time change for return flight

[lucy12]

We booked a cruise on Carnival for January 09- I booked our flights on Delta to leave Miami on our return home at 1215, thinking it gave us plenty of time- Delta has now changed all of our flights both ways and our return flight leaves at 1045! Can we get a refund? We booked early to get the lowest airfare, but I can't imagine getting to the airport in time for that flight.

[Linda74]

Since they rescheduled, call them and see if they will reroute you on something more convenient. AA just did that for me.

[greatam]

Since they rescheduled, call them and see if they will reroute you on something more convenient. AA just did that for me.

 

BEFORE you call Delta, please look at the schedule for your travel days. Note the flight numbers and times. Also look at alternative routings. Example: you are currently flying MIA/ATL/Oklahoma (you did not post where you live). But there are no more flights that work for you. So how about MIA/Tallahassee/OKC??? Or Continental's puddle jumper to Tampa, then to ATL, then to OKC. Or look at the Continental or NW schedules. There are LOTS of options.

 

BE PREPARED to OFFER alternatives to your current schedule when you call. "Could you rebook me on flight XXXX????". Offer all the suggestions YOU feel comfortable with before you let the airline agent offer their suggestions. They usually look for the easiest way, which most likely have no seats on cruise days.

 

If all else fails, you can get a full refund. But there should be a workable solution, especially out of MIA. Good luck!!!!

[FlyerTalker]

Get your DL schedules HERE. Do NOT rely on the "reservations" link on the website.

 

I would use both the electronic timetable AND the PDF "paper" timetable. The big advantage of the PDF is that it often shows codeshare flights that the electronic timetable doesn't include in constructing connections. The "reservations" process on the website is even worse, ignoring a goodly number of codeshares (according to reports and personal experience). List out departing flights from MIA and manually construct connections from MIA to XXX to home. (or maybe even MIA-XXX-YYY-home). Don't just rely on connections shown - you can build your own too.

 

Also, if you can't get something you like out of MIA, try FLL. Yes, it is "up the road", but not terribly inconvenient. You should be able to get a FLL routing, as it is a co-terminal on many fares.

[monicajay]

Previous posters are right, I have always called the airline with suggestions of what I would like to do instead when they have a major flight change. You can offer alternative airports, I have landed in Montreal when scheduled for Burlington, VT and I have moved flights to the next day when the connections were so bad I would have wasted a whole day flying.

 

Do all your research first and be prepared to speak to a supervisor if need be. I have always been more than happy with the solutions.

[lucy12]

Thanks so much for all the ideas:) I think we will be able to work it out now, I was hesitating in case it all got switched up again before we fly- I will definately have listed the options before I call, thanks again-

[kenish]

People at call centers including airline res agents are tracked by productivity software. They are scored on how many transactions an hour they process. So you're helping them help you if you let them know what flights you want. Otherwise they will drop you onto the first flight they see. Also unlike a court judge, they don't need to hear the historical facts of your situation....it's usually irrelevant to helping you, they have most of the history when they call up your record, and if they really need to know they will ask. (I'm not being an apologist for airlines' lousy call centers, just suggesting ways to get a successful outcome).