Last week I received an email from Delta changing our May travel itinerary. No longer Columbus to Boston to Amsterdam, now via Detroit but with a much shorter window for changing to the transatlantic leg. Our arrival time in Amsterdam remained unchanged. When I asked, I was told that if either my departure or arrival time was 90 minutes different we were eligible to change without penalty or receive a complete refund. Our new departure time was 95 minutes later. The agent was great, offered many alternatives and worked patiently till we found a good solution. The itinerary we ended with...via Atlanta...was many hundreds of dollars more than ours when we bought our tickets long ago; we had looked at that connection but decided against it. Our new tickets were processed quickly and pleasantly with no additional charge. Just learned something and wanted to share.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33832 posts
good knowledge to share
Posted by
Berkeley CA
1321 posts
I'm glad that you found something satisfactory.
But it seems so WRONG that you had to purchase more expensive tickets ...
Posted by
Washington DC
28078 posts
SharYn, I think Denny is saying that they did not have to pay extra for the new tickets, despite that connection originally having been priced higher.
Posted by
OP
Columbus, OH, USA
2083 posts
SharYn, we did not pay anything additional, even though this route was more expensive than the one we had selected originally. Actually, we did pay for a change in Comfort Plus...our Detroit to Amsterdam cost was $89 and from Atlanta it is $119. I couldn't just pay the difference. They refunded 2 at $89 and we purchased 2 for $119. That was all fine with me.
Posted by
East Peoria, IL
800 posts
Hooray for you, Denny! It's nice when the world treats you decently.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2776 posts
Last year, we had a change in our Delta itinerary to Venice that was ridiculous. It added a new leg so we were flying from Pittsburgh to Detroit to Paris (with a seven hour layover!) to Venice. I got online and found a two-leg trip that made more sense, and also happened to be the cheapest. I called and asked for that flight and agreed immediately to the change. We had paid for premium coach or whatever it is called, but it was not available on our new overseas flight. We were credited for the cost of that almost immediately. I know it didn't cost them anything, but I was impressed with how friendly and efficient they were when I requested the change.
It's nice to hear and share good stories about airlines.
Posted by
Berkeley CA
1321 posts
I am happy to have been wrong ... It's very nice to hear of good customer service these days!
Posted by
NW Ohio
347 posts
Good to know. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by
St Louis, MO, USA
46 posts
I had a similar situation with a Turkish Airlines, and they were very helpful. Once they understood that their several minor changes to departure times totaled more than 90 minutes, they let me completely adjust the route. I actually added a leg, and while I did have to pay for that, the primary long distance fare had dropped enough from when I had originally booked it, that it didn't really cost me anything extra. The rub? I had do do all this in person at their Chicago sales office, because I had already made one prior change on the ticket over the phone. Strange policy, but the salesperson was very helpful, and I remain a big fan of Turkish Airlines.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4088 posts
Putting in a good word for Detroit Metro airport, the Delta terminal dominates the airport and is easy to use. I'd be comfortable with 90 minutes for a connection although delays can happen anywhere.
Posted by
Frankfurt, Germany
9220 posts
For trips to and from Columbus, have a look at Air Canada. It is my go to airline when I need to go to Ohio from Frankfurt. Quick trip to Toronto and the overseas flight is usually just 7.5 hours, 8 going back from Europe.
Posted by
OP
Columbus, OH, USA
2083 posts
Thanks, Ms.Jo. I will keep them in mind. I appreciate the tip.
Posted by
Memphis TN
5 posts
A similar thing happened to my wife and I with Delta for our flights this June. We were flying MEM-MSP-LHR with 2 hours in MSP. They changed us to MEM-DTW-LHR with 43 minutes connection time. I had a great agent when I called that changed our flight to MEM-ATL-LHR with 1.5 hour connection. They didn't charge us for the changes to the fares and were able to add our upgrades that we had already paid for too. I have been impressed with the willingness of the customer service reps to help when there has been a schedule change.
Posted by
105 posts
Glad you were able to get your ticket changed to how you wanted it, but I have to agree with the previous poster about the Detroit airport for Delta. I would take Detroit with a 45 minute layover vs a 2-3 hour Atlanta layover any day of the week. That airport is just that easy.
Posted by
OP
Columbus, OH, USA
2083 posts
Mrs EB, that is exactly what happened to us except it was the DTW to CDG flight, Delta/Air Fance. We were delayed in Columbus by storms for about 30 minutes. Ran like fiends in Detroit, which I remember as a long haul, and the agent was literally placing our scanned boarding passes back in our hands when an attendant with the face of Medusa ( bad sign, I thought ) walked off the plane and announced that boarding was closed. 20 + people immediately started screaming. We walked over one gate to the London flight ( my plan B hatched at home before departing, and arranged as backup in the Columbus airport if/when we missed the Paris flight ) and got put on with a connection to Paris. The agent at the London gate who saw the whole thing unfold smiled and told us "I don't get it. They always shut that flight down early. This happens all the time." As much has I hate sitting in airports, we now pretty much will consider only 2 to 3 hour turnarounds when flying internationally. And we're older now and can't run quite as fast as the old days....or is that the young days?