Query re Award tickets and schedule change

[Ms Understood]

This is on Delta and the flight is not till next April so likely it will change again but in the meantime: we are 4 pax, 2 have award tickets and 2 have paid-for tix from Hong Kong to LAX via Narita. The layover has been reduced to just 1.35 and I have a little red notice on my Delta account that the change may cause me to miss my connection.

 

I know that I can change my flight to avoid the short connection but what about my husband's award ticket? Will they allow him on another flight without regard to whether there are "award seats" available?

 

I have only flown into Narita 1x in the past so have no experience with changing there. Is that 1.35 enough time to transit in Narita? I assume since we are transferring to US-bound flight that there will be security check point? We are biz class, is there are a dedicated/ fast pass line?

 

Lastly, should I just ignore this change until if/when it changes again or assuming this really is not a do-able connection, should I act to change the flight now?

--------------------------

Helen

[kenish]

Award tickets are no different than purchased tickets and the airlines handle them on equal par.

 

The connect time is tight, and quite likely not possible. Since you don't state the connecting airline (which may even require changing terminals) or any other important details it's difficult to assess.

 

I would get your flights changed without delay...there are no doubt others affected in the same way. It's first-come, first-served.

[jagoffee]

This is on Delta and the flight is not till next April so likely it will change again but in the meantime: we are 4 pax, 2 have award tickets and 2 have paid-for tix from Hong Kong to LAX via Narita. The layover has been reduced to just 1.35 and I have a little red notice on my Delta account that the change may cause me to miss my connection.

 

I know that I can change my flight to avoid the short connection but what about my husband's award ticket? Will they allow him on another flight without regard to whether there are "award seats" available?

 

I have only flown into Narita 1x in the past so have no experience with changing there. Is that 1.35 enough time to transit in Narita? I assume since we are transferring to US-bound flight that there will be security check point? We are biz class, is there are a dedicated/ fast pass line?

 

Lastly, should I just ignore this change until if/when it changes again or assuming this really is not a do-able connection, should I act to change the flight now?

--------------------------

Helen

 

I fly AA and not Delta, but I agree that you should deal with this issue immediately. When this happens to me AA does allow me to change an award ticket even if a saver type award is not available and I would hope that Delta would do the same. It does get more complicated if the award is on a Partner airlines.

 

Bottom line is call right away and change all the tickets.

 

Good luck.

[Gardyloo]

Delta's minimum connection time for Narita - Delta to Delta, international to international, is 45 min. Thus with 1:35 you have more than double the published minimum. Narita is very efficient, and I would have no concerns at all about the connection being too short.

[frugaltravel]

Actually DL handles award tickets differently than revenue tickets when the award ticket involves partner airlines. DL can "overbook" their own flights to force award space due to a schedule change, but they can't do that with partner airlines. That usually means they can rebook you from a partner to their own flight, but that is not always the case depending on route, etc.

 

Having said that, you have no worries. That verbiage you see online with DL is there whether or not it is truly a misconnect.

[cruising cockroach]

If DL employs the same NRT ground crew that NW did, you'll be fine. They really take care of short connects including bussing you to the next flight.

[Ms Understood]

It is all on Delta metal, no partners. I would not have been concerned except that the message from Delta does say I could miss the connecting flight. Looks like a difference of opinion re: whether I can make the connection but a consensus on the real question which is changing flights with an award ticket. Thanks all!

---------------------------

Helen

[Globaliser]

Is that 1.35 enough time to transit in Narita?

Just to underline Gardyloo's post, this is still a legal connection, by a wide margin - you can still see the connection being offered in published schedules. In fact, it's the only Delta-Delta itinerary from Hong Kong to Los Angeles.

 

Personally, I'm in the "do nothing" camp on this one, particularly when there are no obvious alternatives that don't involve a 24-hour stay at Tokyo (which is a reason why any further schedule changes are still unlikely to cause you to misconnect here).

[NMLady]

Award tickets are no different than purchased tickets and the airlines handle them on equal par.

 

The connect time is tight, and quite likely not possible. Since you don't state the connecting airline (which may even require changing terminals) or any other important details it's difficult to assess.

 

I would get your flights changed without delay...there are no doubt others affected in the same way. It's first-come, first-served.

 

Award tickets are not handled the same. If a flight is cancelled paid tickets can be put on another airline's flight. Award tickets cannot.

[NMLady]

I fly AA and not Delta, but I agree that you should deal with this issue immediately. When this happens to me AA does allow me to change an award ticket even if a saver type award is not available and I would hope that Delta would do the same. It does get more complicated if the award is on a Partner airlines.

 

Bottom line is call right away and change all the tickets.

 

Good luck.

 

You're lucky you had that choice with your Aaward booking, I could not get AA to give me an Anytime booking when the Milesaver timing was too tight. Instead I had to get another 12,500 miles to do the later flight

[6rugrats]

Award tickets are not handled the same. If a flight is cancelled paid tickets can be put on another airline's flight. Award tickets cannot.

The ticketing airline has to pay to place you on another airline with an award or a paid ticket. Depends on the rules of your ticket what they have to do in any particular circumstance.

[FlyerTalker]

Having made a number of DL (and formerly NW) connects at NRT, you are in fine shape. DL brings all of their flights from America and Asia into NRT in a small window, then sends them all out within about an hour and a half outbound bank.

 

Upon arrival, there will be a security screening. There is a Sky Priority lane that you can use as a business class passenger....you will need to have your BP and passport available at the screening. Then you get dropped into the DL section of the terminal. DL operates from two "satellites" - don't worry about the name, it's just two piers off the main terminal area. Moving sidewalks help you get from gate to gate.

 

In fact, you will have time to visit the SkyClub. There is one in each satellite, upstairs in the center. Be sure to try out the beer machine!

[frugaltravel]

Award tickets are not handled the same. If a flight is cancelled paid tickets can be put on another airline's flight. Award tickets cannot.

 

Though I don't agree that award tickets are handled the same as revenue tickets (see my comment above about schedule changes and partner airlines) I have no idea where you came up with your statement. I know for a fact that it is not true with Delta. I had them reroute me from DL to US on an award ticket when a flight was canceled.

[Ms Understood]

Flyer talker, thanks for all the details! Just wanted I needed to know. I will just sit tight. I am always so impressed by the knowledge of this group.

---------------------

Helen

[kenish]

Award tickets are not handled the same. If a flight is cancelled paid tickets can be put on another airline's flight. Award tickets cannot.

 

Not my experience on AA. A few years ago my ORD-CDG flight went mechanical. I was on award travel and rebooked on AF. And I helped a relative with her AAdvantage award travel. Her LAX-HNL was cancelled and she was put on a UA flight.

 

Admittedly my experience is limited to AAdvantage and the problems arose on the day of travel.

[slidergirl]

Right now, I wouldn't worry about it. Delta seems to send these little red warnings out willy-nilly. I got 3 for my JFK-FCO trip the beginning of this month, over a period of 3 months. The first one was when they moved the time of my flight to JFK up by 2 minutes. The second one was when they moved it back 5 minutes. The third was when they moved the time back to the original. And, that was with a 4.5 hour layover !!!!

[jagoffee]

You're lucky you had that choice with your Aaward booking, I could not get AA to give me an Anytime booking when the Milesaver timing was too tight. Instead I had to get another 12,500 miles to do the later flight

 

In one case the connecting flight was scheduled to leave before my flight arrived so perhaps they handled it different?

 

Was it just tight or was the connection time not "legal"?

[NMLady]

Though I don't agree that award tickets are handled the same as revenue tickets (see my comment above about schedule changes and partner airlines) I have no idea where you came up with your statement. I know for a fact that it is not true with Delta. I had them reroute me from DL to US on an award ticket when a flight was canceled.

 

I came up with my statement from experience. Our award flight was cancelled, other passengers were put on other airlines leaving about the same time. But we had to wait for our airline's next flight because we were flying on FF miles. We were told that they cannot put FF award passengers on another airline.

[NMLady]

In one case the connecting flight was scheduled to leave before my flight arrived so perhaps they handled it different?

 

Was it just tight or was the connection time not "legal"?

 

It was legal, 45 minutes, but with mobility problems there was no way my husband could make it from domestic terminal to international even if wheelchair & pusher was waiting for him as requested. I even called back to get a different rep and got the same answer -- only the Milesaver flight could be used, not the Anytime unless more Aaward miles were used. I thought that because the passenger was somewhat handicapped and the time was so tight, an exception could be made. Nope.

[frugaltravel]

I came up with my statement from experience. Our award flight was cancelled, other passengers were put on other airlines leaving about the same time. But we had to wait for our airline's next flight because we were flying on FF miles. We were told that they cannot put FF award passengers on another airline.

 

But as you can see from the above posts, both DL and AA don't hold to this policy. I assume you were on another airline. In any case, one experience should not translate into blanket statements. If you had said the above at first, rather than the blanket statement, none of us would have argued with your personal experience.

 

Also, as with many things airline-related, if you don't get the answer you want, hang up and call back. If you are at the airport and are told that, perhaps you call or find a different agent to talk with. I often get incorrect or incomplete responses from airline agents, only to call back and get the correct information (or sometimes to get the information I want to hear :D ).

[waterbug123]

But as you can see from the above posts, both DL and AA don't hold to this policy.

 

I would imagine that whether or not an airline holds to such a policy may also be largely dependent on whether or not the pax in question is one of the airline's frequent flyers, particularly whether or not the pax is an elite level frequent flyer. Such status seems to make a big difference in other service areas, so I imagine it matters in this situation as well.

[jagoffee]

It was legal, 45 minutes, but with mobility problems there was no way my husband could make it from domestic terminal to international even if wheelchair & pusher was waiting for him as requested. I even called back to get a different rep and got the same answer -- only the Milesaver flight could be used, not the Anytime unless more Aaward miles were used. I thought that because the passenger was somewhat handicapped and the time was so tight, an exception could be made. Nope.

 

You say the connection was 45 minutes. How long was the connection when you originally book the AA milesaver award?

[maryann2]

I came up with my statement from experience. Our award flight was cancelled, other passengers were put on other airlines leaving about the same time. But we had to wait for our airline's next flight because we were flying on FF miles. We were told that they cannot put FF award passengers on another airline.

 

I would imagine that whether or not an airline holds to such a policy may also be largely dependent on whether or not the pax in question is one of the airline's frequent flyers, particularly whether or not the pax is an elite level frequent flyer. Such status seems to make a big difference in other service areas, so I imagine it matters in this situation as well.

 

I had an aeroplan award flight booked last July on United and the first leg YVR to ORD was cancelled (mechanical problem) at the airport. United put me on an AC flight to London and then BA flight London to Stockholm.

I am not an Elite frequent flier.

[NMLady]

You say the connection was 45 minutes. How long was the connection when you originally book the AA milesaver award?

 

It was 45 minutes so I did not book it since there was no way he could make it. Since the reps wouldn't let us book a later connection without an additional 12,500 AAmiles for Aanytime award, that is what we booked -- the later connecting flight, paying for additional miles.