![]() Just be crystal clear with the phone agent, or read the terms of the online cancellation very closely. Then, you can call to cancel the itinerary or do so online (with some airlines). If you notice your trip has been hit with a major schedule change, research the individual airline's policy to see if it counts as "significant" enough for a refund. We have a guide on these specific policies for all the major U.S. Generally, a significant change is when your departure, arrival or connection times change by somewhere between one and two hours or if you're rebooked from a nonstop flight to a connecting itinerary. That said, most airlines have specific thresholds for what counts as a "significant" schedule change. While some airlines continued to buck this rule, most eventually fell in line. However, the DOT came down firmly on the side of the consumer, clarifying that if an airline cancels your flight (or makes a significant adjustment to the schedule), you are entitled to a full refund back to your original form of payment. Department of Transportation showed refunds and other ticket issues as the primary cause of DOT complaints during the height of the outbreak. Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were a lot of instances of airlines refusing to issue refunds. If there's been a significant schedule change to your itinerary and you no longer want to take your flight, you're entitled to a refund. You're entitled to a full refund if an airline cancels your flight or makes a significant schedule change. Related: Act quickly: Air Canada relents, will finally refund canceled flights Getting a full refund However, the other two are a bit more nuanced, so let's take some time to unpack them. The initial one is simple enough: You accept the change and plan to take your new flight(s). A significant schedule change may be an opportunity to get rebooked on a different flight - one of the best ways to make the most of these changes. In other instances, the change may be significant enough that you no longer want to take the flight at all, and no alternative itinerary works with your schedule. On others, you may automatically be confirmed on the new flight. Some airlines might require you to acknowledge and accept the change. You're still planning to take the flight, even with the change. In some cases, like my above example with Iberia, the schedule change isn't significant enough to warrant any action on your part. Once you become aware of a schedule change, the next thing to do is figure out a plan for dealing with it. Related: Are you entitled to compensation for an equipment swap? Deciding on a plan The earlier you can identify a change to your itinerary, the easier it is to deal with it. However, it does make sense to log in to your frequent flyer accounts every few weeks to peek at your upcoming trips. You don't need to do this every day or even every week. ![]() Note that this functionality is part of the premium subscription, which is $9.99 per month (or $99.99 for a full year).Ī final way to stay informed of schedule changes is to do regularly check your flights manually. Here's an example of an email I received with a five-minute adjustment to my arrival time for a flight I had booked to Madrid, which I ultimately canceled.Įxpert Flyer Flight Alert home page. This could even happen with insignificant adjustments - like a small change to your arrival or a new flight number with the same times. In some cases, an airline will send you an email when it makes a change to your itinerary. Unfortunately, this varies significantly depending on your airline and how far away from departure you are. Learning about a schedule changeīefore getting into those strategies, it's important to address how you can stay informed regarding schedule changes. Here are strategies for dealing with schedule changes. This wreaked havoc on hundreds of thousands of holiday vacations, leaving passengers stuck, in some cases, for days at a time.Īs a paying passenger, it's critical to understand how to handle a situation like this. This can be due to demand, equipment changes or any number of other reasons.įor example, a holiday meltdown initially sparked by foul weather caused Southwest to cancel some 3,000 flights per day. Airlines sometimes wait until a few months or even weeks before a flight to decide whether to operate it. This is even more pronounced today as travel patterns change post-COVID-19. Sometimes, a flight booked several months in advance could undergo multiple changes before the plane actually flies. Even when the travel industry isn't dealing with crises, airline schedule changes are commonplace.Ī carrier may decrease the frequency of service to a given destination, or they could adjust flight departure times to optimize aircraft utilization.
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