Flight schedule changes have struck Delta!
In the past few days Delta announced that they will retire all their Boeing 777-200LR and 200ER widebody aircraft by the end of this year (inefficient.) We just received what will likely be the first of many flight change notices for our Jan 2021 Jordan & Egypt and follow-on trips.
In addition to a schedule change that we can't make and which forces me to find alternate routing, we are losing our first and maybe last chance to experience Delta's new Delta One suites on the flight to Amman. What makes this incredible, is Delta just finished spending (wasting?) millions to refurbish and upgrade the interiors of all aircraft in their 777 fleet. Maybe someday we'll have a chance to experience suites on Delta's similarly equipped A350-900.
Though we shouldn't have to pay any more for new flights since Delta initiated the change, to add insult to injury, the price has gone up about $2000 per business class ticket for similar routing but lesser aircraft!
Then again, figure the odds our trip won't be cancelled, too.
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I was scheduled for a Delta suite on my flight to Japan last month, which was cancelled. So far, they've been the only airline that's been painless to get quickly refunded.
I'm not looking for a refund (yet), still hoping our tour will go.
Latest wrinkle, I decided to check availability first, so didn't "accept" Delta's suggested change. Awhile later I went back into My Trips, and discovered Delta had already changed us to a new routing- instead of a long 4+45 layover in CDG on the way over, they switched us to flights with a 12 hour layover there!! That isn't going to happen!! I have identified several better alternatives but will wait a day or so to let things settle down before I call- I'm not going to try this online!
AlanS - Likely whatever you change to now won’t stay the same all the way until your travel date. I think you should expect a few more rounds of changes. I’m sure there is nothing you’d rather be doing. 🤮
Yup, a great week, good friend passes away, Delta retires 777's, Delta changes my flights, no movement on the waitlist, and I'm literally in such pain that Percoset is not doing squat for whatever is causing the pain which could range from sciatica, to spine/disk or hip issues) and I'm not scheduled for an MRI until Friday. While it may be a toss up which hurts more, at least I'm positive I'm not going into labor and it is not kidney stones, I already have that box checked. TMI?
I don't know many times they will allow changes that result from their actions, but two things I don't want- the flights they just arbitrarily assigned and a voucher which likely will not cover the cost of future flights or changes.
And to think, it is our tax dollars that are allowing the airlines to do this to us!! I really have no complaints against Delta, yet . . .
My husband had same symptoms about a month ago. He had a biopsy of the prostrate and they discovered early stage cancer. Good luck
From my personal experience there are really no symptoms of early stage prostate cancer. You most likely have to pee a lot but that does not mean cancer. Just means an enlarged prostate which happens to most men after about 50 or so. A PSA # that keeps increasing is the first clue to possible cancer. The next step is a biopsy. Back pain or sciatica is not an indication of prostate cancer.
AlanS - I’m in the same boat with respect to the back. Been to the ER twice this week, seen PCP, have MRI Tuesday, and start PT Tuesday.
Sure are a lot of geezers here!
I spent two or three days in the ER one evening last month!
At this point I don't think PT is even possible- we don't know what the problem is so want to avoid potential further damage, and I don't think I could handle the pain.
At least my r. knee replacement turned out well, or course I didn't get the chance to put it to the test in Petra.
Alan - didn't you have knee surgery recently? I had a knee replacement in January and that went fine and the knee is terrific but about a month ago, I developed bursitis and lower back problems, which I never had before. It is not that painful but I feel it all the time and it doesn't go away. I am going to therapy for it but that doesn't seem to be helping that much. Anyway, I was told that when my knee was so bad that my body adjusted to it. It altered by stance, my walk, etc. And when the knee was repaired, my body is now trying to get back to normal and the side that was compensating for the bad knee is now in pain trying to compensate. Could that be part of the problem?
AlanS - I'm icing my back as I write this response (I got out of the spa earlier in the morning). The physician's assistant (PA) that saw me made the PT referral. Upon exit from the ER they provided a list of exercises to do at home but I told them I wasn't going to start them until the pain went away. Told the same thing to the PA, but he still gave me the referral. The PT, initially, may consist of nothing more than a TENS treatment on the back. Who knows, I'll just play it by ear. In theory an orthopedist is supposed to call me and set up an appointment. Perhaps they are waiting for the MRI, but I haven't heard anything along that line.
I plan on drowning the pain a bit later with a Dairy Queen Heath Blizzard. If that can't make me smile I'm not sure what can.
I find wine to be a good pain killer and anti-inflammatory, but you can’t take it with percoset. (;-)
I also have three sets of air reservations during the next nine months, and I don’t expect any of them to come off without changes. I will be happy if the trips even happen.
I was going to suggest scotch!
I treat the scotch like Dan Quayle ... after five.
Kidding aside, it appears that several of us with back pain have had recent knee replacements. The body may be trying to adjust to our new way of walking. My wife (physical therapy student before she decided to be a personal trainer) suggests ham string stretches. She just showed me a few starting with standing with legs apart and carefully bending to put your hands on the ground. And then just hang there until carefully rising with a curved spine. That is my assignment for the day.
Please explain the Dan Quayle analogy. I don't get it.
Quayle once said, “I only drink beer after five.” It is on a plaque at my favorite brew pub. Why it was significant I don’t recall. It was ‘someone’ poking fun at Dan.
AlanS - You commented on "Sure are a lot of geezers here". I thought I'd post a picture of the corner of my desk. The geezer name plate was so graciously given to me by my daughter.
Smiling Sam...at least you have your sports teams correct.
I'm "almost" happy to report re-booking was a success. (I'll explain the "almost" in a bit). Yes, Delta's recent decision to retire their fleet (of newly refurbished???) 777's by the end of the year has thrown another significant wrench into what was already a mess due to COVID-19. Though I expect there could be more changes over the next 8 months I'll deal with those when they occur. I figured things had settled down enough to give it a try today- like a few said, what else do I have to do? After navigating the phone logic tree I listened to elevator music for almost 2 hours (a bit more than the promised 38 min.) before I gave up. Still nothing else to do, so next I decided to give the call-back option a try- I got a call back in less than an hour (about what was promised)- YMMV- and talked to a real person. It took awhile to get it right, for a number of mainly systems reasons, but I was finally re-booked (for a tour that probably won't go either!). I listened to a lot of elevator music between interruptions of, "we almost have it now." The agent came on the line every few minutes to assure me they were still working the booking and luckily. Luckily I was never disconnected or dropped the phone.
As to the "almost Happy" part- there are two layovers out-bound- one a tad under 4 hours at JFK, the other 5 hr at CDG (that was better than the first option they tried to give me - which was 2+40 at JFK and a 12 hr layover at CDG. And, as I said, no Delta One suites.
Still plenty of seats this early but few flights with expeditious routing, at least for a Delta customer.
AlanS - I believe there is a high probability that your flights will change again before you reach your travel date. You'll likely get to have all this fun once again. Let's hope not, but ...
Oh, I'm sure of that!
There were two big issues this round. The new schedule and coordination between Delta and AF hadn't quite firmed up- the AF legs appeared on Delta's website but were still shown with AF flight numbers. The second issue had something to do with the expiration date of the tickets. I originally booked last year at the start of the 330 window then re-booked as soon as both Tauck and Delta cancelled this past Feb. Somewhere in Delta's system (I stopped asking when they told me it was their problem to fix), the second set of tickets had expired which required an agent + supervisor manual override. It was a computer/administrative issue but still caused problems for awhile. It makes you wonder what would have happened if I did not have a phone agent and supervisor who were not as conscientious and knowledgeable. I guess it is a caution- stick with it and if something doesn't sound right, keep pressing the airlines. It also doesn't hurt to have links to the applicable airline's recent press release, company policy, FAA policy, and EU Policy (EU regulation 261/2004) or the actual documents handy, and don't discard emails with previous bookings for the same trip!
One minor task left- make sure we have the correct seats. As is often the case when I book early, I had to go into the AF website to select seats for the AF legs. I won't relax until they show up on the Delta website.