How To Change Southwest Flight For Free

If at that place's an email subject line that makes my center palpitate, it'due south this: "Your flight has been changed."

If you're surprised, you're non alone. Near people would be annoyed to see that email. Only non me, and if this advice is convincing, neither should yous. In fact when the airline changes your flight, it'due south maybe the single best opportunity y'all'll have to go a better flight—better dates, better times, better routing, or if you no longer want the flight, a refund.

And the best part? It's costless.

Here'southward what yous need to know:

How you can utilise a flying change to change your flight or get a refund

Airline schedules sometimes modify. And when they practice, that presents an opportunity.

Nether federal law, if an airline cancels or significantly changes your flight itinerary, y'all're eligible for a total cash refund.

What constitutes a "significant schedule modify" varies by airline:

United - 30 minutes
jetBlue - hour
Alaska - lx minutes
Delta - xc minutes
American - 4 hours (this is the refund threshold; shorter delays may let you to change flights free of charge)

Changes in your departure or arrival airport, or switching you from a nonstop to a connecting flight, would also count.

Airlines would generally prefer yous don't ask for a refund, which is why they're usually willing to reaccommodate you on a different flight (fifty-fifty if they don't mention that explicitly in the electronic mail).

But you'll have to exist proactive and ask, like I did with a recent flight to Spain.

How I changed my Kingdom of spain flight three times, for free

Last August, I booked some cheap flights from New York City to Madrid for February 2021, hoping the pandemic would exist improved enough by then to allow Europe travel once more.

By October, information technology was clear that February wasn't going to happen. So when I got an electronic mail that my flying times had been pushed back 90 minutes, I scrolled down and saw the airline would let me alter my dates complimentary of accuse.

We pushed our flights back to April. Non only was there no modify penalty, I didn't fifty-fifty have to embrace whatever fare difference.

By February, it was clear that an April trip wasn't going to happen. Luckily, I got an electronic mail that my new flights were inverse by 3 hours, and I repeated the same process to push the trip back to June.

flight change notice from Iberia airlines.

In March, my in-laws who we were set to travel with appear they were moving upwardly to Boston next month. Our flights out of NYC were, all suddenly, decidedly inconvenient. Yous tin can imagine my delight when, a few weeks ago, I got an electronic mail that our flights had been pushed back thirty minutes. I called upwardly the airline, and minutes afterwards, got the departure airport switched to BOS. Costless.

All in all, I've taken advantage of iii schedule changes to twice change the trip dates and once change the departure airport.

Usually, making ii date changes and one airport change for 4 tickets would have totaled at least $1,800 in fees. But thank you to the airline's three schedule changes, I was able to make information technology all happen for free.

Using a flight alter to get a ameliorate flight

Fifty-fifty if you don't have a specific modify in mind, schedule changes are still a valuable opportunity to meliorate your flying.

If you originally bought a 6am flight because it was cheapest, you could switch to a more convenient time. If you got a less expensive Saturday flight, simply all things equal you lot'd prefer to fly on Friday, well now you've got a Friday flight, partner. If yous had a connecting flight, meet about switching to a nonstop.

And if it's a trip you no longer want to take, schedule changes let y'all get a total cash refund, rather than having to pay an odious "refund fee."

In my example, I had a flying I specifically wanted to change, so I set an internal deadline a few weeks earlier the trip. If I got an email near a schedule modify before then, I'd utilise the opportunity to alter my flights for free. If no schedule change came, only and so would I exist willing to pay a modify fee.

The cardinal to call back is that, when an airline makes a schedule alter, they'll generally ignore whatever fare difference and permit you switch to a different flight entirely costless.

When the airline notifies you about a schedule alter, hither'due south what to do:

Stride 1: Search flights on Google Flights and find an alternate flight on the same airline that you prefer (remember to ignore the price, y'all'll likely exist able to switch for free)
Pace 2: Call upwards the airline, tell them that their schedule change won't work for you lot (y'all don't actually need a reason), and ask to be switched to your preferred flight
Pace 3 (if necessary): Hang upwards, call again. Airlines have thousands of telephone call center agents and each has discretion. Endless times I've been told no on the first two calls, only to be told yep on the 3rd telephone call.

All in all, schedule changes aren't so much a hurting in the butt as ane of the best opportunities to lemon-to-lemonade your flights, gratis of accuse.