flight changes

[musicgirl]

We had our flight confirmed in August with America West. THis is not through Disney. We were told on Tues. that the hub in Columbus is now closed, so we were able to switch to Delta for a little more. Now less than 24 hrs later, we were told our flight has been switched again. It will work out, but I'm worried that it might get changed again and not work out.

I was wondering if anyone else is or had this kind of a problem? Our cruise is in June and I don't want to get stuck at the last minute, especially since we did everything so early to avoid late flights.

 

[PixeeDust]

Our flight was changed so many time, I stopped counting at 8! (We were on United) This was not long after September 11th. Did it all work out in the end, Yes, but it was after several calls. United cancelled one flight, then changed the times on the other, then changed the connection, then cancelled that flight. I just kept checking with them. At one time when I called just to check we were on a return flight at 8:30AM, I just explained that we were just returning from a cruise, and this was impossible. They changed us to a later flight.
It will all work out, just keep checking with your airlines, especially as the date gets closer!
Have a Great Trip !

 

[mcnuss]

Musicgirl -- Please don't take what I am going to say the wrong way, bc I only mean to be informative, not rude. When you make air reservations almost a year in advance of the trip, you are virtually assured that the flights will change many, many times. With all the volatility in the airline business right now, you are in for a bumpy ride. Most often, the changes occur bc the airline switches out the aricraft they are going to use, so the flight number and time changes slightly. Other times, as you've seen, the reason is much more radical.

If you ever cruise again, my advice to you is not to do your flights until 90-120 days out. In addition to the fact that it is more likely that your flights will change less dramatically (although they still may change), the greater benefit is that you do not have an airline holding on to your precious money for 10 months! There is a big risk today that any airline could cease operations - although with Delta the risk is definitely lower.

Now, if the flights change dramatically enough to wreak havoc on your cruise schedule, you must demand either a re-accomodation on that airline or a refund. You do not have to accept the changes they propose; you have the right to demand that your new flights get you to your destination within a reasonable timeframe - eg: an hour or 2 - as your originally booked flights.

Good luck.

 

[jeanneg]

I learned from experience that you have to constantly confirm your itinerary. We are a family of 6 and cannot afford to buy our tickets only a month or two beforehand (there is usually a HUGE difference in price), and so we always reserve our flights as soon as possible. Last time we cruised, I decided to verify my flight on line and was panic-strickened when I could not find it at all. A call to the airport revealed that our flight had been totally cancelled and so they put us on one that left almost 2 hours earlier! Had we not known this, we would have arrived at the airport too late and probably would have missed the cruise since the next flight was much later in the day. When I asked the service rep why we wre not informed, she said it was our responsibility to confirm on our own. Since then, I constantly check the status of our flights and I am amazed to learn how many times they change.
So, please, please check your flights beforehand.....I can't imagine how disappointed we would have been if we had missed it and I wouldn't want it to happen to anyone else.

 

[mcnuss]

I know that people think that booking way ahead saves a lot of money, and jeanneg, I am not trying to be contrary, I am sure you've done your research. However, as a very frequest traveler, I can almost assure you that you will do as well booking 3 or 4 months out, as you will booking a year out, and you will not have tied up your money for a year.

The ABSOLUTE best way to be sure you are getting a good deal is to sign up for the Fare Tracker services offered on travelocity.com and other sites. You put in a threshold amount, eg: $150, and your home airport(s) and desitination(s), and it will alert you when fares reach that level or lower. Works like a charm!

Also, make sure your airline has all your updated phone #'s, emails, etc. Some of the airlines now have automated systems that alert you to changes. I use this on United all the time, and I get a text message to my cell phone if my flights change. I think American offers this too.

 

[jeanneg]

Hmmmm...sounds like it's worth a try. Do you have to pay for the faretracker services and do they let you earn frequent flier miles? I know if you book using Cheap Tickets they won't even take your FF# (at least that's how it was in the past) I know it's very difficult to time when to buy tickets because sometimes the price lowers due to a special promo and then I have the hassle of calling for a price adjustment. I'm all in favor of making my life simpler and saving money. Please tell me more about it. BTW, the airline in question was Delta and yes, they did have all the correct info...email, address, phone, etc....it's just not their policy to call.

 

[mcnuss]

Do you have to pay for the faretracker services and do they let you earn frequent flier miles?

The Faretracker service is free. It is not a booking service, although travelocity.com is. All it does is alert you to when a fare on a route you're interested in changes. You can then book on travelocity or anywhere else for that matter. I have never booked through that site, just used it for info. Because of all my corporate travels, I have a most fantastic TA. I just call her up, tell her what I saw, and she takes care of the rest. She is the best thing that ever happened to me travel-wise!

 

[musicgirl]

Thanks for your responses. My family has only taken 2 trips that required flights-both of them to Orlando for WDW and a cruise in the past two summers. I just don't want to get stuck at the last minute with changes. What if this happens and there are not any flights available? I'm not stressing out about this, but I wonder how common it is that someone is not able to re-schedule. Which travel insurance would cover this at all if we were unable to obtain a flight? I know that they would refund the money for the flight, but what about the cruise? Would disney refund the entire amount if it was fewer than 60 days before the trip if you have the insurance through them?
We made our second reservations through orbitz and they did inform of us through an e-mail of the change.

I know everything will be fine, it just seems like when you plan things ahead of time, that there should be some assurance that everything will go as planned. With as many problems that the airlines are having, you would think that they wouldn't even be offering flights that far in advance if their future is uncertain.

 

[Dragon Lady]

I hope I can provide a little help.

Most airlines have many partners of affiliates, and if they have to make changes or a flight is cancelled they will change you over to another airline for that leg of the flight, in a manner that is suitable to you. This is generally done at no cost to you (or at least it has never happened to me). Also if you miss your connecting flight because of their goof up, they will rebook that, put you up at a hotel if required and/or give you food vouchers if it is going to be a long layover.

Here are some senarios that I have encountered in the past (and remember I live up in the great white north on the Alaska Highway so air flights can be tricky to begin with).

1. My flight to Orlando this spring is booked on Air Canada with FF points (booked over a year in advance). Air Canada partners with United on this and my leg from Orlando back home was to go via Chicago leaving at noon( i originally wanted to go via toronto but no FF seats were available). Three weeks ago I checked the status of my tickets and United had cancelled my flight from orlando and I was booked to leave at 8:30 am.

After I jumped up and down a few times I phoned the airline and calmly told them that unfortunately I would still be on the cruise ship and it would be impossible to make that flight. They quickly apologized and changed the flight to the 2:00 pm flight via Toronto- the one I wanted in the first place (they had to give me a 'revenue' seat, in other words one that usually requires payment, at no charge).

2. Once got stuck in Indianapolis when my flight to toronto was cancelled. Air Canada paid for a ticket with Delta (not even a partner airline) to fly out the next morning and I received vouchers for a very nice hotel, supper, breakfast and shuttles to and from the airport. Be warned, this can take a while to get, and you may get a run around.

I do not believe you can get insurance for this kind of thing. The main thing to remember is not to panic, have the 1-800 numbers for your airline customer service, and do not be afraid to ask for the local manager. I have even called the 1-800 # in front of the manager and after I explained the situation, the person on the phone asked to speak to the manager. After about five minutes where the manager got redder and redder, he hung up and things magically started to happen.

You have paid good money for these tickets, and you are entitled to your relaxing trip.

Hopes this helps,
DL

 

[Alexander]

mcnuss,

Just my view on booking flights in advance. I am a school teacher and can only take vacations when school is out. This means that there are 100 school districts on vacation at the same time. If we do not book our flights 9 to 10 months in advance then there is a good chance we will not get out on the day we want too. The other possibility is that we have awful flight times.

A perfect example is we didn't decide until December to visit WDW this April over break. We had to change our vacation dates by three days just to get adequate flights. So for some who fly from smaller airports or who can only travel during peak flying times for those airports, it is critical to book as far in advance as possible.

 

[musicgirl]

Alexander

I am also a teacher and I know exactly what you mean. This is why we take our vacation in June right after school is out. Personally, I don't want to take a chance of bad weather during Christmas break so I wouldn't take a vacation then. DH and I also run a summer program at school so we have a small window of time. So we need to have things well planned.

It's good to know that the airlines will do their best. Although, I have also heard some stories where they don't. Some people have told me that they were made to pay after missing a connection. I found that hard to believe, but.. I know when we were trying to work with America West, they were not willing to change our flight to another airline. We were told that this was not possible at the time and that basically we could cancel and that they would refund our money.