Frequently Asked Question

DL - Normal Schedule Change Guidelines

Last Updated 3 years ago

Normal Schedule Change Guidelines

When an advanced schedule change occurs, to advise the schedule change, Delta sends an Advice of Schedule Change (ASC) message to the GDS. To qualify for a complimentary change due to a schedule change, the schedule change has to meet one of the following guidelines:

A delay of 120 minutes or more
A change in the routing of a scheduled Delta flight which adds one or more stops to the original itinerary
A change in equipment from Delta Mainline to Delta Connection carrier
Any change that causes a misconnect
If a flight cancels and no comparable or acceptable routing is available within 120 minutes

If the affected PNR meets one of the schedule change guidelines above, in order to process the schedule change, the travel professional must:

Reconcile the agency PNR by removing (cancelling) old or changed segments in the PNR (Please contact your GDS help desk as needed to determine the proper status codes).
Determine if the schedule change is acceptable:
- If the Schedule Change is acceptable and the ticket is revalidated, no further action is required.
- If the Schedule Change is acceptable, but the ticket has not revalidated, the ticket will need to be reissued. Please follow “Required Documentation for Reissues” below.
- If the Schedule Change reaccommodation is not acceptable you may reaccommodate the customer as follows:
  
  Interim Schedule Change Reaccommodation Guidelines for Domestic (U.S. 50 and Canada) itineraries with departures through March 31, 2022:
  - The new flights must be rebooked using the same origin and destination,and the same date or one (1) calendar day before or one (1) calendar day after the affected date on the original ticket.
  - Rebook in the same class of service, if the same class of service is not available rebook:
    - In the next available class of service, up to Y class for Main Cabin fares
    - All other - any class of service, same cabin
  - The ticket must be reissued as an even exchange and the customer must be contacted with the new flight information.
  - In addition, the PNR and ticket must be documented with Required Documentation as noted below.

Schedule Change Reaccommodation Guidelines for all other itineraries or for travel after March 31, 2022:

- - The new flights must be rebooked using the same origin and destination, the same class of service and the same date as the original ticket.
  - The ticket must be reissued as an even exchange and the customer must be contacted with the new flight information.
  - In addition, the PNR and ticket must be documented with Required Documentation as noted below.
  - If alternate space is not available as outlined above, travel professionals must contact Global Sales Support for assistance.

Overview

Airlines routinely change their flight schedules for a variety of reasons. Some reasons for schedule changes include but are not limited to:

Seasonal demands
Time changes from daylight savings to standard time or vice versa
New routes
Changes to flight numbers or operating times
Flights that no longer operate

Most schedule changes occur outside of 7 days before travel.

Schedule Change Process

When a schedule change occurs, the travel agencies receive messages for each affected agency PNR. Delta sends the agency PNR through Delta Messenger for customer notification, the PNR is updated and in most cases the ticket is revalidated. An OSI remark is added to the PNR for agencies to see status regarding notifications.

Please note: Travel agencies may receive multiple schedule change notices. If reissue is required, it is not necessary to reissue tickets immediately after accepting the schedule change. Agencies may reissue as deemed necessary based on the customer’s travel plans and the agency's business practices.

Tickets That Are Revalidated

By revalidating the ticket, Delta preserves agency control of the ticket. The agency will know that the ticket has been revalidated because the revalidation data will automatically be included when the agency requests a ticket display, provided the GDS sends the display request to Delta, following normal industry standards.

The updated flight, date, time and booking class data, which were changed due to revalidation, on the impacted coupon(s) will display. This information is dynamic (real time), therefore ensuring the agency gets the most current view of the electronic ticket. In addition, it will provide clear indication to the agency that the ticket has been updated and their customer is check-in ready, requiring no reissue by the agency.

If the itinerary in the PNR and the ETKT data match exactly, the ticket has been revalidated by Delta. No reissue by the travel agency will be necessary. The passenger is check-in ready.
If the itinerary in the PNR and the ETKT data do not match, the agency must reissue the ticket using the normal schedule change guidelines (See guideline information below).

Please note: It can take up to 72 hours for a ticket to be revalidated once a schedule change occurs. If the ticket has not been revalidated after 72 hours from when the schedule change occurred, travel agents should reissue the ticket as an even exchange to ensure that the passenger is able to check-in for their flight.

Tickets That Are Not Revalidated

Approximately 20% of all schedule changes cannot be updated using Delta’s automated revalidation technology. Below is a List of instances when the original issuing agency must update the PNR, manually reissue the ticket and notify the customer of the changes.

Please note: This is not intended to be a full/complete list; it is only to illustrate the most common conditions where revalidation would not occur.

There is not a reaccommodation option booked for the customer (ex. UN segment)
The minimum connect times are not met with the alternative routing
An itinerary that requires a change in the number of flight coupons
When there is no E-Ticket in the PNR
The new flight option is more than 48 hour later than the previous flight
The flight change has caused a misconnection, which requires reaccommodation of the passenger onto other flights, dates or times
The itinerary changed from a non-stop to connecting flights
Tickets are issued on another carrier’s ticket stock
Tickets contain other airline space
The PNR contains a 'G' or 'C' header in the name field
The PNR contains select SSRs (example: UMNR, PETC, MEDA)

If Delta is unable to revalidate the ticket, the travel agency may make additional changes to the PNR via the GDS or via delta.com.

Interline Revalidation Between Delta and Virgin Atlantic

A new interline revalidation program was activated between Delta and Virgin Atlantic (VS) and applies to revalidation transactions that occur on/after November 13, 2019.

The interline revalidation program will update the master ticket record in the validating carrier’s system, ensuring that the travel agency-issued ticket will now match the itinerary for the impacted coupon(s), resulting in no reissue required. Travel agents can easily verify the update by displaying the Electronic Ticket Record (ETR) to make sure it matches the itinerary in the PNR.

If the ETR does not match the itinerary in the PNR, Travel Agencies must manually reissue the ticket.

For DL 006 tickets that include segments operated by VS; if VS revalidates the VS-operated coupon, the revalidation message will be sent to DL and the VS coupon on the DL 006 ticket will be updated to match the revalidation data sent from VS.
For VS 932 tickets that include segments operated by DL; if DL revalidates the DL-operated coupon, the revalidation message will be sent to VS and the DL coupon on the VS 932 ticket will be updated to match the revalidation data sent from DL.

Required Documentation for Reissue

If a reissue is required:

Document the PNR with the following OSI message:
- OSI DL REISSUE DUE TO DL SKED CHG
If PNR documentation is provided, no waiver code is needed

Refunds Due to Schedule Change

Refundable Ticket

Refunds for a refundable ticket(s) due to a Delta schedule change can be processed by the agency using normal ARC processing.

Non-Refundable Ticket

Travel agencies can refund a non-refundable ticket(s) when there has been a Delta schedule change, if one or more of the following apply:

A delay of 120 minutes or more
There is a change to an itinerary resulting in no comparable schedule being available within 120 minutes
A change in the routing of a scheduled Delta flight which adds one or more stops to the original itinerary.
A change in equipment from DL mainline to DL Connections carrier
Any change that causes a misconnect

Required PNR Documentation

When the qualifying schedule change or flight cancellation is received in the GDS, please add the OSI message below and submit the refund in the GDS.

Note: the OSI message must be added before the itinerary is canceled.

PNR must be documented with the following OSI entry:

OSI DL REFUNDED PER UNACCEPTABLE SKED CHG/ DATE (impacted flight date)

Questions

If you have additional questions, please contact Global Sales Support for assistance.

Source: https://pro.delta.com/content/agency/us/en/policy-library/schedule-change-and-irregular-operations/schedule-change-and-ticket-revalidation-policy.html