AirTran schedule change - different airport??
 

I just received an email from AirTran notifying me of a schedule change for a flight to Milwaukee I have booked for October - instead of flying out of Reagan National (DCA), my flight has been "rescheduled" to BWI! Coming from Fairfax County, this is a significant inconvenience both in terms of transportation to the airport as well as parking at BWI. It appears there no longer are direct flights from DCA-MKE - the only flights involve a stopover in ATL. Do I have any recourse with the airline in possibly getting my flight moved to one of the flights originating in DCA without getting hit with the change fee?

They should have no problem reaccomodating you on whatever flight you want. Or you can ask for a full refund.

Agree. They've not just tweaked the schedule. They've essentially canceled your flight and rebooked you on another one on a different route. They either need to accommodate you or cancel and get full refund.

Thanks to you both. I'm going to call them when I get off work this afternoon...I'll report back with what happens.

I'd definitely prefer to not have to rebook, considering this was a $149 round-trip fare and the lowest out of either DCA or IAD right now is $220+. But, the idea of flying from D.C. to Atlanta just to get to Milwaukee is a little silly (and extends my travel time by over double). So, we'll see what they offer first.

If they have another flight that day non-stop from DCA, you may have some luck. I'd suggest researching flights before you call them so you know what flights you want.

Air Tran has told me that they don't have arrangements with any other airlines, so they won't switch you to a different airline's flight.

I was booked MKE-ATL-PBI, but when I got to MKE, it became clear that my flight to ATL was running so late that I'd miss my connection. I asked Air Tran to put me on a Delta flight leaving shortly so I could still connect to my original flight. No dice. So, instead of getting to PBI at 10:50 PM, and to where I was staying at 11:30, I got to FLL at 1:05 AM and to where I was staying at 2:15 AM. At least I got there.

Definitely agree with advice about doing some homework before you call. I've found even the best-intentioned agents sometimes can't find or don't seem to have access to all options - so it helps to be armed with specific alternatives.

It looks like non-stop from DCA to MKE is now no longer an option in October (not sure when this route got cut), so I'm either going to have to drive out to BWI, pay to park there, and fly direct, or deal with routing through ATL. Neither are ideal, but alas, such is the state of air travel in America today - we're shortly going to have to become accustomed to settling for whatever gets us from point A to point B eventually.

Just FYI - kayak is showing nonstops DCA - MKE for Oct on Midwest for $170. It's not $149 but sounds like it'd be worth considering if DCA is really what you want.

PSM...Sep 3 is the last day of the non stop from DCA to MKE.

Thanks, BeachBoi. Looks like if I don't want to increase my airfare budget it's out to BWI or sticking with DCA via ATL. Either way it'll increase my travel time significantly. Oh well...now to see what I can get out of this deal to make it a bit less inconvenient...