Regular flyers I have an odd question (Delta specifically)

[GCS2000]

We are cruising to AK on 9/16.

 

Original plan was to fly out of Richmond, VA on 9/15. Currently booked on Delta for it.  Some things have changed and we are considering leaving on 9/14 instead.

Can't find any sort of flights that are reasonable and all trips to get from RIC - ANC are at least 2 stops and several hours layover at each.

 

I am considering splitting up flights now - fly from RIC - ATL on 9/14 spend the night.  Then fly ATL - ANC nonstop.

 

Reason for the change is we have a tour booked in ANC for the 15th to see the lights.  If we keep all of our current plans we will be up for 25 hours straight then sleep for about 6 hours and then hop on a 3 hour shuttle to Seward and hop on the cruise which leaves at 8pm.  This seems like too much and we will most likely be miserable the first 48 hours or more of the trip.

 

Here is the question.  My current Delta booking is for 9/15 from RIC - ATL - ANC.  I can of course change this to just ATL - ANC problem is the price sky rockets (both $$ and miles - we used miles and won't have enough to cover the flight change).

 

 

Can I keep the above trip intact but just "miss" the RIC - ATL flight the morning of 9/15?  Will my ATL - ANC tickets still be valid that afternoon?

 

 

 

 

[poocher]

I think if you miss the first leg of a flight, they cancel the rest of the trip.

Edited July 22, 2022 by poocher

[Ourusualbeach]

7 minutes ago, GCS2000 said:

We are cruising to AK on 9/16.

 

Original plan was to fly out of Richmond, VA on 9/15. Currently booked on Delta for it.  Some things have changed and we are considering leaving on 9/14 instead.

Can't find any sort of flights that are reasonable and all trips to get from RIC - ANC are at least 2 stops and several hours layover at each.

 

I am considering splitting up flights now - fly from RIC - ATL on 9/14 spend the night.  Then fly ATL - ANC nonstop.

 

Reason for the change is we have a tour booked in ANC for the 15th to see the lights.  If we keep all of our current plans we will be up for 25 hours straight then sleep for about 6 hours and then hop on a 3 hour shuttle to Seward and hop on the cruise which leaves at 8pm.  This seems like too much and we will most likely be miserable the first 48 hours or more of the trip.

 

Here is the question.  My current Delta booking is for 9/15 from RIC - ATL - ANC.  I can of course change this to just ATL - ANC problem is the price sky rockets (both $$ and miles - we used miles and won't have enough to cover the flight change).

 

 

Can I keep the above trip intact but just "miss" the RIC - ATL flight the morning of 9/15?  Will my ATL - ANC tickets still be valid that afternoon?

 

 

 

 

I would call the airline directly.  Most do cancel if you miss the first leg but there are some that don't.  We did something similar this past March.  I had roundtrip flights to FLL  and then had the opportunity to go a week earlier.  It would have cost a lot more to rebook so I kept my return trip and booked a separate one way on a different airline for the first leg. 

 

Hope it works out for you.

[poocher]

May be more difficult as it would be 1 leg of a connecting flight.  You probably have more leeway when you cancel the outbound but want to keep the return.

[greatestvalue]

1 hour ago, GCS2000 said:

Can I keep the above trip intact but just "miss" the RIC - ATL flight the morning of 9/15?  Will my ATL - ANC tickets still be valid that afternoon?

As others have said....Usually they will cancel the rest of your trip if you do not show up for the 1st leg. 

[twangster]

Have there been any flight changes recently?   If Delta changes the flights sometimes they'll work with you more.  

 

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by twangster

[tallnthensome]

You can Ask flight questions in the cruise air forum as this is not Royal Caribbean Cruise related. 

[brillohead]

I would try calling Delta and sitting on hold to get a Real Live Person to discuss it with.  They may let you change it for just a change fee. 

 

[6rugrats]

Yes, flights on DL must be flown in order.  You miss a flight, the rest of your ticket will be cancelled.  Changes will cause your ticket to be repriced and you’ll pay a change fee on top of that.

Edited July 23, 2022 by 6rugrats

[Free2bMeForever]

The question asked by twangster is valid.  I have been able to change flights for up to 2 days before the original flight at no cost THEY change your flight by 30 minutes or more. The caveat is that the origination and destination airports remain the same.  It also looks like you are planning to fly through ATL in the height of hurricane season, so I would keep that in mind. 

[brillohead]

2 hours ago, Free2bMeForever said:

The question asked by twangster is valid.  I have been able to change flights for up to 2 days before the original flight at no cost THEY change your flight by 30 minutes or more. The caveat is that the origination and destination airports remain the same.  It also looks like you are planning to fly through ATL in the height of hurricane season, so I would keep that in mind. 

Not necessarily.... Delta changed my flight for my spring cruise bundle.  I was originally round trip MIA, but since I could change the flight because of THEIR changes, I was able to fly into MIA and out of FLL.  My first cruises were out of MIA, but the last cruise was out of FLL.  This saved me the cost of having to travel back to MIA, plus I ended up getting BETTER flights at no cost. 

[Globaliser]

 

6 hours ago, brillohead said:

8 hours ago, Free2bMeForever said:

The caveat is that the origination and destination airports remain the same.

Not necessarily.... Delta changed my flight for my spring cruise bundle.  I was originally round trip MIA, but since I could change the flight because of THEIR changes, I was able to fly into MIA and out of FLL.

 

This is because Delta's fare rules regard MIA and FLL as the same place.

[6rugrats]

56 minutes ago, Globaliser said:

 

 

This is because Delta's fare rules regard MIA and FLL as the same place.

Yes, just like IAD, BWI and DCA.

[em-sk]

9 hours ago, brillohead said:

Not necessarily.... Delta changed my flight for my spring cruise bundle.  I was originally round trip MIA, but since I could change the flight because of THEIR changes, I was able to fly into MIA and out of FLL.  My first cruises were out of MIA, but the last cruise was out of FLL.  This saved me the cost of having to travel back to MIA, plus I ended up getting BETTER flights at no cost. 

 

Usually when the airline a schedule change , then all the repricing goes out the window.  The agent can book you into nearly any flight with space, within reason, at no cost.

 

 

 

[GCS2000]

My flights have changed 3 times since being booked back in December - all by Delta.

 

I recently changed my flight this week (for the first part from RIC-ATL) due to a Delta change that meant we only a 30 min layover in ATL and I felt there was no way with all that is going that our luggage (heck even us) would make our connecting flight so I moved us to an earlier flight out of RIC.

 

My flights were paid for with miles so I can rebook online pretty easily.  Problem is that moving the flights up one day (from 15th to 14th) means I have at least 2 stops instead of one, 3 hour layovers at both stops and the number of miles needed is almost double what I have available.  Therefore I am kinda stuck.

 

Booking flights other than Delta are of course possible but I run into the same issue as above multiple stops, long layovers and I have to pay $$ which as we all know prices are quite high.

 

So its either deal with the issues above or live with what I have and gut through it or cancel our tour which the wife really does not want to do.

 

I will contact Delta but not expecting much from them tbh.

 

Thx

[GCS2000]

LOL make that 4 changes to my flights.  Just logged in right now and my ATL-ANC flight has changed again.  Nothing major just times but still this is crazy.

[AF-1]

Just go with the two stops.  Even though the layover may seem long now.  If there is an aircraft maintenance issue or weather, then your layover is covered.  I spent five hours in Boston last week.  The time actually went quickly