Nonstop bait and switch?

[travelover]

Once again I've booked a nonstop flight on Delta - paying a little more than I'd like - only to get a notice a month or so later that it is no longer a nonstop flight. Given that airlines charge you extra for the tiniest on board convenience, I feel like it is not an even trade - nonstop for one stop. As this is winter travel, every stop increases the chances of lost luggage and or a missed connecting flight. Last Christmas we lost our luggage for 4 days.

Has anyone else seen this switcheroo as a trend (or am I just turning into an old grouch)?

 

[brewer12345]

Dunno, but it sucks. There is at least one laywer suing the airlines for failing to deliver his luggage after charging a fee explicitly to do so.

 

[samclem]

There is at least one lawyer suing the airlines for failing to deliver his luggage after charging a fee explicitly to do so.

I wonder if service providers would be within their rights to discriminate against lawyers? It's not "age, race, ethnicity, gender," etc.

 

[soupcxan]

If there is another direct flight that you'd prefer, I'd call delta and ask for a refund of your ticket even if it was "non-refundable". You might check the conditions of carriage. I think odds are reasonable they would consent in this situation. If you get pushback, tell them you're going to file a complaint of bait-and-switch with the DOT.

 

[travelover]

.... I'd call Delta and ask..............

You do realize that airlines charge extra to talk to a real person now? That luxury might burn up my expected refund.

 

[Moemg]

The bait & switch has only happened to me at Delta . We had a flight that was leaving Boston at 2PM and they switched it to a 8PM flight . It is aggravating especially since they are charging extra for everything . I try to fly Southwest .

 

[BigNick]

The bait & switch has only happened to me at Delta . We had a flight that was leaving Boston at 2PM and they switched it to a 8PM flight .

A common trick here in Europe (and I'm sure you're familiar with it) is to announce a super service like 5 flights a day between X and Y, then if two of the flights are less than half full, announce a "technical problem with the plane" for flight N and put everyone on flight N+1, several hours later.

 

[sailor]

We are getting same treatment from Delta
I booked direct flight ATL<->OAK and now Delta changed it to different flights, with a stopover in SLC.
What's more annoying, they already changed my itinerary 4 times and they split my family into different flights and I needed to call them to put us back on the same flight.

 

[brett]

You need to be careful. There is a difference beween a non stop flight and a 'direct' flight. My understanding is that a direct flight can in fact have a stop, but you do not get off the plane. When we travel in the winter we always try to get a non stop flight instead of a direct flight....less chance of weather issues without that extra stop.

 

[braumeister]

Take pity on us poor folk who rely on the Cincinnati airport.
Delta pretty much has a lock on it, so not only do we have very little choice of airlines, but we pay some of the highest fares in the country.

Many of us are happy to drive a couple of hours to fly out of Dayton, Columbus, Louisville or Indianapolis to get much lower fares and just as important, the chance to fly something other than Delta.

 

[samclem]

Take pity on us poor folk who rely on the Cincinnati airport.
Delta pretty much has a lock on it, so not only do we have very little choice of airlines, but we pay some of the highest fares in the country.

Many of us are happy to drive a couple of hours to fly out of Dayton, Columbus, Louisville or Indianapolis to get much lower fares and just as important, the chance to fly something other than Delta.

We've got a nice airport in Dayton and the fares are reasonable, as are parking prices. As you say, a lot of people from Cincinnati come up even though CVG is a lot closer.

Now that Airtran (with a presence in DAY) is being bought by Southwest (no DAY desk), hopefully we'll soon have still more destinations available at reasonable prices. My personal hope is that Southwest/Airtran would pick a new southwest hub somewhere other than the nightmare that is Atlanta/Hartsfield, but that's unlikely. Southwest reportedly bought Airtran largely for access to their gates in ATL. Charlotte airport is so much nicer

 

[flyfishnevada]

+1 on Southwest. Their not perfect, but from my experiences with Delta, AA, and others, they are one of the best. With the take over of AirTran they now cover pretty much most of the continental US. No charge for baggage, friendly staff, cheap fairs with straight forward rules and a fantastic frequent flier program. And now it looks like they might serve the Caribbean. That would make our annual trip to Jamaica so much nicer.

 

[flyfishnevada]

Yesterday, we found out the US airways moved out connecting flight to the day before our originating flight left. We had a flight from Las Vegas to Phoenix, then connected to Charlotte, NC. They moved the PHX to CLT flight to the night before and did nothing but notify us that our flight times had changed. We called and got another flight with no change in fare, but I am not instilled with confidence. Last year American left us stranded in Montego Bay because a technician failed to fill out the maintenance log books correctly. We missed out connection and had to stay the night in Miami. We almost missed our son's birthday. Luckily the guy in Miami bent a few rules and got us a flight directly to Reno. Otherwise it was going to be a seriously messed up trip to Las Vegas and we would then miss out flight back to Reno on Southwest.

Why does it need to be so complicated? I have no faith in the airline industry short of Southwest Airlines.

 

[foxfirev5]

Check the schedule and pick a flight that suites your timeframe, regardless of cost. Give them a call, be pleasant but persistant, and tell them what you want. (My DW handles this part!) Delta pulled a switcheroo on us and we were able to get another day in the Keys and return on the weekend which was considerably more expensive.