Oh, please, stop switching my flights!!!!

[chessie2008]

I never heard about being able to cancel without penalty - Is this true for all airlines or just Airtran?

Airtran was doing the same things to our flights so I shopped around. I knew that everytime they changed it, we had the right to cancel without penalty. We checked out Southwest and ended up saving over $80! We have 4 RT nontop tickets for under $600.00! I suggest you shop around before you accept the change in flights. Good luck!

 

[rt2dz]

My husband said that to me after the email came with the flight changes----"We should have just driven." I would normally think that's nuts with 2 young kids, but now I'm thinking you two are on to something. If I'd purchased refundables, I be seriously considering canceling the flights altogether.

Driving is not that bad. We do it with 3 little kids, twice a year, on 24 hour drives (not counting stopping over night). If you organize (and not just a DVD player, that's like sticking a band aid on a cut that needs stitches) and have realistic expectations, it can be enjoyable. If you are seriously considering it, call. You can play up the "you switched my flight" scenario and see what you get after you ask for a supervisor. I'm sure you found a loop hole; you aren't getting what you purchased.

 

[daleswife]

Im flying allegiant and they have changed the dates im flying, but not the times. The time is the same. but they changed the date from saturday to friday for our flight down, and from saturday to sunday for our flight back. it sucks cause we had to pay for 2 extra days in the parks, but its awsome cause we get two extra days in the park!!!

 

[mrstomrice]

I never heard about being able to cancel without penalty - Is this true for all airlines or just Airtran?

I only know about Airtran, but their policy is a full refund or a change in flight by 1 day without any penalty if they change your flight. We had no problem canceling.
If you have an Airtran flight, be sure to check it b/c they never informed us of any changes. I only checked b/c of reports on Disboards.

 

[jerseygirl82]

Spirit moved my flight times two or three times (I can't remember exactly). The last time it happened they moved me to coming home in the morning, which would mean missing a breakfast adr. I saw somewhere on the DIS that if your flight is changed and its more than 30 minutes you have the right to a full refund. So that's what I did! Canceled Spirit, got on Continental. By doing this I also gained a whole extra day in Disney

 

[J3nn78]

I never heard about being able to cancel without penalty - Is this true for all airlines or just Airtran?

Was true for Delta too. They changed our flights and there was not way in
H3ll that I was going to pay for the change. They changed us from one stop to 3 stops on the way home.

Demand a refund. THey have to give it to you if they change the schedule.

worked out for us. We saved a few hundred dollars booking on Continental instead.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Spirit moved my flight times two or three times (I can't remember exactly). The last time it happened they moved me to coming home in the morning, which would mean missing a breakfast adr. I saw somewhere on the DIS that if your flight is changed and its more than 30 minutes you have the right to a full refund. So that's what I did! Canceled Spirit, got on Continental. By doing this I also gained a whole extra day in Disney

I booked my Spirit flights months ago...even got 1st class for less than the price of coach. If I cancelled and tried to rebook with Spirit or anyone else now I'd pay almost twice as much for a coach seat. I'll deal with the rearranging...but not happy about it. Now if they change it from a non-stop to one with layovers...then I'd definitely cancel and rebook elsewhere.

 

[Marthonica]

You should be able to get a full refund if the airline has changed your flights and they are no longer acceptable to you. Check another airline first (I'm partial to Southwest), you don't want to cancel your first flight and end up paying twice as much for new flights. You can also request other flights on the same airline instead of canceling, but they may not offer you anything worth taking.

I know all this from experience! Our Delta flight to Disney for late September was changed (pushed back 4 hours and it was no longer direct). I first asked for a flight the night before, but the option they gave me was terrible. Hello??? Who wants to arrive in Orlando at midnight with a 4 year old?? I then asked for a full refund. I already knew Southwest had a flight I wanted at a good price.

Hope it all works out for everyone who has had this happen. Most important advice - CHECK your flight schedules regularly!

 

[disney_momma21]

We are flying Delta in September and they have changed our flights so many times it's ridiculous!! We originally had a flight from Oregon to Atlanta with a two hour layover till we had to catch our next plane to MCO. Well then they've change our layever to 30 mins!! With 6 adults and one 3 year old in our group I just don't see a 30 min layover possible. So we switched our flights and yet again that flight was changed too!! It's so frustrating. I just want to see the Mouse darn it!

 

[mdurette]

WOW - I never knew this was happening. We ALWAYS fly Southwest and NEVER - EVER have this problem with them. But for our Nov trip they were VERY expensive compared to others and they are the only non stop from Providence to Orlando. So, I shopped and will be using Boston instead (I hate to deal with Boston - but for a $1,000 savings (yes it was that much) it was worth it.

So....my question.
We have non stop from BOS to MCO on Delta 3:00pm flight and
non stop from MCO to BOS on Air Tran 5:00pm flight. Both of these flights are later than I would prefer - but heck the money savings.

Do they change things last minute also?
Do you know if they will actually switch you from a non-stop to a 1 stop (I would hate this).
Do you know if either of these will just let you cancell and give you your $$ back (assuming it's not too late to book with someone else?)

 

[lilybrooke14]

I just wanted to thank those that mentioned Airtran's policy.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I thought we were just stuck after they changed our nonstop flight to a layover flight (when we'd payed extra for the nonstop flight to begin with). They said they were canceling the nonstop service, but when I checked online, there were still nonstop flights available.

I called and they switched us back to a nonstop flight, and we are leaving earlier from home by a few hours and returning home from Disney 11 hours later than originally planned. We practically wound up with a whole extra day of our trip! For free! So again....

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

I'm fully aware that they may change our flights again, but they'll try to keep them around the same times, as opposed to the later/earlier times we had previously, so although we could still end up with a layover, we'll still wind up with more time on our trip. Yay!

 

[rt2dz]

Just thought I'd let those with flights being switched know that I was talking with some airline/general airport employees and they told me that the FFA passed a law/guideline that ends the switching of flights like that. Airlines will be charged $500 per person that they switch. If your flight is switched, and you don't like it, you should go to the FFA website and find out what you can do--report the airline? Just thought I'd let you know.

 

[mpls_mm]

Airtran switched mine and were very pleasant and gave me another non-stop etc etc. Checked after seeing this thread and they don't do direct from Minneapolis anymore, they gave me a refund and I will have to try elsewhere.