Flights changing....

[SweetMissy]

Hubby and I have only flown a handful of times and have never had this issue. We're flying for our Disney trip in February and twice now Delta has changed our flights...WITHOUT telling us. The first time I called and complained because it had us getting to MCO at like 11pm, so got it changed to an even much better time that our original flight. Today I noticed that it has been changed again, only leaving 15mins earlier, getting to MCO 20mins sooner, yay. Is this a common thing, or just a Delta thing? It's a PITA, especially since we're vowed to never drive to Disney again, don't want to deal with this every trip.

 

[NJlauren]

In my experience its pretty common, but only the second situation. Meaning my flights change all the time, since I try to book early, but I have only had flights change by 30 minutes or so.

In have had this with lots of different airlines but i think it has to do with Airline, Airport and air traffic control.

Enjoy the extra 20 min

 

[merina888]

It's pretty common and happens on all airlines. We are flying Jet Blue in March into Ft. Myers to visit my in-laws. They changed the flight times so much that we have to fly out the next morning rather than on the Friday afternoon we originally planned. Last year for United, we even changed airports we were flying through and it shortened our layover so much that we had to change our flights entirely because we couldn't change terminals with 2 young kids. My advice is to check periodically as you get closer to your trip to check for changes, including seating changes.

 

[Lincolnshire]

It's pretty common to have small changes if you book early. On our December trip both flights moved 30 min later and one flight number changed. You should be able to set up alerts that email you any changes if you book thru orbitz or similar. Not sure about the airlines themselves. I would call to complain like you did if it's a large time change.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

I agree; this is common and most airlines don't notify you except on their web pages. Check your reservations often.

 

[SweetMissy]

OMG, this is horrible! I didn't realize how common it is. It's BS, as much as we pay for flights, they can essentially ruin the first day or so of a vacation. Maybe I'll rethink flying to Disney from now on. I don't want to have to wonder if we're really going to get somewhere at a certain time because the flights might change.

 

[Gracie09]

Flights can change. You can hit traffic if you drive. ( I once tried to drive from my to Philly and there was an accident a mile a head of me that shut the parkway for five hours. I never made it to the shower I was to attend). The vast majority of the time changes are minimal. If you read the rule of carriage or similar they lay out when you can switch flights or get a refund, usually if it's more than a two hour change but it varies by airline. Is it annoying when it changes. Sure but in the scheme of things it's a pretty minor inconvenience. It happened to us once and we received a refund from the airline for our return ticket (the one that changed) and purchased a better flight on another airline for less money. So sometimes it works better. Oh in the dozens of flughts that I have taken over the years, it was the only one with a substantial change. You can book flights on some carriers almost a year in advance. They are going to make their best guesses but things can change that may even be out of their control- construction at airports, problems with the tower etc, that can cause them to have to make a change.

 

[crisi]

OMG, this is horrible! I didn't realize how common it is. It's BS, as much as we pay for flights, they can essentially ruin the first day or so of a vacation. Maybe I'll rethink flying to Disney from now on. I don't want to have to wonder if we're really going to get somewhere at a certain time because the flights might change.

If they move your flight too much (they can move it a few hours for their convenience) you can call and get yourself on a better flight. The issue is often the size of the airport you are flying out of. There may only be one good flight.

This is one of the big reasons that cruisers should fly in a day early. Switching a flight for a cruise can mean literally missing the boat.

Its also one of the reasons that we usually plan a morning flight and a travel day....we get up early, check in, and plan on spending the day by the pool and having dinner. We've had trips where we've made it into the parks on that first day, but we haven't planned on it for a long time.

But we have a 24 hour drive - spending six or eight hours to get there and arriving later than planned to a day by the pool is still better than two very full days of driving. I don't know that I'd fly if I had an eight or ten hour drive.

 

[kmb584]

US Air changes our flight times frequently (usually by only 5-20 minutes) but I always get an e-mail stating the change.

 

[Oakenshield]

We make a point to ONLY fly Jet Blue if we're flying within the US and they've always sent an email to notify us of any flight changes. Our flights have only ever changed by small amounts of time, 10-15-20-25 min and they've only ever changed a handful of times. Our flight to MCO on 2/2 was supposed to be at 7:30am, now it's 7:21am

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

OMG, this is horrible! I didn't realize how common it is. It's BS, as much as we pay for flights, they can essentially ruin the first day or so of a vacation. Maybe I'll rethink flying to Disney from now on. I don't want to have to wonder if we're really going to get somewhere at a certain time because the flights might change.

This is not exactly an earth shattering occurance! Stuff happens, schedules change, there are equipment swaps, bad weather, mechanical problems, crew issues, etc. If a flight time change "ruins" an entire vacation, maybe it would be better to just stay at home.

 

[maxiesmom]

OMG, this is horrible! I didn't realize how common it is. It's BS, as much as we pay for flights, they can essentially ruin the first day or so of a vacation. Maybe I'll rethink flying to Disney from now on. I don't want to have to wonder if we're really going to get somewhere at a certain time because the flights might change.

Fight times maybe being changed is one of the reasons we on the Transportation Board tell people not to plan anything important the day you arrive at WDW. Even if your flight time isn't changed to begin with, you can run into weather delays, equipment problems, all sorts of things.

It is really not that big deal. Just pull up your flights every week or so, and see if anything has changed. As crisi pointed out, you can use a flight change to your advantage, and maybe gain time on your trip.

 

[Manda]

Southwest doesn't change their schedules. You can still always get delayed for weather or whatever, but they don't switch around your flights after you've booked.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Hubby and I have only flown a handful of times and have never had this issue. We're flying for our Disney trip in February and twice now Delta has changed our flights...WITHOUT telling us. The first time I called and complained because it had us getting to MCO at like 11pm, so got it changed to an even much better time that our original flight. Today I noticed that it has been changed again, only leaving 15mins earlier, getting to MCO 20mins sooner, yay. Is this a common thing, or just a Delta thing? It's a PITA, especially since we're vowed to never drive to Disney again, don't want to deal with this every trip.

We flew Delta Orlando to Hawaii back in 2006. They cancelled our first flight and bumped us to a flight that landed in Atlanta AFTER our connecting flight would have departed. No one told me. I did happen across it. And it was a month or more (don't recall exactly) until the trip, so it wasn't like the plan had sudden mechanical trouble or anything.

One would think They would have at least checked to see if it was a logical choice even if they didn't call me.

Changing due to weather is one thing. But what Delta did to is was bonkers. They were great to work with once I called and I pretty much had my choice of the flight schedule that day. So that was nice.

While not earth shattering, one has reason to believe that changes will make logical sense. Oddly, this doesn't happen to us on other carriers. A few minutes change is not bothersome. Crazy changes, especially those that would literally have you missing a connecting flight are just not acceptable. But as I said, Delta worked with us and our family of 4 at the time. But I do prefer booking elsewhere. We has used FF miles for that trip, so we were "stuck" using them for that trip and I was happy to do so for the free flights.

 

[jimandami]

Southwest doesn't change their schedules. You can still always get delayed for weather or whatever, but they don't switch around your flights after you've booked.

Our last flight with SW was changed by 20 minutes are we booked...now, it wasn't a big deal to me at all but to say that they don't change flights is definitely false.

 

[SweetMissy]

This is not exactly an earth shattering occurance! Stuff happens, schedules change, there are equipment swaps, bad weather, mechanical problems, crew issues, etc. If a flight time change "ruins" an entire vacation, maybe it would be better to just stay at home.

I didn't say it's ruining my vacation but others have posted how it made them get to their destination a whole day later. That IMO is uncalled for. I understand unforeseen issues arise...but all those issues that you've listed can not be known months in advance, so why are flights changed so frequently. I was under the impression that this was a rare occurrence but sadly, it's not. Now I know for the future to not make plans the 1st day of travel because you won't know until the last minute what time you're actually going to arrive.

 

[SweetMissy]

We flew Delta Orlando to Hawaii back in 2006. They cancelled our first flight and bumped us to a flight that landed in Atlanta AFTER our connecting flight would have departed. No one told me. I did happen across it. And it was a month or more (don't recall exactly) until the trip, so it wasn't like the plan had sudden mechanical trouble or anything.

One would think They would have at least checked to see if it was a logical choice even if they didn't call me.

Changing due to weather is one thing. But what Delta did to is was bonkers. They were great to work with once I called and I pretty much had my choice of the flight schedule that day. So that was nice.

While not earth shattering, one has reason to believe that changes will make logical sense. Oddly, this doesn't happen to us on other carriers. A few minutes change is not bothersome. Crazy changes, especially those that would literally have you missing a connecting flight are just not acceptable. But as I said, Delta worked with us and our family of 4 at the time. But I do prefer booking elsewhere. We has used FF miles for that trip, so we were "stuck" using them for that trip and I was happy to do so for the free flights.

Yes, Delta was great to me also. That made things a little better. Honestly, if they change the flights, NOT too drastic then fine....but at least let the customer know. They have my e-mail, telephone number, even mailing address and I had no idea until logging on to their site one day. Good to know it's not just Delta though and this crap happens on all airlines.

 

[jerseygal]

Southwest doesn't change their schedules. You can still always get delayed for weather or whatever, but they don't switch around your flights after you've booked.

We booked our flight to Orlando two weeks ago about 7 months in advance.
About 2 months later, I happen to check the flight as if I was booking again to "recheck" the price..Flight time changed by 30 minutes...NO E MAIL..
Contacted Southwest and they asked if that flight "worked" which it did.

YES, as others have said, if cruising, arrive the day earlier to allow for delays, weather, cancellations, anything!

 

[maxiesmom]

Yes, Delta was great to me also. That made things a little better. Honestly, if they change the flights, NOT too drastic then fine....but at least let the customer know. They have my e-mail, telephone number, even mailing address and I had no idea until logging on to their site one day. Good to know it's not just Delta though and this crap happens on all airlines.

They will let you know--once it is close to your actual flight day. They won't let you know when you are still a few months out, your flight can change again.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

Southwest actually called me to make sure a thirty minute earlier departure time would work out for us!