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Airlines offer flight schedules 11 months in advance on average, to give clients as much time as possible to plan their trips. However, after a flight is published the airline may make adjustments to the schedule, aircraft, or routes. These adjustments can include:
-Changes to flight departure or arrival times
-Changes to type of aircraft or flight number
-Changes in frequency of flights
-Discontinuation or alteration of routes
While extremely inconvenient, it is within the airline’s legal bounds to modify a flight schedule, seat assignments, and other schedule related details without guarantee.
There is no clear formula for predicting when a schedule change may occur, however the earlier you book your flight the more likely you are to see changes prior to your departure date.
This depends on when a schedule change occurs. For all but the most last minute changes that are primarily day of departure, Exito Travel will notify you through email of the new flight details. Should a schedule change warrant further discussion, we may also reach out to you by phone. Further, you may also receive notification directly from the airline when a change occurs.
Most schedule changes are minor and will only include slight modifications to departure, arrival times, or flight numbers. For these minor changes, our team will rework the schedule on your behalf and send you the new flight details.
However, when there is a drastic change to a schedule, we will contact you or the primary travel agent assigned to your trip to discuss possible alternatives. When there is an agent involved in your ground planning, Exito will make every effort to keep them in the loop so that they are aware of the changes and can suggest modifications accordingly.
Acting as advocates on your behalf, our agents will review possible flight alternatives and send them over for review. Our agents are trained to search for solutions that minimize the disruption to your travel plans. Should an alternative prove satisfactory, we will then call the airline to see if they will approve the alternative and if confirmed send you notification of the new flight listing.
In some rare instances, flights are cancelled outright or a satisfactory solution cannot be found. If every attempt to re-protect you fails, you may be entitled to cancellation without penalty and a full refund. This may allow us to rebook on another airline should an alternative exist, however, keep in mind that if you get a refund you will also be without a flight. If this happens close to your departure date you may be stuck paying more than you anticipated for a new last-minute schedule.
If a refund is approved by the airline, it may take up to 60 days for the airline to return the refunded amount to your credit card and up to 90 days to see this reflected on your credit statement.
If you are at the airport and experience last minute flight delays or changes the best recourse is often to speak directly to an airline representative, as they will have the most up-to-date information available. Also, your ticket may be under airport control status, which means that only the airline can make alterations.
That being said, we are here to help you in any way that we can. Many times our clients will need to make changes to local in country flights when an international arrival is delayed. We will make every effort possible to assist should a last minute change occur.
Schedule changes are far from ideal. At best they are a minor annoyance and at worst they can cause major disruptions to a scheduled trip. However, here at Exito Travel, we believe that you need someone on your side should an issue occur and we will make every effort possible to help you realize your travel abroad.
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