I WISH Delta would cancel my flight!

[erikthewise]

I'm holding four tickets on Delta Express from Columbus to Orlando in December. Currently Delta is not selling tickets on ANY Delta Express flights out of Columbus after November 30. They have made no changes in the flight schedules or my itinerary, but clearly they are planning to cancel. So I'm stuck with a lame duck flight but can't change because it hasn't yet been cancelled.

Up until November 30 there is a single new Delta Express flight apparently replacing the three old ones. I can only hope that this new flight will eventually be continued into December.
I wish they make up their minds and get it over with so I could choose an alternative.

Does anyone know what's going on?

 

[Beckles]

Even if they do eventually cancel it, Delta will rebook you on "mainline" flights, you'll just have to make a connection instead of going non-stop, but you won't have to pay any additional $$$.

 

[Copper606]

just for ur info, a friend of mine that works for delta in managment states that delta will be canceling and changing flights on Nov. 1, hope this can help

 

[erikthewise]

Thanks for the information.

Are they waiting until Nov 1 to see if demand picks up?
Since this flight is no longer available for reservations, I predict they will sell exactly zero additional tickets for it. Will they then cancel it for "low demand"?!
In the meanwhile many of my options may disappear as other flights fill up.
That's why I want it cancelled soon, while I still have good alternatives.

If I wanted a "mainline" flight with connections, I would fly out of Dayton (much closer). I chose to fly out of Columbus specifically so I could get a nonstop.

 

[Padre Disney]

If delta should cancel a flight would they give you a choice of a refund or would they just book you on a different flight. We spent days picking our flight times and planning our trip around our arrival and departure times. If Delta should cancel our flight we would want our money back no a different flight. My husband is hoping they will cancel and give us our money back. We have six non refundable tickets that require a $100 per person charge to change.

 

[MartDM]

Rebooking isn't as simple as going from a direct flight to a connecting flight. I had a Delta Express flight booked for DH & myself this year. Delta eliminated the Express service from our area and did rebook us on a connecting flight however, the new itinerary involved major layovers, plane changes, and wasted an entire day of our vacation (we would have gotten to our destination at 11am with the Express flight, their rebook had us leaving home an hour and a half earlier and arriving 6 hours later).

I went through an enormous amount of abuse trying to get that changed to a more acceptable flight to no avail. Eventually, by checking every day, I was finally able to snag a couple of cancelled seats on a flight that didn't completely hose up our itinerary but, again, I had to do all the work and had to be very diligent.

So, the moral of my story is that, although you will get rebooked, that doesn't mean you'll get a good flight. I think you are correct to stay on top of this and I fully understand your anxiousness to rebook asap. I'm in the same boat with some USAir Metrojet flights - they haven't cancelled yet so I can't rebook.

 

[Gary M]

We have a similar problem with Delta Express from IND to MCO. The flight we are booked on has not been cancelled but isn't taking new customers.

 

[miller17]

We were booked on a flight Oct. 20th at 12:30 from Columbus to Orlando and it got cancelled. I found out by checking my itinerary on Delta's website. They never informed me. They rebooked me on a 3:15 flight and I called and got new e-tickets issued. The new flight is direct and the time is OK but we couldn't reserve seats together. They didn't have even two seats together anywhere on the plane. (We are 2 adults and 2 kids.) They told me to talk to someone at the gate when we get to the airport and they would move other people so we can sit together. The odd thing is that the flight they cancelled was booked full. Our flight home on the 26th is not, and it wasn't changed.

 

[TinkerbellRules]

Gary: Our flight was cancelled from IND to MCO as well (afternoon flight). Delta rebooked us for three hours later(nonstop), but I called and told them I didn't want that. She was very nice and stated "we'll do whatever you want us to do." I said "what exactly does that mean". She said "rebook or full refund". My refund was credited within days. I knew something was up when it was no longer listed on the schedule.


My DH and employee are flying down the end of Oct. the flight back is completely full! Looks like they kept the early morning flights from IND and the late flights from MCO.

 

[erikthewise]

I talked to a very calm and nice customer service rep today, and although she didn't have any additional information for me, I am also calmer now. In perspective, I'm glad I'm flying with Delta. This sort of craziness is undoubtedly happening on all the airlines, and one could easily do worse than Delta. (BTW I thought, and HOPED, that TWA had gone out of business and been absorbed by somebody. Obviously not.)

 

[pooh2001]

We fly Delta at 6:10 AM on a Boeing 757 on 11/14 - from the web-site the plane only looks like it has about
30 passengers on it - I am worried about a problem on the plane ...
There is another flight that day at 12:35 pm about 1/2 full. I would get to WDW 1/2 a day later - but
I think I would feel better.
Yes - we too have the $100 ticket change fee - if I were to switch now.
To wait till 11/1 - 13 days before we leave to see where/when we are flying ?
My DH & I work - not much time to plan.

And if I paid the switch fee - and that palne I switched to is the Cancelled flight ? My fee would have been
in naught. SO....

I guess we'll all have to hang in there and wait it out till Delta figures out it's schedules.

Just think - pilots and other airline workers have thier jobs and lives up in the air. They don't know when
they will be coming and going. And I am just worried about 2 flights - shame on me.

Hang in there DIS'ers ... we are not the only one worried.

 

[flyingcircus]

pooh2001-
Why don't you want to take that flight? Are you afraid that it will be cancelled because it has only 30 passengers? I'd like to give you some reasons TO take that flight!

1. It is always a good idea to take one of the first flights out in the morning. Delays are usually minimal, because there is no air traffic back up yet.

2. Odds are the plane has been there overnight, so you don't have to worry about it coming in late from somewhere else.

3. 1st flights out in the morning are usually considered "priority" flights. This means if that plane doesn't leave on time, it will cause problems down the line with other flights. Agents and crews know this, and they will do all they can to get the plane out on time.

4. Just because a flight is not full, doesn't mean they will cancel it. This plane has to go from A to B to C to D, etc... It really doesn't matter what the load is. It is more important for the routing, and crew legalities etc... I have worked flights with 2 passengers before!! They needed to get the plane somewhere!

5.Make sure there is another flight after yours, in case plans 1-4 fail!!

Hopefully this will help you out with your decision. I know a lot of people out there think that flights cancel because there are not enough psgrs. NOT SO!! There are many different reasons and decisions that factor into a cancellation!

 

[TinkerbellRules]

Just as a side.... My friend flew from CA to Indy for the F1 race. On her first segment, she flew a commuter that had so few on it, the pilot asked for everyone to please move to the 5th row and back to balance the plane!

I haven't seen them cancel the first flights out. Ours was at 3:30pm. The AM and PM flights didn't change.

 

[flyingcircus]

tinkerbellrules-
sometimes even on the bigger planes, they do have to move people for weight and balance. People get a little uneasy about it, but before you even get on the plane the weight is figured out, and it has to be distributed properly. Altitude and temperature of departure city sometimes also play a part in it!

 

[TinkerbellRules]

flyingcircus: That is interesting. The things we learn