Delta Air Lines rescheduled my flight by 9 1/2 hours: Do I have to accept this ticket?
Dianne Ness and her husband were stunned when Delta Air Lines rescheduled their upcoming flight from Boston to Phoenix by 91/2 hours.
They were looking forward to landing in Phoenix, picking up a rental car and making the scenic drive to the Grand Canyon while it was still light outside.
“The new flight would have had us driving through the Grand Canyon at 1 a.m. — an ill-advised idea, especially for someone who does not know the area,” she says.
But they were even more surprised that Delta offered them only one option.
“You can cancel the flight,” a representative told them. “But you purchased a nonrefundable flight so all we can do is give you a credit for future travel.”
True, the Nesses had Basic Economy tickets, the most restricted airfare
Delta offers. But did they have to accept Delta’s offer?
Ness’ mess begs several questions:
What are your rights when an airline delays your flight? How do you turn an airline ticket credit into a refund? When will airlines stop lying to us?
But before we get the answers, let’s take a closer look at Ness’s Arizona vacation.
‘IT WAS THE ONLY OPTION’
Faced with either losing the value of her flight or accepting the ticket credit, Ness did what she thought she had to: She canceled her flight.
“It was the only option I was given,” she says. “I took a credit for future travel, which was nontransferable and had to be used by the end of the year.”
This is typical for airlines. They give you the information that suits their business interests. Yes, it’s true that Ness and her husband qualified for a ticket credit. But there was more to the story.
Lawmakers are onto such tactics. The U.S. Senate version of the FAA Reauthorization bill would have required airlines to disclose all passenger rights — not just the ones that enrich the airlines.
Ness thought she was stuck with a ticket credit that she’d have to use by the end of the year but might not be able to. And if that happened, Delta would be able to keep all of her money without flying her anywhere.
WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS WHEN DELTA AIR LINES RESCHEDULES YOUR FLIGHT?
If your airline delays your domestic flight, you have
rights under federal regulations.
If an airline cancels your flight, it must offer a full refund or a new flight of the airline’s choosing. The airline may also owe you some compensation, depending on where you’re flying or the reason for the delay. By the way, that’s also true if the airline ends service to a destination. It has to offer a refund or a replacement flight.
If an airline delays your flight, your airline owes you less. There’s no requirement that your airline keep its timetable in the
United States. For longer delays, though, federal law requires that the airline offer a full refund. It must be a “significant” delay, which airlines define differently. (If your flight is to or from a destination in Europe, you may be eligible for more compensation.)
But for Ness, the important question was: What is a “significant” delay for Delta?
The answer: 120 minutes.
“If you have experienced a flight cancellation or