Medical reason for changing flight???

[D L and K's Mom]

I was under the impression that if you had a valid medical reason for changing a flight that you would not be charged a fee. I guess I was wrong. We are booked on DELTA for July 12 to Disney ,well, we just found out we are having a baby (surprise!!) on July 11 so....we can't use those flights. When I called Delta I was told they have to charge us $100 per ticket plus we have to pay the difference in ticket prices. I understand paying the ticket price difference but I didnt think we would have to pay the fine if there was a medical reason. Has anyone ever "got around this"? I don't want to do anything dishonest we really can't fly the day after a c-section with a 1 day old baby...I just want to re-book the 4 tickets. The $400 just isn't something we are going to be able to afford along with the expense of buying one more ticket for the new baby. Any suggestions???

 

[rla5d]

Ask to speak to a supervisor, and be persistant. Maybe also call the corporate office rather than the 1-800 customer service number. You may need to make lots of calls. We had tickets on Continental to go to WDW last year. My wife wound up with an ear problem shortly before we were supposed to leave and we had a letter from the doctor saying that she was not allowed to fly. We sent the letter to Continental after speaking to a supervisor, and they refunded our tickets. I'd think that if you keep trying - and manage to find the right person at Delta - then you'll eventually be successful.

Good luck and congratulations!!

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Thanks for the info. I am going to do that right after the holidays. I am happy to have a little ray of hope......We are very excited about the baby but...we had a great trip planned...great price on a mini van..handicapped accessible room on the cruise for DS and a great price on a handicapped room in Disney..Hopefully I can work it all out again for a different date starting with the airloine tickets. Thanks again!!

 

[eeyore74]

Congratulations!!! A very happy surprise.

We were scheduled to fly to Seattle on Sun Country a year or so ago and I landed in the hospital the day before with kidney stones. We had to go through the president of the company, but we were able to get another flight a month later without paying anything extra. Obviously the first person we had talked to had never had kidney stones. lol There was NO way I could sit on an airplane for that long, even with the percoset!

So definitely be persistant and speak to higher ups. It should be fine. If not, let us know and we'll all start calling and yelling at them.

Congrats again!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Apparently the only refund made in the case of non refundable tickets is death (which happily you are not facing.).


From the FAQ at Delta's site.

I have a non-refundable ticket and will not be traveling. Can I obtain a refund?
No, however depending upon the rules of your ticket and location of purchase, you may be able to apply the value of a non-refundable ticket, less any applicable service charge, toward future travel up to one year from the original issue date. Effective for tickets purchased on or after Sept. 5, 2002, for travel in the 50 U.S. and Canada beginning Oct. 1, 2002, any change must be made to a non-refundable ticket on or before the travel date, otherwise the ticket will have no value. Please check with your nearest Delta representative for details.

The exception to this rule would be death of the passenger, immediate family member, or traveling companion. In this case, you will be required to forward a copy of the death certificate to the Passenger Refunds Department mailing address.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

I am very happy to say the reason I am trying to change the dates is not death but LIFE!!! I know that this is all my fault for not checking the "guide lines" but I never , ever, ever, thought this would happen (DH and I are 38 and our kids are 13 and 11...surprise surprise......!!!!) I thought something like this where I really have no choice in the matter that there would be some sort of medical guideline.....but nope. I am going to try to call anyway....between hormones and the thought of us not being able to go on our dream vacation I am sure I will cry ,maybe they will take pity on me (only kidding) I don't have a problem paying the difference in fares but we won't able to afford the difference in fares plus the $400....each ticket will now be an additional $219 times 4 ......yikes that's a lot of $$$$. I will let you know the outcome when I call after the holiday. Thanks again

 

[DebbieB]

It willn't hurt to call, but with the airlines in financial trouble they are probably less likely to make exceptions these days. Maybe the price of the tickets will go down so you willn't have to pay the difference in fares. Maybe you should wait a few months to make sure the new dates you pick will work out in case something else comes up. I'm always afraid to book airline tickets too far in advance for this reason, changes are complicated.

 

[Luv2Roam]

I have even known people who had to have unexpected surgery immediately prior to the scheduled flight and doctor's letters didn't make a difference to get full refunds.
At work, the only time we are refunded full price when a flight is cancelled or changed is when we pay full value (high $) for specifically refundable tickets.
Can they override it? As far as I know. But don't hold your breathe.

BTW CONGRATS!!!

 

[Daisymeo]

We had a Delta flight scheduled 2 years ago. The night before my husband ended up in the ER with internal bleeding and had to have 2 pints of blood transfused. Even with a letter from the ER doctor, Delta would not let us rebook a flight without the penalty. I even called Delta from the ER to let them know what was happening at 2 AM so they could sell our seats to someone else. I just don't fly Delta anymore, this experienced kind of soured me on them.

 

[clkelley]

It sounds like it might even be cheaper to just blow off the original tickets and look for a new deal for your new travel dates.

Hope everything works out!!

 

[aks0516]

Why on earth would anyone think a "doctor's note" would allow them to negate a contract? There are fares which allow flexibility and changes; yes, there is a cost associated with such abilities. But you chose the restrictive fare in order to save money. Nothing wrong with that; in fact, there's much right with that. But you can't have it both ways. Accept the fact that you went for the low rate over the other considerations and this time the other considerations prevailed. Don't expect, demand, cry, yell or otherwise try to dishonor your agreement and commitment.

 

[D L and K's Mom]

Wow!!!...some pretty harsh words....If you had read the post I posted earlier you would have seen that I take full responsibility for not reading the medical policy.......Why on earth would I think a Dr's note would help.......I'll tell you why...I have no control over these circumstances...I didn't just decide that the dates, times were not good, I didnt' go out and find a cheaper fare somewhere else, I didnt decide to make the trip longer etc...I CAN'T fly for medical reasons...... so I thought that maybe a physician's note would be OK to change the dates. Maybe I am naive . You are able to do this in the case of a death. All you need is a copy of the certificate. Also, I am not upset about the fact that I will have to pay the difference in the ticket price...that I fully understand. When I bought my tickets (which by the way I HAD to buy early to make sure we got the front row seats for my DS who is handicapped but that is another story) the price was cheaper than what we will be paying for the new dates...I have no problem paying the difference but I was hoping that maybe they would waive the fee because it is a medical reason. I can't see how if I change my tickets now.....200 days in advance how that can affect Delta who can now turn around and sell them at the higher rate they are now charging. Why the $100 fee???Also, we will now have to buy an additional ticket so that is $ in their favor . I did inquire to the travel agent about insurance for the tickets when they were purchased and was told there is no such thing (we bought insurance for the cruise ) Ticket prices for an open ended ticket are 4 times the price of a regular ticket. Also, if you read my post I stated that I was only kidding about crying. I WILL call and see if anything can be done. I never used the word demand, or yell in any posts. I will ask if there is anything that can be done..it can't hurt to ask. I am not trying to "dishonor my commitment" I am just asking if anything can be done. When you sit at an airport for a flight that is delayed does the airline give you $100?? No, because weather, flight delays etc.are out of their control. No one would expect to be compensated for that. Well, this is out of my control and I feel that maybe if I inquire they will waive the fee...maybe I am very stupid but oh well I am going to give it a shot. Maybe the Airline will feel as you do..that I am trying to "dishonor my commitment", but maybe, just maybe I will be able to talk to someone who can do something for me..just one little, small insignifigent person trying to take my family on vacation who had to reschedule due to a magnificent reason but none the less a medical reason..... you never know until you try, and I am going to try.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

While I do understand where you are coming from, I am sure there are many in your happy situation. However, if they make an exception for you, they would, in all fairness, have to make it for everyone. Fair, is after all, fair. It would be incredibly unfair to others to allow you the exception and not them. I know, life is not always fair.
I really have a difficult time equating pregnancy to delays in the airport. Weather is beyond the control of anyone, pregnancy is not. If they won't make an exception for folks who have had heart attacks, car accidents, and other medical emergencies, I really doubt they are going to bend any rules for such a happy event.

Next time, fly Southwest( if available), they don't charge for changes, the only price difference would be increase in fares.

I wish you the best of luck, and I am delighted for you and your soon to be happy event.

 

[rla5d]

WOW - I hope that a couple of you are NOT in the customer service field! Your replies have been amazing. I do customer service (computers) and I'm a human. I understand that things happen in life that we don't always plan or expect that result in schedule changes, financial situation changes, family changes, etc. Yes, that's life. I happen to want to KEEP my customers and do the RIGHT thing, regardless of what the lawyers may say in all of their fine print. So there's a contract? So what? People can make decisions that are the RIGHT thing to do, and sometimes that means sucking it up and making the customer happy. The original poster did NOT ask for a refund, just a flight change. Delta gets to keep their money and she is willing to pay the difference in fares. She just doesn't want to pay a "fine" for a perfectly legitimate reason for having to make a change. So what does Delta lose?

People - it's called compassion, doing the right thing, having a heart, being a HUMAN.

Someone mentioned flying Southwest because they are flexible in their policies. Hmmmmm, let's see.....they're flexible, have great employees, they pay them well (about to approve the best customer service union contract in the industry - giving RAISES when other airlines are laying off), have a fantastic safety record, and they're profitable, while Delta is going broke like their less flexible counterparts (USAir, United). Maybe there's something to that caring about the customer thing......

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by D and Ls Mom
Wow!!!...some pretty harsh words....If you had read the post I posted earlier you would have seen that I take full responsibility for not reading the medical policy.......Why on earth would I think a Dr's note would help.......I'll tell you why...I have no control over these circumstances...

I agree with you that the words were harsh, but while you're considering that you had no control over the circumstances, consider the following: (1) You DID have control over whether you purchased travel insurance; and (2) The airline had far less control over the circumstances than you did.

I have no problem paying the difference but I was hoping that maybe they would waive the fee because it is a medical reason. I can't see how if I change my tickets now.....200 days in advance how that can affect Delta who can now turn around and sell them at the higher rate they are now charging.

As it is, they can still do that. Discount airfares are indeed determined factoring in how many penalties will be assessed for changing dates.

I did inquire to the travel agent about insurance for the tickets when they were purchased and was told there is no such thing

Sounds like your TA didn't want to lose your sale, by explaining that you'd have to purchase the tickets from a full service travel agency if you really want insurance. A lot of low-cost TAs don't offer insurance, because it is a very low demand item.

Check out insuremytrip.com for some price quotes. I've never used them, but they were the first ones to come up on my search engine.

 

[bicker]

Originally posted by rla5d
WOW - I hope that a couple of you are NOT in the customer service field! Your replies have been amazing. I do customer service (computers) and I'm a human.

That's rather harsh; perhaps as harsh as aks0516's message. There is a limit to what qualifies as "customer service." I'm sure you'd agree that customer service doesn't include giving away for free what companies charge good money for.

Incidently, I've had remarkably poor service from Southwest, especially when it comes to schedules, routings, seating comfort, and trip interruption accommodation, not to mention they're horribly limited service area. In my experience, they treat their passengers like cattle. I suppose if you're expecting to be treated like cattle, any positive aspects to the experience would seem like "good service." I'll take a major airline over Southwest any day; at least I know if they cancel a flight on me, they won't make me wait until their next flight: They'll accommodate me on any other major airline.

 

[Trekker]

Why can you folks not get the hint - if you take a thread off track - like this has gone you only cause it to get closed!