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Some of EyeOfTheFlyer readers travel in and out of major Delta hubs. But almost as many, like me, start at a smaller airport and then connect to one of the hubs to get to our final destination.
Personally, I was shocked, and saddened, to see the end to the South Bend to Detroit daily service that had been a staple for as long as I can remember both under Delta and previously as a Northwest segment. At the peak of Northwest and Delta’s dominance in South Bend, there were flights from SBN to Detroit, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Cincinnati. Now I am down to Atlanta and Minneapolis with limited flights per day.
Before anyone chimes in “YOU IDIOT! We warned you about this!” regarding my frequent rants about the evil CRJ-200s that are almost gone and that with their exit, this is exactly what would happen. I agree and am mostly OK with a more limited service option to have larger jets with first class seats and much more space. That said, now on to point of this post.
Just about every Saturday, Delta has what we call “Schedule Change Saturday“. The changes, week by week, can be massive and not just from the regional airline side but even the mainline side.
The official rule is you have to have at least an hour change of departure or arrival to get a free change. Some reps will push it to be two hours and if this happens, you can either push back or hang up and call back till you find a rep who knows the rules. But there is more.
Delta tells us that you can change, not just change flights, but also change airport if they are within 100 miles of the departing or arriving airports at no fee. This can really be helpful to get you closer to the original flight times you had booked. You can take a look at MilesOfMe.com to see what your options are (note: not all of them may have airline service with Delta).
Another issue that can crop up is not just the time changes but also the number of flights you have switched to (often due to the hard wired rule that you can not have a longer than 4 hour domestic layover between flights) that is, you maybe booked a flight with only two connections and you now have three all of a sudden. This is a reason to switch flights and or airports near one another.
Lastly, keep in mind just how powerful the schedule change rule can be and the greater flexibility reps have with the rule. Once you have one, especially an extreme one say like 3 hours or more, reps have a ton of power to push the boundaries, that is, maybe airports even a little bit further than 100 miles or flights you want that are much better for your schedule or desire. – René
Advertiser Disclosure: Eye of the Flyer, a division of Chatterbox Entertainment, Inc., is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact how and where card products appear on the site. This site does not include all card companies or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities. Some of the links on this page are affiliate or referral links. We may receive a commission or referral bonus for purchases or successful applications made during shopping sessions or signups initiated from clicking those links.
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I’ve had 12 hour schedule changes and direct flights out of DTW turn into ATL connections.
Delta reps asked “why do you want to change?”
Hanging up and calling back has turned into a game. Service has taken a hit and can’t rely on the schedule. I hope spirit/JetBlue ends up improving DTW service.
Many times I have made free changes online with even a one minute schedule change.
@Frankie – Yep! It is worth trying online or in app to see what comes up even before calling.
That’s a bummer. Very thankful to have GRR 15 minutes from my house and flying larger planes (FULL) every couple hours to DTW, ATL, and MSP. I do fear the loss of direct to LGA for a long weekend in NYC. I don’t think I’ve been on anything but a CRJ or comparable for that route.