Swiss Air changed flight, what are my options?

And does SA do this regularly?

I can answer this part. I’ve flown Swiss Air multiple times in the last few years and they always seem to change the aircraft after I book. That’s one disadvantage to booking so early. I fly economy so the change is not a big deal to me. A few times I just had to go in and change my seat.

Swiss has been pretty late in introducing premium economy, they only did it a couple of years ago. That means that only around half of their fleet have been equipped with premium economy so far, so yes that can happen.

Thanks for the heads up; we might be better off taking the seat selection fee losses and starting over.

And can we get them to rebook us out of another city, or are they only obligated to rebook a Florence departure?

I haven’t flown Swiss Air, but when Delta used to switch my flights often, I would figure out which options worked the best ahead of time, then I called them and politely told them the issue and my preferred options. Sometimes it’s just getting a different person on the phone if your first call didn’t know other options. (A 6:30am is still a reasonable option for them to give you.). Good luck!

I am surprised Swiss Air even has premium economy as I flew them ORD-ZRH r/t in January and there were no premium economy seats on the plane. They did have real 1st class though.

Have you perused the email or Swiss' website for details on your options? Is cancelling the reservation, obtaining a refund and starting over an option? I would not worry about the one hour layover or the 6:30 AM departure as you are on a single reservation to CHI.

A 6:30 am departure may not trigger a worry about making the connection to the long haul flight, but is simply unacceptable to some people (like us). It means getting up at 3 am to get to the airport, and that makes for a VERY long day, with increased travel fatigue/jet lag on the homebound trip.

When British Airways changed our noon flight from Bologna airport to a 7:00 am departure, I asked to change to Milan for our departure, and that was granted. But maybe Swiss Air has a different policy on that.

The problem with canceling and re-booking something else, as you know, is that prices have likely gone up. N Plus you would lose what you paid to choose seats. It is certainly worth looking around to see what else is available at a reasonable price. But you might also consider that on a homebound flight, which is all in the daytime, the more comfortable seat in PE may not be as important as it is on the overnight flight to Europe.

I had to make that decision for our upcoming trip to London in April—-I booked our flights with miles, and there were no Business Class seats left on the LHR to SEA plane. So we will come home in PE on the British Airways daytime flight. My husband says he’ll be fine. 😊

The seat fees being non-refundable after they were the ones to change your flight is unethical. I know of several airlines that do this, and I don't see how they get away with it.

I suspect the seat fees are only non-refundable if they reject all the options offered and cancel the existing flights. If they take one that is offered, the seat fees they paid should roll over to the new flight. Although if it ends up being in Economy instead of the PE they paid for, they should get a refund for the difference.

Call and ask to speak to a supervisor.

But before you do that, do your homework and search (extensively if necessary) to come up with some preferred alternatives on your own. Then when you call and speak with a supervisor, see if they'll give you what you ask for. The key is to have all the details of your own preferred alternatives at hand, so they don't have to do a lot of searching for you.

Airline staff can, if they're willing and - critically important - if they have been empowered by their management to solve customer issues - bend or even break some rules.

When you buy a flight ticket, you and the seller are entering into a contract. The terms of the contract are pretty explicit: you agree to pay them, (and to behave...no skiplagging, etc.). They agree to transport you from Point A to Point B on a specified date and time (within limits). A few details are supposed to be unchangeable: the origin and destination cities can't be changed (though not the stops in between) and flight departure date can't be changed.

So going by the contract, they can't fly you to Point C or from Point X instead, or depart a day earlier or later. But if you ask nicely, and you ask the right person (and maybe give them a reason) they MAY bend the rules and allow you to change one or more of those things. You can always get a refund if the alternatives they offer are not acceptable to you. The new flight might cost more than what you paid, but they might wave the fare difference. They may refuse to do anything and just offer an unattractive alternative, no negotiations (and technically, the departure and arrival cities are supposed to be set in stone...so you should know going in that changing that is a big ask).

When a flight changes, it's not necessarily a bad thing. I've had a flight change that allowed me to negotiate for a nonstop flight (which would cost more) than my original (cheaper) 1-stop or 2-stop itinerary. So a flight change can (sometimes) get you a much better flight, maybe at no extra cost. But you need to ask. And they have to be willing to play along.

Note: Once you accept the alternative flight that the airline's computer has offered you, then your negotiating position is much weaker, so whatever you do, don't just click OK on the airline's website when it says your flight has changed, here's what we're gonna put you on. Do your homework, summon all the charm you can, and call them to see if they'll make it right for you. Good luck.

Thanks for the information and inspiration! I called SA twice when I first got the notice this morning, and both customer service reps offered flights the day before or later, and a switch to Austrian Air, so maybe there's some flexibility for a departure city. If we can fly out of Rome, it really helps our itinerary. Thanks to everyone for helping me.

Firsly, you are travelling on SWISS, Swiss Air ceased trading two decades ago :-)

... either a 1-hour layover, which feels too short,...

A one hour layover is not short, it is efficient. In ZRH absolutely no problem. If that schedule suits you just take it.