angy400

Yikes...checking on my reservation today I noticed one of my flights has been changed...flying from Seville to Madrid to make a connection on to London then to San Francisco to go home. Originally I selected the 6:30 a.m flight from Seville to Madrid to have 2 1/2 hour layover in Madrid to catch plane to London...just noticed the 6:30 a.m. flight has been cancelled and now they have put me on the 7:30 a.m flight..this now just gives me 1 1/2 hours in Madrid to make my connection...I am not comfortable with such a short layover..I purposely selected this earlier flight for the longer layover. No one from the airlines has contacted me regarding this yet. What are my rights if I have purchased non-refundable tickets? If I knew of this short connection time I would have booked with a different airline.
Do I have a right to cancel reservation without penalties so I can rebook with another airline?

Thanks,
Angela

J62

What did the airline say when you called them up to ask?

I would not be concerned about a 90min layover.

angy400

J62,
I havent called the airlines yet as I wanted to know my rights beforehand...as long as the plane takes off on-time the layover should be fine...but we all know they dont take off on-time too often..the airport in Madrid requires a LOT of walking, which is why I am worried.

rkkwan

Your rights are either getting on the 7:30a flight, or get a full refund of the ticket.

clevelandbrown

When you bought the tickets, you no doubt certified that you had read and understand the restrictions on a nonrefundable ticket. Your answer is probably in that information. So contact the airline and ask for a copy of those restrictions and read it.

My understanding is that many airlines routinely give a refund if they change the schedule and the change is of such magnitude that you cannot use the ticket. I am certain, however, that various airlines have various policies, and that some refunds have been given in the case, such as yours, of a relatively minor change that does not make it impossible for you to use the ticket. I once got a refund when they moved the departure time up 4 hours, and I, arriving by train in time for the later departure, would not have been able to make the earlier departure without catching a train a day earlier.

A lot may depend on how polite and persuasive you are when you call them, and how generous the agent you get is that day. Frankly, as long as the layover is within the guidelines they have, I don't see any reason to get so excited about it. Its their problem to give you sufficient time to make the connection, and they should know if 1.5 hours is or is not sufficient. Before committing to demanding a refund, I would check the current cost of the flight on other airlines; it may have gone up, or possibly down.

angy400

Clevelandbrown,
Thanks for your response. I am not even going to worry about it...if I miss my flight, I will just go home the next day. I did check the other airlines and the price did go up. One thing I did change is that Iberia put me at the back of the plane, even though it shows as still pretty empty. So I called Iberia and put myself in the front so I can get off the plane faster.

Angela

lincasanova

if this is all on the same ticket you are protected evenif you miss your flight.. HOWEVER.. if this is a SEPARATE ticket.. then you can get a refund and re-book on another carrier that goes earlier.. ( if there is one) as arriving late and missing the flight would not be covered.

sitting at the front of plane will help,of course, IF the plane pulls up to a ramp to unload. other wise all passengers will be bussed.

90 minutes should be fine if you do not have to collect luggage ( all on one ticket).

but i waitied nearly 30 minutes for luggage at T4 last month.

angy400

I bought travel insurance with Access America..should I notify them of this change and will they charge me for a change?

Angela

rkkwan

Your new connection is still "legal" and highly acceptable to most travelers. I doubt your insurance will do anything. If you're covered, they if you misconnect, they'll compensate you then, according to the terms.

alanRow

Could you say which airlines are involved - I'm assuming it's Iberia all the way in which case 90 minutes is more than enough to do the transfer as all Iberia's flights operate from T4

angy400

AlanRow,
I have to go from T4S to T4 with Iberia..I am traveling with a 16 year old so we can walk fast and be fine.

Seamus

To answer your insurance question - no, they will not cover your additional cost if you cancel because you want to have a layover more than 90 minutes.