Airline changed my flight--help!

[DaisynDonald]

I booked my flight in April, I found out this week the airline changed my flight times. I'm NOT happy with the new times. I called & was told I would have to pay $100 per ticket to change them. It makes me mad because when I booked the flight I chose the times that were good for us, now we will have to catch our shuttle home at 5 a.m. we wen't supposed to leave until 12. Is there anything I can do or am I stuck with the new times?

 

[Nebsky]

What airline did this?
Id call back. Chances are you are going to get a different answer. If your time changes more than a reasonable time (usually about 2 hours) you should not have to pay to make a change.

 

[DaisynDonald]

US Airways. They added Washington flights, so they only have 1 flight going to Pittsburgh now, but I figured I could get a flight to Washington instesd since it is only it would only be a 15 minute difference instead of 7 hours that they gave me with the new flight.

 

[daisy_77]

Frontier Airlines just did this to us too. We are leaving WDW 2 hours earlier than originally scheduled...so that ruins our last day plans that I had set up. This is the first time this has ever happened. I guess I will just have to deal.

 

[ziggystardust]

Spirit changed my flight times once, and b/c it was their change I wasn't charged a change fee when I switched flights all together. This was going from an early evening flight to a first thing in the morning flight. That was not going to work for us.

I would try calling back, speak to a manager if you have to. They should not be charging you when they made the change in the first place.

 

[Lewisc]

Price what it would cost with SW. If you can get the price and flights you want just cancel US Air. The time difference should be enough to get a full refund.

If you want the Washington flights ask for a supervisor. Tell them you need your original flight times even if you need to change airports. Unless you got an excellent fare just tell them you want a refund and you'll make your own alternate flight reservations.

Normally an airline isn't going to offer Washington as an alternative to Pittsburgh.

 

[corvair]

Disney Donald.....I also live in Pa.....we always fly out of Harrisburg....I have used US air about 5 times....every time they changed our times...after the last time I said no more.....we always pick our flights and times...but after they change them...they are never good times...so this past June we flew Transmarridian.....into sanford...from now on...we fly them ...not US air..
amy

 

[Debbie]

Frontier Airlines just did this to us too. We are leaving WDW 2 hours earlier than originally scheduled...so that ruins our last day plans that I had set up. This is the first time this has ever happened. I guess I will just have to deal.

I just found out that AirTran did the same thing with us. Now, we get to spend those extra 2 hours-we already had better than an hour- in Atlanta. Any ideas to keep us occupied for 3+ hours??

 

[plutospup]

Call USAirways and tell them your flight times were changed, and they are not satisfactory. We generally book way in advance and our flight are always changing. I call USAir and they change the times without any fee. You might want to check www.usairways.com for alternate flight times for the dates you are flying (that way you are prepared when you call US). Even when I've booked a super low bargain fare, and our flights were changed, US was willing to move us to more acceptable flighttimes (originally what would have been much more expensive flights!) Good Luck!

 

[NJmouse]

Disney Donald when is your flight? We are flying out on Dec 1st and they changed our flight to an hour later. This is normal if you book way in advance, they change their flight schedules every few months, by Dec it might go back to the original times. As of right now our original flight time of 6:35 is gone and we leave at 8am I believe. That is the earliest flight available. DH called the Silver Preferred Member Services and he was told that by Dec it might change a few more times before it is has its final times for Dec.

 

[bicker]

That's an important point: When you book more than a few months prior to a flight, you're booking a forecasted flight, not an actual scheduled flight. The flight schedules are set just a few months prior to the flight (which is why Southwest doesn't even let you buy tickets sooner than that). I think it is best not to rely on any flight schedules until the official flight schedule is released a few months prior to your trip. It makes planning trips with heavily-discounted airfares much more difficult, but I believe the cost-savings are well worth it!

 

[shelly3girls]

We had this exact problem with USAir (except they only moved half of our group to a different flight). I requested to speak to a manager who did nothing for me but offered to transfer to their main office and see if a manager there could do anything. I cannot remember who exactly I spoke to but they allowed me to change to basically whatever flight I wanted for no charge. The first agent wanted to charge me an upcharge for the flight. I got the impression that the agents just don't have the authority to drop the fees.

 

[daisy_77]

I just found out that AirTran did the same thing with us. Now, we get to spend those extra 2 hours-we already had better than an hour- in Atlanta. Any ideas to keep us occupied for 3+ hours??

Atlanta's airport is huge! There should be some things to do to keep you busy! There are quite a few shops and lots of restaurants! I would rather have a long layover there than in a lot of other places.

January

 

[SB in KY]

Generally speaking if the airline changes the flight times by more than 60 minutes they will let you rebook to available seats whether or not your fare is available on the new flight.

Different airlines use different tactics to avoid telling you this and US Air seems to be one of the worst.....in our experience we have always had to argue and track down supervisors and follow up, etc, etc....in other words they make it as difficult for you as possible, but they can and WILL change your flight or refund your full purchase price. A change of 8 hours is huge, so don't be shy about asking for what you want.

Lots of other airlines (Delta, Continental, American, etc) seem a lot more co=operative....their phone agents can make the changes and don't seem reluctant to do so...I have never had SW change a flight on me, so don't know how they would handle it. US Air is also awful about notifying you of flight time changes....you had better check yourself, because the chances of them ever emailing or calling you are slim to none. Other airlines seem more conscientious about that too!!

 

[DaisynDonald]

Since I called US Air twice & had no luck, I went to the aiport today & explained my problem to a US Air employee. He changed my flight with no problems!! I now fly US Air to Washington Dulles & then United from there to Orlando.
How is Washington Dulles Airport?

 

[bicker]

I have never had SW change a flight on me, so don't know how they would handle it.

Southwest delays offering flights for sale until just a few months beforehand, when the announce the final, official flights schedule.

 

[kaytieeldr]

US Airways. They added Washington flights, so they only have 1 flight going to Pittsburgh now, but I figured I could get a flight to Washington instesd since it is only it would only be a 15 minute difference instead of 7 hours that they gave me with the new flight.

Okay, the problem with that is you're making changes to your itinerary by changing airports, so yes, the airline will charge you per ticket to do that. Since the new flight time is SO different, call back and get a supervisor or manager. You should be able to cancel and get a full refund.

 

[simzac]

This is just one more reason why we only fly SWA.