I am flying out of DTW to MCO on 05-25th, at 6 Pm at night. I would love now to go out early in the morn. I called delta the change fee is 180$ which is more than the current price of a ticket. Any tricks to getting out on an earlier flight for a reasonable price. If it matters I fly about 2-4 times a yr and have a Delta credit card.
Most airlines
used to allow same-day standby for free, even for passengers using discounted "excursion fare" or "super saver" tickets. It was simply a matter of showing up before an earlier flight, asking to be put on the standby list, and waiting to be called. And back when airlines flew with an average load factor of 60%, the chance of success was high.
But that was then and this is now.
These days, airlines are looking for every opportunity to bring in additional revenue. Think of checked baggage fees. These days, flight time changes usually cost money. There are exceptions, such as if you're flying on a full-fare ticket, which often costs five times as much as a restricted discount ticket.
The legacy carriers, including Delta Air Lines, charge a lot if you try to change a discounted ticket before your travel day. It's typically $150 per ticket plus the fare difference (and the fare can go up considerably as the travel date approaches).
The good news is that legacy carriers now also offer "Same-day Confirmed Travel." The change fee is typically only $50 per ticket; there is no charge for the fare difference; and it's a
CONFIRMED change, not standby. The rub is that you can only confirm your new flight within 3 hours of the scheduled departure time. The other issue is that many flights these days are completely sold out, so booking even a single seat within three hours of departure might be impossible.
Elite frequent flyers tend to be exempt from the "Same-day Confirmed Travel" fee. On Delta, that means Diamond, Platinum and Gold Medallion members.
Here's what delta.com say:
Same-day Travel Changes on Delta Air Lines