Steps to take when an airline modifies your flight

Even in stable times, changes to airline schedules are quite common in the travel industry.

An airline might reduce the number of flights to a certain destination or change departure times to maximize aircraft efficiency. Often, a flight booked well in advance may experience several alterations before the actual departure. Airlines may postpone decisions about operating a flight for months or weeks, influenced by shifts in demand, equipment changes, or various other factors.

For instance, in 2022, a holiday disruption initially caused by severe weather led Southwest to cancel around 3,000 flights each day. This resulted in chaos for countless holiday travelers, with some stranded for days.

As a paying passenger, it’s essential to know how to navigate such situations.

Here are some approaches for handling schedule changes.

Understanding a schedule change

Before diving into those strategies, it’s crucial to discuss how to stay updated on schedule changes. Unfortunately, this can vary greatly based on your airline and the time remaining until your departure.

In certain situations, an airline might notify you via email when it alters your itinerary. This could include even minor changes — such as a new flight number while keeping the same schedule.

For instance, I once received an email regarding a five-minute change to my arrival time for a flight to Madrid (which I ultimately canceled for different reasons).

However, some airlines will only send these alerts if you're within a few months of your departure. Therefore, it’s essential to regularly check your itineraries yourself. You should monitor your reservations with the same diligence as you would tend to your plants.

Another valuable resource for managing schedule changes is ExpertFlyer (operated by TPG's parent company, Red Ventures). This platform is primarily recognized for its award-search features, but it can also notify you when an airline modifies a flight's schedule. Just input your flight details, and the service will automatically track any changes until your departure.

Keep in mind that this feature is part of the premium subscription, priced at $9.99 per month (or $99.99 for an annual plan).

We also utilize various services, including an app called Flighty. At times, Flighty alerts us to schedule changes even before the airline does. As shown in the screenshot below, it also notifies you when there’s a change in your aircraft, which can indicate a seat change as well.

You can easily enter your airline and flight number into Google, and it will provide you with a fairly accurate update on your flight status.

Another effective way to stay updated on schedule changes is to manually check your flights regularly. You don’t have to do this daily or even weekly. However, logging into your frequent flyer accounts every few weeks to review your upcoming trips can be beneficial. The sooner you spot any changes to your itinerary, the easier it will be to manage them.

Formulating a response plan

Once you’re aware of a schedule change, the next step is to devise a plan for handling it. Typically, you have three options:

• Take no action. In some instances, like my earlier example with Iberia, the schedule change is minor enough that you don’t need to do anything. You still intend to take the flight, despite the change. Some airlines may require you to acknowledge the change, while others might automatically confirm you on the new flight.
• Request a refund. If the change is significant enough that you decide against taking the flight, and no alternate itinerary suits your schedule, you would then pursue a refund.
• Explore a different route. A substantial schedule change could present a chance to be rebooked on a different flight — one of the best strategies for adapting to these changes.

The first option is straightforward: You accept the change and plan to take your new flight(s). However, the other two options are a bit more complex, so let’s delve into those.

Obtaining a complete refund

If there’s a significant alteration to your itinerary and you decide not to take your flight, you are entitled to a refund. Unfortunately, during the COVID-19 pandemic, many airlines refused to provide refunds. Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation indicated that refund issues were the leading cause of complaints during the peak of the crisis.

Nonetheless, the DOT took a strong stance in favor of consumers, stating that if an airline cancels your flight (or makes a major schedule adjustment), you are entitled to a full refund in the original payment method. While some airlines initially resisted this rule, most eventually complied.

In fact, in the years following, these regulations have been codified into law. The DOT now mandates that airlines automatically refund passengers when flights are canceled or significantly delayed or changed. Airlines must issue refunds within seven days for credit card purchases and within 20 days for other payment methods. However, a refund is only required if you don’t use the ticket, and if your flight is delayed by three hours for domestic trips or six hours for international ones.

Most airlines define specific criteria for what constitutes a "significant" schedule change. Typically, a significant change is identified when your departure, arrival, or connection times are altered by one to two hours, or if you’re switched from a nonstop flight to a connecting one. This is usually when you can negotiate changes to your itinerary with the airline.

If you discover that your trip has experienced a significant schedule change, check the specific airline's policy to determine if it qualifies as "significant" enough for a refund. You can then either call to cancel your itinerary or do it online (depending on the airline). Be very clear with the customer service agent on the phone, or meticulously review the terms of online cancellation.

Searching for an alternative (better) flight

At times, the schedule change might be substantial, yet you still want to proceed with the trip — just not under the revised itinerary. Perhaps your flight has been rescheduled to leave three hours earlier, and you can't take time off work to make it. Or maybe your connection time has been slashed from two hours to just 38 minutes. While this may still be a "legal" connection (meeting the airport's minimum connection time, or MCT), you might feel uneasy about it.

In such instances, you may find yourself in a favorable position; most airlines will strive to accommodate you with a new route — even if it costs more than your original fare.

For instance, I had a flight with American Airlines returning from New Mexico that involved a connection through Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) on my way back to Florida. This routing wasn’t the most convenient, but it was the best award option available at that moment. However, when the schedule changed, I was able to switch to a flight via Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). This adjustment reduced my travel time and ensured an earlier arrival home. Though the new routing was not available at the fare I initially paid, the airline could facilitate the change due to the schedule adjustment.

What should you do if you're booked on a partner airline?

The situation gets a little more complicated when you use miles from one loyalty program to book award flights operated by a different partner airline. If you make your reservation well in advance, you're likely to encounter at least one schedule change before your flight. If that change is significant, rebooking can be a challenge.

If this occurs well ahead of your departure (a week or more), start by contacting the airline through which you made your booking — even if another carrier is actually operating your flight. Ideally, that airline should be able to rebook you on one of its own flights or offer an alternative itinerary that still has available awards.

However, the process becomes much more complicated if your preferred routing isn’t available for awards. In that case, your best option is to request that the airline you booked with collaborate with its alliance contact at the partner airline to attempt to "force" availability. If that doesn't work, have a backup plan ready.

I encountered this very scenario in the fall of 2018. I used United Airlines MileagePlus miles to book a one-way, business-class flight from Ljubljana Joze Pucnik Airport (LJU) in Slovenia to Miami International Airport (MIA) via Vienna Airport (VIE). The first leg was operated by Adria Airways — before it went out of business — while the long-haul segment was managed by Austrian Airlines.

Five months prior to departure, Austrian adjusted to a seasonal flight from Vienna to Miami, leading to our rebooking on the following itinerary:

• Adria Airways from LJU to VIE (same as initially planned)
• Austrian Airlines from Vienna to Munich Airport (MUC)
• Lufthansa from MUC to MIA

This revised routing required an early-morning flight from Vienna and a brief connection in Munich, making it less than ideal. A far superior choice would have been the direct flight from Adria Airways from Ljubljana to Munich, which would have allowed us an overnight stay at Munich Airport (and a chance to explore the Christmas market between terminals) — but there were no award seats available for that option.

After numerous calls to United Airlines and requests for them to coordinate with Adria Airways, we hit a dead end. Ultimately, I discovered that we could take a shuttle bus from Ljubljana to Trieste, Italy; from there, we could catch a flight from Trieste Airport (TRS) to Munich and then on to Miami the following day. As there were award seats available on the Lufthansa flight from TRS to MUC, United was able to facilitate that change easily.

In the end, it's crucial to advocate with the airline you originally booked with to secure a suitable route, even if the change was made by a partner airline. Also, always have a backup plan in case nothing else works out.

Key Takeaway

Booking a new journey is thrilling, as it offers something to anticipate.

However, just because you schedule a flight in advance doesn't guarantee it will operate on that precise timetable. This has become especially apparent, as demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic and various recent travel disruptions.

Fortunately, there are crucial steps to take if you experience a significant schedule change. By remaining informed and thoughtfully evaluating all your options, you might transform a disrupted itinerary into a much more favorable routing — or even secure a full refund.