Help please- Delta/Celebrity air changed my flights-

[labdoggomom]

1 hour ago, paulh84 said:

Even if you get this particular situation sorted out to your linking you can count on many more changes in the next 7 months. I wouldn’t stress too much because it will happen again. 

The original flight was paid for in full and ticket with delta on March 26. Still changed and not notified by Delta or Celebrity. They are now giving me the runaround about changing the flights to something more acceptable. 

[goofysmom99]

15 minutes ago, labdoggomom said:

The original flight was paid for in full and ticket with delta on March 26. Still changed and not notified by Delta or Celebrity. They are now giving me the runaround about changing the flights to something more acceptable. 

If they're refundable, then cancel, take the refund and control things yourself.  If nonrefundable, hang on for the bumpy ride.  Looks like you're flying Christmas week = you can absolutely plan on more changes.  I've gotten to the airport the week before Christmas and faced an oversold flight which included my seats.  Now I only book first class for the holidays.  Still not a guarantee but better odds at least.  BTW, my Christmas flights this year have already changed twice since February.

[mahdnc]

40 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

BTW, I don't trust airlines to notify me of time/seat/equipment changes so I check my flights/seats each morning on my phone app.  

 

1. check on my stock portfolio

2. check my cruise reservations for changes in price or other

3. check my flights for changes

Repeat daily

[Arizona Wildcat]

3 hours ago, labdoggomom said:

Celebrity is the one telling me I need to pay more. Not Delta!

Celebrity gave my seats away. Not Delta!

Not exactly.  Delta changed the flight times.  If before final payment you can cancel for no charge.  If after you are at their mercy.

Very important to read the fine print on tickets through Celebrity Air.  Celebrity is not a travel agent, it is a consolidator. 

My tickets for next August with Alaska and American have had 3 and 8 changes since I purchased.  Nothing I can do.

Edited May 22, 2022 by Arizona Wildcat

[RickT]

Your first issue is with Delta.  They provide the flights and made a schedule change that has affected your travel plans. Celebrity had nothing to do with that.  
 

When this happens the airline reschedules you according to their rules.  Celebrity has no say in how your flights are rescheduled.  
 

What you need to do is have all your original flight details, your new flight details and finally the flight details you want even if the routing is different. Armed with this you need to speak with a supervisor at Celebrity air and work with them to get the flights you want at no additional charge to you.  Unfortunately many of the front line agents are only trained for basic transactions.  
 

If necessary insist on a three way call that includes Delta. 
 

 

[labdoggomom]

2 hours ago, RickT said:

Your first issue is with Delta.  They provide the flights and made a schedule change that has affected your travel plans. Celebrity had nothing to do with that.  
 

When this happens the airline reschedules you according to their rules.  Celebrity has no say in how your flights are rescheduled.  
 

What you need to do is have all your original flight details, your new flight details and finally the flight details you want even if the routing is different. Armed with this you need to speak with a supervisor at Celebrity air and work with them to get the flights you want at no additional charge to you.  Unfortunately many of the front line agents are only trained for basic transactions.  
 

If necessary insist on a three way call that includes Delta. 
 

 

Celebrity Air Supervisor could not do a thing. Found a replacement flight- Celebrity had to submit change to Delta. 5 day wait to find out if approved or denied. Don't forget- my original flight still exists on Delta.com. 

 

[terrydtx]

11 hours ago, labdoggomom said:

The original flight was paid for in full and ticket with delta on March 26. Still changed and not notified by Delta or Celebrity. They are now giving me the runaround about changing the flights to something more acceptable. 

Are you sure the tickets are paid in full?  You may have a booking number but until Celebrity pays for the tickets to Delta they are not paid in full. Celebrity normally does not pay for any airline tickets until after final payment, which is when you would have paid for the flights included in the final payment.

[labdoggomom]

Just now, labdoggomom said:

Celebrity Air Supervisor could not do a thing. Found a replacement flight- Celebrity had to submit change to Delta. 5 day wait to find out if approved or denied. Don't forget- my original flight still exists on Delta.com. 

 

Also- they can get me on the same flight I originally booked, in economy when I paid for first class. No mention of refund for fare difference.

[labdoggomom]

2 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Are you sure the tickets are paid in full?  You may have a booking number but until Celebrity pays for the tickets to Delta they are not paid in full. Celebrity normally does not pay for any airline tickets until after final payment, which is when you would have paid for the flights included in the final payment.

[labdoggomom]

Just now, labdoggomom said:

3 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

Are you sure the tickets are paid in full?  You may have a booking number but until Celebrity pays for the tickets to Delta they are not paid in full. Celebrity normally does not pay for any airline tickets until after final payment, which is when you would have paid for the flights included in the final payment.

Yes. I have a confirmation number. I paid for the flights in full so I could ensure they were ticketed.   Ha.. 

[terrydtx]

4 minutes ago, labdoggomom said:

Yes. I have a confirmation number. I paid for the flights in full so I could ensure they were ticketed.   Ha.. 

A confirmation number does not mean they are paid for, I have confirmation numbers for my flights booked for our August cruise, but the tickets have not been paid for by the cruise line until after final payment next month. You need to check this out with Delta and Celebrity, but I will bet your tickets for December are NOT paid for by Celebrity. Unless you have already paid the cost of the tickets to Celebrity, they are not paid in full. I have a lot of experience dealing with FBC and HAL flight ease so I am speaking from experience.

Edited May 22, 2022 by terrydtx

[mahdnc]

6 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

A confirmation number does not mean they are paid for, I have confirmation numbers for my flights booked for our August cruise, but the tickets have not been paid for by the cruise line until after final payment next month. You need to check this out with Delta and Celebrity, but I will bet your tickets for December are NOT paid for by Celebrity. Unless you have already paid the cost of the tickets to Celebrity, they are not paid in full. I have a lot of experience dealing with FBC and HAL flight ease so I am speaking from experience.

 

As you know, when you initially make your air booking thru FBC, you are given the option of paying for the flights in full right at that time instead of waiting for final cruise payment. I know that option negates one of the big advantages of FBC. 

 

However if you choose the immediate payment option, I presume you should be fully air ticketed even if your cruise is not paid in full, right?

[labdoggomom]

I have paid the cost of the tickets to Celebrity. Then Delta confirmed that they were paid for and ticketed them . 

 

I had a very specific conversation with Celebrity air about this. 

[terrydtx]

Just now, mahdnc said:

 

As you know, when you initially make your air booking thru FBC, you are given the option of paying for the flights in full right at that time instead of waiting for final cruise payment. I know that option negates one of the big advantages of FBC. 

 

However if you choose the immediate payment option, I presume you should be fully air ticketed even if your cruise is not paid in full, right?

You are correct, but the cost of the tickets have to be paid to Celebrity at the time of booking them. My experience is once the tickets are paid by the cruise line you can deal with the booked airline directly instead of FBC in the middle. Our cruise from FLL last year on the Equinox had so many flight changes and worse aircraft type changes, including the week before the cruise departure. I was able to deal directly with Delta on all the changes, after final payment.

[terrydtx]

3 minutes ago, labdoggomom said:

I have paid the cost of the tickets to Celebrity. Then Delta confirmed that they were paid for and ticketed them . 

 

I had a very specific conversation with Celebrity air about this. 

If this is the case then Delta should be dealing directly with you instead of dealing with FBC. 

[labdoggomom]

The problem at the moment, the representatives at Celebrity are so poorly trained- you don't know if they are telling you the truth or they just don't know. 

[mayleeman]

Or, and this is only from the "--- happens" school of acceptance/resignation, you could just accept the new flights and realize that even if it is inconvenient, at least you didn't get totally bumped.

 

But I have never minded waiting in airports. YMMV, obviously. I do know how maddening air travel changes can be. On my first cross-country flight, I had gotten front-of-plane window seats almost a year prior. Had plans to use my new camera over the  Rockies. Got bumped to a middle section when they changed type of plane 1 week before. Turned out that the sky was cloudy the entire flight, not a single glimpse of the ground between DC and Calif.

 

Good luck!

Edited May 22, 2022 by mayleeman

[B_A_H]

Everyone's looking for clarity where none exists.  The number of schedule changes being made right now due to crew shortages and aircraft shortages is enormous.  With that, the volume of calls this creates to airline call centers is causing 10 hour hold times.  If you call an airline on a reservation booked through a travel agency they are going to refer you back to the travel agency.  

 

This is from Delta's website:

 

 

The RCI air program covers Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, and Azamara.  Single program with different branding.  They are a travel agency and they sell both published and bulk fares and have special terms with the major airlines that allow more flexibility than what the published fare rules dictate. The volume they produce for the airlines gives them sway when exceptions need to be made. There are things they can have done by an airline that we couldn't have done individually. That doesn't mean they have time to or will. 

 

Using myself as an example, I'm flying to Amsterdam on United on a bulk business class fare.  My return flight had connections in Chicago and Houston.  The Chicago to Houston flight had a schedule change leaving me 50 minutes to connect to the last flight home from Houston.  Celebrity said 50 minutes was fine.  I knew it wasn't especially connecting to the last flight of the day.  I called United and because I have status they reissued the ticket Amsterdam to Houston to home.  They didn't have to but they did.  At least the CSR I spoke to did.  Another CSR may have directed me back to Celebrity because United's policy is the same as Delta's. 

 

Back to the OP. What happened to you is happening thousands of times a day.  This is going to be the worst summer travel season in history due to crew and aircraft shortages.  And that's not even taking in to account severe weather disruptions that hit the Houston, Dallas, and Atlanta hubs every summer. 

 

If you have status with an airline that will help a lot in navigating through all of this.  If you don't, you're just one of the thousands impacted by all these changes.  If Delta told OP they won't help and Celebrity said they won't help that's the end of the road.  While it's not fair, OP is going to either have to accept the new schedule or bear the brunt and take matters in to his or her own hands at whatever cost.

 

"Customer service" is out the window this summer and we'll all be lucky if we get where we're going the same day we're supposed to. 

 

 

[micruiser2002]

Have you even tried to go on the Delta website and change the flights yourself???

[tonto524]

One more thought - ask for your ticket numbers.  That's the only way you can be assured that the tickets have actually been issued. 

I'm sorry that this has happened, but even in the pre-covid days, our flights (booked by me or through a cruise line) changed many times before we travelled.  It's maddening when you've tried to get the best schedule and price, but it's sadly just the name of the game - then and now. 

[rch3]

Delta is a mess. We booked months ago for LEX to ATL to FCO for a June Med sailing.  On the return trip, delta canceled the ATL to LEX flight we were ticketed, requiring a 5 hr. Layover in ATL and return to LEX at midnight. Ugh.  Rebooked FCO to ATL to an earlier flight to arrive for an earlier flight to LEX.  Then, that flight was canceled so we’re back to 5 hours in ATL.  Couldn’t change back to later flight from FCO—sold out.

 

Then part 2 of this saga begins.  On outbound journey, 3 p.m. flight to ATL from LEX gets canceled.  Now leaving at noon insuring a 5.7 hr. ATL layover.  (We can drive to ATL in less time than flying and laying over.) Then, to add insult to injury, Delta changes the equipment for the ATL to FCO overnight flight so that the Comfort+ configuration is no longer 2x4x2, and is now 3x3x3.  Having been in a row of 2, and not wishing to spend 9.5 hrs in a middle seat in a row with a stranger, Delta was “kind” enough to permit us to purchase up to what they call premium select, at pretty significant expense.  

 

All first world problems, I know, and the airlines are struggling to get their schedules back in order, but I have NEVER in 45 years of flying Delta, my preferred airline, been jerked around like this. 

[labdoggomom]

37 minutes ago, tonto524 said:

One more thought - ask for your ticket numbers.  That's the only way you can be assured that the tickets have actually been issued. 

I'm sorry that this has happened, but even in the pre-covid days, our flights (booked by me or through a cruise line) changed many times before we travelled.  It's maddening when you've tried to get the best schedule and price, but it's sadly just the name of the game - then and now. 

Thank you. I will do that. 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

18 hours ago, RTShaker said:

I think the issue here is that the original flights are still available on the airline side of things.

I had the same issue.   I was changed to a different flight with a long lay over.   AA kept the same flight time as my original booking but gave it a different flight number. (shell game).    I called and they rebootedsf me on my original flight time with no additional costs.

[labdoggomom]

6 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

I had the same issue.   I was changed to a different flight with a long lay over.   AA kept the same flight time as my original booking but gave it a different flight number. (shell game).    I called and they rebootedsf me on my original flight time with no additional costs.

Delta has restored my original flights, but Celebrity has to reissue the tickets. There probably has been an increase in price, which Celebrity will have to absorb. At the current moment Celebrity is refusing to reissue the tickets. I have been on hold with Celebrity Air for an hour. 

[hcat]

DELTA changes  flight times regularly. We always checked daily when booked with them, domestic or int'l.  I imagine it has only gotten worse! 

 

They once changed our departure from Rome Airport back  to  NY to such an early hour we could never have  made it on time  from the pier at Cv.

 

Although DELTA  re-changed our flight to the next day for no change fee ( ha ha) we were lucky seats were available.  We had to re schedule our limo to a hotel in Fuminico ( interesting place), and were lucky to find an available hotel on a booking site that took payment in dollars. And more money for meals and  a taxi to the airport!

 

I can only imagine the frustration with another entity involved...We wish OP good luck but as mentioned by others,,,it might happen again...and again.

 

DELTA is the worst, not that BA  or Virgin  deserve prizes either!

Even domestically, it will only get worse.  Already had a Frontier flt cancelled