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Atlanta-Hartsfield Connection Time - Need Expert Advice - Another Delta Schedule Chg


southwestgal
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Dealing with the most recent Delta time change roulette. For the prior changes, we've been able to switch to flights with acceptable layovers, but now we are in a pickle and need expert advice from folks like Flyertalker and Globaliser.

 

Here's the current situation that Delta switched us to:

 

11/3, DL65, FCO-ATL, 10:25am - 4:54pm (comfort plus seats row 16)

connecting to

11/3, DL1319, ATL-PHX, 7:01 pm - 7:58pm (First Class cabin)

 

The change was on the ATL-PHX segment. Originally, we were on a flight leaving ATL to PHX at 10pm which had a 5 hour connection time. I am keeping the FCO-ATL flight but need advice about the Atlanta connection time and the ATL-PHX segment.

 

Note that we have two tickets that are supposedly "linked". Delta would not sell us one ticket with mixed classes. So they sold us a RT PHX-ATL-PHX in First Class and then we have a multi-city ticket, ATL-BCN returning from FCO-ATL in comfort class which at least gets us closer to the front of the bus when exiting in ATL.

 

We both have Global Entry, only have carry-on bags (nothing to check) and we are very mobile (i.e. we can run if we have to).

 

The 10pm flight that we were on from ATL-PHX was removed from Delta's schedule and the 7pm one is now the last non-stop flight out. Our other choice is to take an 8am flight out the next morning on 11/5.

 

I'm concerned about the 2 hour best case connection. If the flight is late, we are probably doomed. And if that happens, what are our chances of getting on the 8am flight the next day? I know, nobody has a crystal ball but I don't know if being in first class gives us any advantage over others about being accommodated.

 

Do we stick with the 7pm flight or suck it up and stay the night and leave the next day?

 

We are not retired and need to go to work Monday morning, hence we would love to get home Saturday night.

 

So, is 2 hours a good connection time or will we be doing a sprint through the airport? I hope I gave the experts enough information to give us some good advice. If there are details you still need, please let me know.:(

 

I really appreciate the knowledge sharing on this board.

 

Thanks!

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I am not the expert that Globalizer and Flyer Talker are but I connect in Atlanta for every flight we book including international travel.

You will arrive in either concourse E or F and head to Customs and Immigration. With Global Entry you will be directed to a kiosk to scan and once cleared head to Customs. Since you will not have checked luggage you pass through after clearing. When you exit there will be the sky train right in front of you which will carry you to your next concourse/gate.

Your FCO-ATL is within the heavy international arrival period. And some of the arrival gates are a hefty hike from C & I.

I understand your angst. Under normal circumstances and with one ticket you wouldn't have any issues but you are on two tickets and any mishap will create havoc. There is no guarantee that Delta would have space for you on the 8 am either at the last minute.

The good aspect of your situation is the length of time in the flight time changes. That gives you the freedom to rebook without fees and would more than likely also provide seats in your preferred F cabin.

We faced the same Delta situation with a different arrival airport and opted for a next day flight. Our flight from AMS was late due to a medical emergency. If we had kept our original reservation we would not have gotten home that day.

Most of the hotels around the airport are just fine for one night. They all have shuttle service.

Good luck

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Like you we have Global Entry and are often near the "front of the bus." Two hours for a transfer it going to be truly hit or miss with the odds in your favor. Over the years we have twice missed connections (with about 2 - 2 1/2 hour) on Delta flights. In one case the problem was that the luggage from our International flight did not show-up for about an hour. Clearing Customs took longer then normal (long queues) but then we hit a very long queue to go through TSA (this is necessary if you are connecting to any domestic flight). TSA did not have a pre-check line and this is what caused us to miss our connection. In that case, since we were connecting to the last flight of the day Delta put us on a morning flight and picked up the tab for our hotel (because of the luggage delay) The 2nd time it happened our luggage came up in about 30 minutes, but that darn TSA line took so long we again missed a tight connection. This time Delta refused to pay any or our overnight hotel claiming that missing our connection was "due to a weather delay." This made no sense but that is what they had in the computer and the Delta folks at the airport were unable (or unwilling) to override the hotel restriction.

 

One hint. If you were to miss your connection you do need to proceed to one of the Delta service desks. But while you are on your way (or waiting) call Delta on your cell phone or use one of the house phones located near their various customer service desks. The folks on the phone can quickly book you on the next flight and if you were to wait until you got up to the customer service desk its possible all the seats would be gone. Once you get your seats via phone you can just ask the Customer Service folks to print out your boarding pass. These days you can probably get the new boarding pass on your phone (if you have the Delta App) and totally avoid the queue.

 

Hank

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I fly DL often...don't be surprised if you have another flight change before your flight date....Check your flights often especially late Sunday night that's when they seem to make changes. Best of luck and too bad you have so little time at ATL it's actually one of my favorite airports to connect through.

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Thanks to everyone for their replies. I appreciate the information from folks who have experienced Atlanta connections in real life.

 

Both of our flights have changed so much since we purchased the tickets that it is absolutely nuts. You buy a product, but really the only thing that an airline is selling you is a ticket from one city to another city without any guarantees about time/date/product. It is unfortunate because we did a lot of research on the schedule that worked the best, the product the carrier offered and the price. Now, of course, the flight schedules have changed so much that we probably wouldn't have picked Delta as our carrier for this trip. But to switch at this date, would cost us more money (of course) and the seats we would want are limited. People complain about Southwest, but at least I can count on their schedule not changing when it is published. Too bad they don't fly to Europe. :) Oh well, off my soapbox.

 

I did read that the TSA line in the international terminals do not have the TSA Pre Lines (at least when connecting from intl to domestic flights) and read about a strategy of leaving the international terminal and coming back in and using the non-connection TSA lines which do have Pre. There were a lot of discussions whether or not the time used to get outside would just be better spent waiting in the longer connecting lines. Is it possible to get outside the international terminal and get to one of the domestic terminals by a shuttle bus or something and then re-enter that way? Probably has the same result that we're just better off just waiting in the non-pre lines at the international terminal. Why the heck don't they have pre in the international area? ARGGGHHHHHH

 

There is hope at least that none of you said that there is no way we would make it. We haven't made any hasty decisions yet so we do have the ability to change the flight. Right now the 8am is still available with seats in First. It is so weird that the 10pm flight was only removed from the schedule the one night that we would want to be on it. It's still there for other nights which is also a bit crazy. Based on that, we are hoping that perhaps they will add it back to the schedule - maybe somebody made a mistake something. Weirder things have happened.

 

In the meantime, I truly appreciate the experiences that have been shared. Thank you.

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You buy a product, but really the only thing that an airline is selling you is a ticket from one city to another city without any guarantees about time/date/product. It is unfortunate because we did a lot of research on the schedule that worked the best, the product the carrier offered and the price. Now, of course, the flight schedules have changed so much that we probably wouldn't have picked Delta as our carrier for this trip. But to switch at this date, would cost us more money (of course) and the seats we would want are limited. People complain about Southwest, but at least I can count on their schedule not changing when it is published.
You can always replicate the Southwest effect by not booking other airlines until closer to the time of travel, when the schedules are much more likely to remain stable. But what you'll find is what you've already said: it would cost you more money and there are limited seats.

 

And that's how it already is with booking Southwest on the routes on which it does fly, as cheaper seats have often previously been available on other airlines before Southwest bookings open. So the Southwest system is not necessarily a win-win: there is probably a price to pay for the schedule stability. (And that's before you start asking why it is that Southwest does not operate long-haul flights; the answer is likely to include the difficulty of making the Southwest model work for long-hauls.)

 

Back to your specific problem, it is not only that you have correctly identified what you've bought, ie a ticket from one place to another with no guarantees about timing. You have also got a second difficulty, which is that you have actually bought two tickets that may not be contractually linked to each other. It would be interesting to know the extent to which the bookings have been "linked". My suspicion is that there's a good chance that there's nothing formal or contractual, and the extent of it is a memo in the booking that identifies that you're also travelling on another booking. Strictly speaking, it could be the case that if your FCO-ATL flight is late and you miss the ATL-PHX flight, you've missed it in the same way as if you'd overslept or your car had broken down. Would the airline reaccommodate you the next day for free?

 

I don't know what written guarantees you've had about that, and that's what I'd be wanting to find out now when planning what to do. I would not want to be in the position of finding out on the day of the misconnect that your onward ticket to PHX is now worthless because you've missed the flight, so that you not only have to pay for a hotel that night but also for a brand-new ticket home the next day.

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We frequently fly Delta and have long known that any of their schedules more than 3 months in the future as simply "advisory" and not fact. With Delta, schedule changes are the norm and can drive one to drink. I cannot recall a single instance where we booked Delta far in advance and had flights that were the same times as originally booked.

 

Hank

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I fly Delta frequently so here is my .02:

You have 2 hours and you have GE. If it were me in that circumstance, and it has been multiple times, I wouldn't give it a second thought. A key thing in your favor is that you don't have checked bags. That means that you won't have to wait at the baggage carousel; you can proceed directly through customs to security. Yes, there may be other flights that landed just ahead of yours, but you will have a big leg up over most on your flight who will be waiting for bags. Also, international flights are generally given some level of priority. Meaning, if things are backed up at FCO, they will hopefully get the big internationally bound birds out sooner, and you'll have a long enough flight that they can likely make up a good bit of time if the departure still ends up being delayed.

 

 

 

The main thing you potentially have to be concerned with is if for some reason you don't make your connection, you'll be looking at the 8am the next day. And if there aren't enough available seats on that flight in F, your choice will be wait for a flight that has available seats in F, or voluntarily let yourself be downgraded to coach to get on the flight. The key word there is "voluntarily." That means, you likely won't be reimbursed for the fare difference. But again, it would be your choice to be downgraded, or wait til a later flight that has F available. At that point, you can decide what's most important, but as I stated above, if I had 2 hours and GE, (and no checked bags) I wouldn't be giving this a second thought.

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I concur with Globaliser's concern about your separate tickets. You state that DL would not sell you a ticket in mixed classes. To that, I am sceptical. So would the OP please answer this question:

 

Is it that DL would not sell you a ticket with mixed classes OR was it that you could not buy this ticket online from DL?

 

Big difference and not clear from your original posting.

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After I contacted my Congressman about the lack of a TSA Pre-Check line in the area between international and domestic flight connections at ATL, he received information from the Department of Homeland Security that "they are studying the situation" and "such a line may be made available when their staffing would allow them to do so."

 

 

I wouldn't hold my breath, however, to actually see it happen.

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After I contacted my Congressman about the lack of a TSA Pre-Check line in the area between international and domestic flight connections at ATL, he received information from the Department of Homeland Security that "they are studying the situation" and "such a line may be made available when their staffing would allow them to do so."

 

 

I wouldn't hold my breath, however, to actually see it happen.

 

That is about the same as promising a smooth cruise if the seas are calm :).

 

Hank

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I concur with Globaliser's concern about your separate tickets. You state that DL would not sell you a ticket in mixed classes. To that, I am sceptical. So would the OP please answer this question:

 

Is it that DL would not sell you a ticket with mixed classes OR was it that you could not buy this ticket online from DL?

 

Big difference and not clear from your original posting.

 

 

Hi Flyertalker,

 

I first attempted to purchase the ticket online and was unable to do so because of the mixed classes. This is what I attempted to purchase:

 

PHX - ATL - BCN: I wanted First Class from PHX-ATL and then Comfort Plus from ATL- BCN.

 

Returning flight is FCO - ATL - PHX. Again, I wanted Comfort Plus on the international segment of FCO - ATL and then First class on the domestic ATL - PHX segment.

 

When I couldn't mix classes online, I figured that the website couldn't handle this type of purchase and did not purchase anything on the website. I then called Delta directly and spoke with a Delta ticketing agent. She tried to ticket the flights and she said that she could not mix the classes either. The computer was not allowing her to. She put me on hold while she conferred with someone else and came back and confirmed that she was unable to put the flights on one ticket. She said that she could issue us the the RT PHX-ATL-PHX as one ticket and then the mixed city ATL-BCN, FCO-ATL on another ticket. She said that she could link the tickets.

 

I'm not concerned about the outbound flight because we are actually spending the night in Atlanta at one of the airport hotels and flying out to BCN the next evening. So there's plenty of time to deal with mishaps.

 

I specifically asked if I would be "protected" (not sure if this was the right terminology) if something went awry with the FCO-ATL portion connecting to the ATL-PHX flight. Originally there were 4-5 hours for connection. But in the event that we missed the ATL segment, would we be put on another flight, etc. She said that we would be checked in for all flights in Rome and that if something happened, that we would automatically be accommodated on another flight. The tickets would be linked and we would be "protected".

 

So, that's my story. I did not purchase the tickets on the website. I purchased them by calling Delta and they ticketed me. They said this was the only way they could ticket me. There have been several changes already to the flights and each time I called Delta and had one of their agents make any changes needed.

 

Hopefully this answers your question. I should have made that clear in my original post.

 

Thanks!

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Thanks to everyone for their replies. I appreciate the information from folks who have experienced Atlanta connections in real life.

 

Both of our flights have changed so much since we purchased the tickets that it is absolutely nuts. You buy a product, but really the only thing that an airline is selling you is a ticket from one city to another city without any guarantees about time/date/product. It is unfortunate because we did a lot of research on the schedule that worked the best, the product the carrier offered and the price. Now, of course, the flight schedules have changed so much that we probably wouldn't have picked Delta as our carrier for this trip. But to switch at this date, would cost us more money (of course) and the seats we would want are limited. People complain about Southwest, but at least I can count on their schedule not changing when it is published. Too bad they don't fly to Europe. :) Oh well, off my soapbox.

 

I did read that the TSA line in the international terminals do not have the TSA Pre Lines (at least when connecting from intl to domestic flights) and read about a strategy of leaving the international terminal and coming back in and using the non-connection TSA lines which do have Pre. There were a lot of discussions whether or not the time used to get outside would just be better spent waiting in the longer connecting lines. Is it possible to get outside the international terminal and get to one of the domestic terminals by a shuttle bus or something and then re-enter that way? Probably has the same result that we're just better off just waiting in the non-pre lines at the international terminal. Why the heck don't they have pre in the international area? ARGGGHHHHHH

 

There is hope at least that none of you said that there is no way we would make it. We haven't made any hasty decisions yet so we do have the ability to change the flight. Right now the 8am is still available with seats in First. It is so weird that the 10pm flight was only removed from the schedule the one night that we would want to be on it. It's still there for other nights which is also a bit crazy. Based on that, we are hoping that perhaps they will add it back to the schedule - maybe somebody made a mistake something. Weirder things have happened.

 

In the meantime, I truly appreciate the experiences that have been shared. Thank you.

 

Another factor to consider is that CBP has increased "randomized" checks/searches of passengers. I was "picked" for that wonderful experience even with Global Entry/Precheck. Spouse was not. Takes about 45 minutes depending on the number of randomized victims.

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Hi Flyertalker,

 

I first attempted to purchase the ticket online and was unable to do so because of the mixed classes. This is what I attempted to purchase:

 

PHX - ATL - BCN: I wanted First Class from PHX-ATL and then Comfort Plus from ATL- BCN.

 

Returning flight is FCO - ATL - PHX. Again, I wanted Comfort Plus on the international segment of FCO - ATL and then First class on the domestic ATL - PHX segment.

 

When I couldn't mix classes online, I figured that the website couldn't handle this type of purchase and did not purchase anything on the website. I then called Delta directly and spoke with a Delta ticketing agent. She tried to ticket the flights and she said that she could not mix the classes either. The computer was not allowing her to. She put me on hold while she conferred with someone else and came back and confirmed that she was unable to put the flights on one ticket. She said that she could issue us the the RT PHX-ATL-PHX as one ticket and then the mixed city ATL-BCN, FCO-ATL on another ticket. She said that she could link the tickets.

 

I'm not concerned about the outbound flight because we are actually spending the night in Atlanta at one of the airport hotels and flying out to BCN the next evening. So there's plenty of time to deal with mishaps.

 

I specifically asked if I would be "protected" (not sure if this was the right terminology) if something went awry with the FCO-ATL portion connecting to the ATL-PHX flight. Originally there were 4-5 hours for connection. But in the event that we missed the ATL segment, would we be put on another flight, etc. She said that we would be checked in for all flights in Rome and that if something happened, that we would automatically be accommodated on another flight. The tickets would be linked and we would be "protected".

 

So, that's my story. I did not purchase the tickets on the website. I purchased them by calling Delta and they ticketed me. They said this was the only way they could ticket me. There have been several changes already to the flights and each time I called Delta and had one of their agents make any changes needed.

 

Hopefully this answers your question. I should have made that clear in my original post.

 

Thanks!

 

Exact same experience with Delta about 18 months ago. They advertise Comfort Plus (its not) as being available for booking across domestic and international flights on one reservation. I spent hours on the phone with with a supervisor and their tech folks. The answer is that it should work but the Delta people cannot themselves make the "connection." The end result was two separate bookings, one domestic and one international, and a verbal "guarantee" that since its the same airline everything, including luggage, would work. Well, everything did work (except for the hour plus delay departing TPA requiring a several mad dashes and bus ride at JFK), but it was awkward and unsettling.

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Four hours today on the phone with EZ Air. Well, 3 of those on hold waiting for a live person...

 

Notified by Delta that first leg of flights to SYD had been changed from non-stop to LAX then connection to Virgin Australia, to a change plane stop of 45 minutes in ATL originating TPA. Not possible for a 45 minute ATL connection especially coming from Florida with its afternoon thunderstorms delaying departures (and arrivals). Best option is non-stop from MCO to LAX as Delta discontinued afternoon TPA originated non-stops they have shown for last 6 months. Representative (finally) gives me the run around and says it will cost $400pp for the change originating airport to MCO from TPA. Delta is showing its a $500 cheaper fare Business. EZAir finally (maybe an hour talking to various reps) provides no-charge change to an earlier flight but still via ATL. Spouse is apoplectic as that it the best place to "lose" luggage enroute Australia. Argh.

 

So I go back on the EZAir website to look at alternatives. First one up is MCO-LAX-SYD for $500 LESS than original routing out of TPA. Same international flights originally booked 6 months ago except from MCO instead of TPA. This just 30 minutes after EZAir claimed it was $400 pp more expensive. Total time it took was maybe 7 hours to rebook and select seats online and save the $500. Happy to save the $$$ but still frustrated over the very confusing day dealing with Princess and EZAir.

 

Moral: nothing is ever "final" with EZAir and airline routing/fares. Check frequently and update often.

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As I mentioned above I fly DL often and usually book several months out.....I've recently (last 2 years) have been flying AA too and I must say they are just as bad if not worse. My last trip from LAX-SJU I had a total of 7 flight changes within 5 months. :eek:

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As Ashland said, with few exceptions airlines do alter schedules. Our one Southwest flight (December2017) in the last fifteen years had a schedule change two weeks before the flight.

Part of my reasoning about taking the 8 am flight has to do with FCO. The airport is constantly under construction, signage is not great, gates change minutes before boarding and delays are not uncommon. Of course we've had more substantial issues at CDG and AMS but if you would prefer flights minus the angst I'd give it another few weeks and switch.

As for exiting security to avoid the TSA lines you can only do this fromTerminal F. There is no guarantee that that will be your arrival hall. You can go through TSA in the departure level of F and hop on the train to your concourse. You don't want to take the landside shuttle to the main terminal, even with TSA PRE/Global Entry lines to the right. It's all a little too compliated to mess with.

I hope I haven't confused you. If I have I will try to clear up the process through the innards of Hartsfield-Jackson....my home away from home.

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an earlier flight but still via ATL. Spouse is apoplectic as that it the best place to "lose" luggage enroute Australia. Argh.

 

 

I know you've already rebooked from MCO, but as an aside, I would argue with your spouse that baggage transfer is actually extremely efficient at ATL. It's Delta's main hub and they know how to move luggage there. Obviously a bag can get delayed anywhere, but DL operations at ATL are a pretty well-oiled machine. I have had a delay cause my connection to drop to 20 minutes there and assumed no way my luggage would be on the plane but it was.

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I know you've already rebooked from MCO, but as an aside, I would argue with your spouse that baggage transfer is actually extremely efficient at ATL. It's Delta's main hub and they know how to move luggage there. Obviously a bag can get delayed anywhere, but DL operations at ATL are a pretty well-oiled machine. I have had a delay cause my connection to drop to 20 minutes there and assumed no way my luggage would be on the plane but it was.

 

Yes. Delta is one of the better US carriers for not losing luggage, losing only 1.82 bags per 1,000. However, if its your bag and you have just flown 8,000 miles to get on a ship, it can become a minor crisis... Delta once did a fantastic job with our luggage. Delayed by thunderstorms out of TPA, we arrived JFK with 20 minutes to spare for the transatlantic connection. They hustled us between terminals to make the airplane. Almost unbelievably, when we arrived at VCE the luggage was there. I try to minimize change plane stops whenever possible.

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Speaking of Delta's luggage service (which we think is pretty reliable), you may want to install the Delta App on your phone. That app actually allows you to track your luggage and will even show when its loaded on your aircraft. The only downside is that there is s small amount of lag time between when the luggage is loaded and when it shows on the app.

 

Hank

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However, if its your bag and you have just flown 8,000 miles to get on a ship, it can become a minor crisis

 

Agreed. Which is why it's generally recommended to fly in at least a day early, ESPECIALLY for a cruise departing from overseas. (I'd allow 2 days for an overseas cruise. In addition to having extra time for delayed bags to catch up, you have a chance to see your departure city and get adjusted to the time change as well)

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  • 2 weeks later...

I know that everyone has been on the edge of their seats wondering what we finally chose - did we keep the 2 hour connection or switch our flight to the next day (insert sarcasm emoji here)?

 

After much soul searching we decided to switch to the 8:15 am flight the next morning. If we just had one ticket, we would have stuck with the 2 hour connection. But there were too many variables with the two ticket scenario and we really didn't want to deal with the stress. We called Delta and they made the switch for us.

 

Checking the schedules this morning, we saw that the 7pm flight on Saturday night is no longer on the schedule. So, regardless of what we chose, Delta would have made the choice for us. The last flight of the night leaving ATL for PHX departs 2 minutes before our flight arrives from FCO.

 

I find the whole thing absolutely crazy. This is no longer a same day schedule change. Delta has removed all three evening PHX flights from their schedule. There is now absolutely no way that someone could leave FCO and connect in ATL to get to PHX same day. Delta also flies FCO to JFK but there aren't any connections to PHX same day either. Both FCO to USA flights from Delta require an overnight stay if you are continuing on to PHX.

 

I'm truly disappointed in Delta. I have always enjoyed my Delta flights but this is just too much. This is bordering on bait and switch. They were competing against other airlines at the time I booked. The other airlines still have schedules that would have worked. Delta has changed their schedule significantly and no longer offers the product they sold to me months ago. Not even close. And because of their two ticket mess - which is the only way they would sell their product to me - it leaves me with little options. Rant over.

 

So, lesson learned. I'm exploring other options for my international flights for my 2019 trip. I have always had excellent service with international airlines and they haven't changed their schedules a zillion times prior to departure. I'm also researching AA, but they are probably just as bad as Delta or any other US carrier.

 

Keeping my fingers crossed that there aren't any other schedule changes that would adversely affect us.

 

Happy Cruising!

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I'm truly disappointed in Delta. I have always enjoyed my Delta flights but this is just too much. This is bordering on bait and switch. They were competing against other airlines at the time I booked. The other airlines still have schedules that would have worked. Delta has changed their schedule significantly and no longer offers the product they sold to me months ago. Not even close. And because of their two ticket mess - which is the only way they would sell their product to me - it leaves me with little options.
To be fair, you could run into these two problems on other airlines as well. You have two issues:-

  1. Cabin requirements that cannot be satisfied on a single ticket because you cannot combine the relevant fares; and
  2. Schedule changes that have (now) left you with a compulsory overnight.

If you only had the second problem, you would have a perfectly good alternative, even now:-

  • DL445 FCO-JFK 1100-1550
  • DL2435 JFK-PHX 1850-2133

You could almost certainly have been switched to this itinerary, very probably for zero extra cost as it was triggered by an airline schedule change that meant that the original routing no longer worked for you. Almost every airline could have done this to you, and fixed it in a similar way. The reason that there isn't an easy fix for you is because of the first issue: you have specific cabin requirements that require the issuing of two tickets, making it much harder to fix the problem.

 

So, lesson learned. I'm exploring other options for my international flights for my 2019 trip. I have always had excellent service with international airlines and they haven't changed their schedules a zillion times prior to departure.
Now that you're here, do remember that you can come and ask for advice before you book if that would help.

 

I suspect that when you say "international airlines" you really mean non-US airlines. And if so, one of the things that makes many non-US airlines' schedules more stable is often that most of each airline's flights are international flights. These are usually scheduled within the IATA system, which means that the rhythm of schedule publication and changing is more predictable.

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