes they do have the flight change notification.

Good idea.

The reason behind most of this is the bankrupt status of most airlines.

They have to consolidate and change schedules to save them the most money.

Unfortunately, that's not really the way to keep customers.

But...what are you gonna do? Drive 18 hours?

The only thing i am afraid of at this point is that they will cancel the ONLY non stop flight they have (which is what we are booked for).

The non stop is 2 hours 31 minutes from Cinci.

Some of the other flights with layovers are 20 hours or more!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hopefully it doesnt change from here.

Good luck to all!!!

[Lauriebugg]

Just now I received 2 phone mesages today from Airtran Airlines asking me to call because of a change in the schedule. Way to go, Airtran for communicating!

[nancyox]

i just posted earlier this week about a similar experience with american...they did NOT notify me..i went to print out my son's tic and the time was changed from a 7 AM to a 4 PM flight which arrived at 7:49PM; they put my daughter on a 10 AM flight...they didn't even put them on the same flight!! everything else was sold out so they said they could go out the day before and stay over or i could cancel. i asked if they would pay for the hotel and of course was told no...long story short, i cancelled and rebooked them on usair the day before; after that, i wasn't about to give them a penny of my $$$.

 

nancy

[tadjr]

All airlines change schedules all the time and its not just because of the bankruptcies. Most airlines dont finalize their schedules until 45-60 days out. If you booked more than 60 days out there is a chance that your flight times could have been changed or the flight no longer operates (or no longer operates at the times originally scheduled.) There are some instances where the airlines will change schedules within this time frame so its always a good idea to check once in a while, but it does not happen as frequently as if you booked far in advance.

If you booked directly through the airlines website or reservations, it is their responsibility to notify you. If you booked through a travel agency or online booking website other than the airlines, then it is up to them to notify you since most of them will not give the airline your personal contact number and only list themselves as the contact. Dont rely on them to keep checking your flights or to email changes the airlines send out to them.

I've seen more than my fair share of missed flights for this very reason.

Also, seats are not guaranteed and are subject to change depending on the aircraft flying the flight. Your particular flight may be the exact same type as it was when you first booked 10 months ago, but may have gone through 3 or 4 schedule and aircraft changes by the time your flight leaves. This is one reason your seats will often be different than what it shows you requested and received at original booking.

Check, check and recheck.

Also a good idea to just verify the date and month of your booking. This is another one of those "wow, I wasnt expecting that!" at checkin that can hurt.