Options after 26-hour schedule change?

[davidsickmiller]

Hi,

I booked an open-jaw ticket with Qantas back in February, from Los Angeles to Perth in March, returning from Auckland to Detroit in December. I flew the first half as scheduled, but there have been a series of changes to the return. It originally departed Auckland on 12 Dec at 15:05 and arrived (via LAX and DTW) in Detroit on 12 Dec at 19:15.

In March, I received an email notifying me the flight was changed to depart Auckland on 13 Dec at 8:35 and arrive in Detroit on 13 Dec at 19:15, a full 24 hours later than my originally booked arrival time.

Shortly after the first schedule change, I started receiving Flight Schedule Change Notification emails again, but I didn't call the contact center until today. They told me they had to reschedule one of my connections. Now I depart Auckland on 13 Dec at 8:35 and arrive in Detroit on 13 Dec at 21:15. I asked if I had any options, and they said I had none. They couldn't explain why they had asked me to call when I had no options.

It's a little annoying that they can apparently just push my arrival time back by 26 hours, though the new schedule isn't a huge problem for me. I'd actually like to push my departure date to 16 Dec or slightly later.

Do you think there is much hope I could parlay their schedule change into getting my newly preferred return date? If so, how might I go about this? Apparently asking, "Do I have any options?" was not the right question.

Thanks,
David

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Doesn't hurt to ask! I've never had a schedule change from QF, though often there are provisions to change your flight to another time or date (close to the original departure) free-of-charge. If you were to suggest specific (new) flight numbers, citing some reason why you can't fly on the 13th (eg. you need to be free on the morning of Dec 13 (USA time) for a teleconference, and if possible, an arrival on the 16th would suit you the most), they may then be nice and search for availability, using their discretion.

 

[Joshua]

If you haven't accepted the change, I would be calling and simply asking to depart the day earlier. You will have to depart AKL early in the morning to make one of the trans-Pacific flights. If you can look up the flights yourself, this is always a good start so you know what you're asking for. I would imagine the fare rules would be somewhat flexible with routing however if they have caused flight changes you should find them accommodating.

 

[JohnK]

Call back and speak to another operator. They should at least discuss any flight changes that affect your travel plans and not just force you onto any flight they want.