I’ve gotten a fair number of e-mails from American Airlines this week with the subject “Schedule Change”. It’s that time again when major airlines start issuing schedule changes for the upcoming fall season. Whenever you get a schedule change e-mail, be sure to note down your confirmation number and search for the original ticketed itinerary in your e-mail. Compare both itineraries and see what changed.
The airline could’ve cut one of your segments and might’ve given you a different airline number. The aircraft equipment might’ve changed and you might need to choose new seats. The segment could’ve been cancelled and you might’ve been rebooked on the same route, but at a different time. I’ve seen it all including different arrival airports and departing airports, so please make sure to compare both itineraries and see what the airline has changed.
After you see what has changed, you need to double check your itinerary online.
It looks like flight 1357 from SJU-JFK (San Juan, Puerto Rico to New York) was one of my schedule changes.
Since I mostly fly on American, schedule changes can be a headache if you want an upgrade. That’s because only on American, you have to “request” your 500-mile upgrades since it’s not automatic. Since one of my segments had a schedule change, I would need to check the box and request an upgrade again.
Conclusion
Always double check your itinerary every time you receive a schedule change notification. If the schedule change is significant and you don’t like it, you may be able to cancel your ticket for free without penalty. Once there is a significant schedule change, the airline is free to modify your ticket. If you’re like me, I like to game the airline and make the schedule change in my favor including date changes, longer layovers, adding a stopover, etc. But I’ll save that for a later post.