Flight times can change don't be caught offguard

I just checked a flight I had booked back in April for November travel. The non-stop I had is now non-existent and I had to scramble.

Funny thing, when I called USAIR from my cell they knew by the phone number who I was. That's great but did it ever occur to you to call me and tell me THE FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED

Keep checking that flight you booked every few weeks, they change them willy nilly and keep you in the dark

I just checked a flight I had booked back in April for November travel. The non-stop I had is now non-existent and I had to scramble.

 

Funny thing' date=' when I called USAIR from my cell they knew by the phone number who I was. That's great but did it ever occur to you to call me and tell me THE FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED

 

Keep checking that flight you booked every few weeks, they change them willy nilly and keep you in the dark[/quote']

 

 

yes, they change constantly. I booked a flight in January that was to take place in June. It changed 4 times before I finally got on the plane, and the return flight changed while I was at my destination.

You can request they notify you if anything about your flight changes...almost every carrier will do that...either by phone, e-mail or text!

I check my reservations once a month or so until the last month when I check weekly and the night before.

Might be worth mentioning that when the airlines reschedule you after a flight cancellation they don't always end up giving you what you'd consider to be a convenient connection (or even one that gets you there in time). Calling the airline in this event can get you better results.

I've had airlines "cancel" afew flights I scheduled months in advance too. However 99% of the time they just moved me to a flight within an hour or 2 of the original.

Admit at first I was scared just looking at the airline website and not finding the flights I booked as flight number and time didn't show. Then checked the confirmation number and could relax, except for having to change times with my taxi service for pickup and drop off at the airports.

But thats not too hard.

I booked an overseas flight with Delta for my Europe cruise about 7 months ahead of time. They must have changed it at least 6 or 7 times before I left. The last time was about 3 months before where the flight from Venice to Paris to take the overseas flight back to the US was cancelled. They booked me on a flight that got into the US 2 hours after my connecting flight to my hometown would have left. On my itinerary on the website it said "due to this change you may miss your connecting flight"???? Two hours later....ya think? When I called the customer service person actually laughed and said it is totally automated so sometimes the computer 'screws up" She totally rerouted me and got everything straightened out but they had not notified me either. I just happened to look up my itinerary. I just booked airfair for a cruise next May. So we will see how this goes.

Sometimes the flight change is good news.

I just checked a flight I had booked back in April for November travel. The non-stop I had is now non-existent and I had to scramble.

 

Funny thing' date=' when I called USAIR from my cell they knew by the phone number who I was. That's great but did it ever occur to you to call me and tell me THE FLIGHT WAS CANCELLED

 

Keep checking that flight you booked every few weeks, they change them willy nilly and keep you in the dark[/quote']

 

 

We always fly USAir and we have always received emails when they change flight times. We actually just received an email 2 weeks ago because they changed our departing flight time for our upcoming Oct. cruise.

 

Our flight times have been changed many times. I am always prepared for that.:)

In addition to changing flight times, you may have your seats changed (i.e. window from an aisle, back of the plane instead of the front).

We always fly USAir and we have always received emails when they change flight times. We actually just received an email 2 weeks ago because they changed our departing flight time for our upcoming Oct. cruise.

 

Our flight times have been changed many times. I am always prepared for that.:)

Well the us air I had the rezzies with did not do that for me. I think it might be because it was an award ticket.

We once had a flight changed on us that turned into a two-day ordeal.

This was not a flight to a port for a cruise, but just a month ago, we had a flight to Paris that had been booked for a year. A few months before, the first leg of the flight was changed to a couple of hours later in the morning. The airline did notify us, and they assured us that an hour and a half was plenty of time to catch the connecting flight in Chicago.

Well, the plane was over an hour late in taking off from San Diego because of bad weather in Chicago. They even closed O'Hare down for a while. We were hopeful that this meant that our connecting flight would be delayed too, but it turned out that we missed our flight by 30 minutes. We were stuck in Chicago overnight on our own dime because since it was weather related, the airline wasn't liable. The next day, we got on our rebooked flight to Paris. One hour into the flight, there was smoke in the aft galley and we had to make an emergency landing in Toronto, with the plane being met with a fire engine and everything. Kind of exciting. This resulted in our staying overnight in Toronto, this time with the airline putting us up. We had arranged for transportation from the airport to the hotel in Paris which had to be changed twice, and ended up costing us because of the 24-hour cancellation clause.

We usually get insurance for cruises, but did not have trip insurance for this trip. Who knew the sequence of events would result in a two-day delay? :eek:

Short of insurance, I don't know what could have been done differently. 1 1/2 hours should have been enough time between flights.

Not only do they change flights, but sometimes you don't get the same seat either.

Delta cancelled a flight from LAX to NYC, and rebooked us two hours later and put us in the very back row of the plane. When I had row 12 on the first flight. I was not a happy camper, but nothing you can do about it. No notification at all, until we arrived at the airport.

Now I try to book priority seating. It may cost me $25 but it's worth it, now I get emails if flight time/flights change.

That is a horrible experience, you better stay home for the rest of your lives...NOT! What a story to tell.

I check my reservations once a month or so until the last month when I check weekly and the night before.

me too and get email if any changes occur.

We always check a few days before

The airlines themselves have the change notifications via email or txt, and if you have a smartphone there are several apps which do the same thing. I use both, and for some reason the notification from the airline always comes after the nonaffiliated ones, sometimes by a 15 minutes or more. Both are also good for determining if a flight has departed, departed late, is stil in the air, or arrived at the destination.

I went and checked on mine because of this thread.

My flights have changed.

In both cases, my first flight leaves a little later and my last flight arrives a little earlier.

Some changes I can handle. :D

We always check a few days before

Not giving yourself any time to make changes that may have occurred a few months ago.

I check every monday. (sometimes the flight has changed the time-- or the plane changed to a smaller or bigger plane and I lost my seats.

Catching it in time gives me the options of what to do.

On our upcoming trip to Aruba-- we booked Airtran since it was very cheap compared to USAir. Airtran was a layover of 2 hours each way-- suck it up- im on vacation so no big deal.

A few weeks ago I noticed that USAir was cheaper then Airtran- with non stop flights and I posted--would it be worth it to take the 75.00 cancellation fee to make the change?

Next day Airtran made changes- put me on 4 hour lay overs-- arriiving much later then we wanted so I was able to make the change over to USAir for free-

It shouldn't matter if it's an award ticket or a cash ticket. You always have the option to give a phone number and/or email for notification. They actually encourage this and sometimes require it. If a flight is canceled or changed, they will rebook you. It may not be convenient or your preferred choice, but they won't leave you stranded either. And if you don't like what they gave you, you can always ask them to change it!

Airlines charge $150 if we change the flight. So why don't we as passengers start charging the airlines the same fee if they change the flight?

United changed my flights today, but they did call and notify me (well, a computer did at least). It was a pretty big change, arriving 3 hours later, so I called back and had them book me on flights the day prior. Now my vacation starts a day earlier...:D

Airlines charge $150 if we change the flight. So why don't we as passengers start charging the airlines the same fee if they change the flight?

Yes, usually there's a $150 change fee if you try and change a nonrefundable domestic ticket, but this goes up to $250+ if you want to change an international ticket. In addition, if you did this, your ticket for the new flight would be refared, and you'd have to pay any difference in cost.

You can't charge the airline any fees for changes, because when you purchase an airline ticket, you enter into a contract with the airline. This is called the Contract of Carriage (CoC), and you can find them for every airline on their webpage, or by doing a google search.

This contract outlines your rights and the airline's obligations. And every CoC that I've read, states that the airline retains the right to change flight schedules at any time. Your rights when this happens are usually a free flight change (if your flight has changed by a specified number of minutes) or the right to cancel your ticket and receive a free refund. That's it.

If you want the ability for free flight changes, you'll have to purchase a refundable ticket, which is much more expensive.

You could sue them, but you wouldn't win.

We had a flight booked several months in advance and had it changed 4 times. We still missed it and had to wait 3 or 4 hours on a waitlist. Everything worked out but I will definately call the day before our next trip.

I went and checked on mine because of this thread.

 

My flights have changed.

 

In both cases, my first flight leaves a little later and my last flight arrives a little earlier.

 

Some changes I can handle. :D

2 weeks later, American notified me of the changes by email.