When planning a trip, I like getting the travel plans set in advance. Of course, that means I’ll never be able to book a flight where inventory only opens up within 1 week of departure. It also means I’ll sometimes have to pay more for an award ticket than if I’d waited for prices to drop. I’ve made peace with myself about those facts, and it doesn’t keep me from enjoying our travels.
A downside of booking travel in advance is that airlines are prone to changing schedules. Sometimes, it’s only a few minutes (and here’s why they do that.) But sometimes the changes are more substantial, up to them totally removing a flight from the schedule.
Here’s an example of why it’s essential to keep checking reservations if you book months in advance, particularly after receiving notice about changes. A while back, we took a trip where I had booked flights on Singapore Airlines using KrisFlyer points many months prior. After the initial booking, I received an alert that our flight times had changed by a few minutes. Later, I got another notice about a 90-minute time change. Since it was a 15-hour flight, I didn’t think much about it and figured the change wouldn’t have a big impact—especially because I hadn’t yet booked our positioning flight to get home.
Closer to our departure date, I finally looked into booking that positioning flight. When I logged into the Singapore Airlines website to double-check our flight details, I was greeted with a warning that I hadn’t reviewed the schedule changes and needed to call the airline. Instead of calling, I tried to approve the changes online, which worked. However, I noticed that we had lost our seating assignments. Thankfully, there were still plenty of seats available in business class, and I was able to select two suitable options. But had I waited any longer to check our reservation, we might have been stuck with less desirable seats—or possibly none at all.
One unexpected positive was that Singapore Airlines had swapped the aircraft for our flight to an A350-900ULR, which only has Business and Premium Economy seats. The forward business cabin was nearly full, but the rear cabin still had several options. We ultimately chose two seats in the middle row, but it was nice to have the choice. You can read more about our flights on Singapore Airlines’ A350-900 Business Class here.
In addition to schedule changes, there are other reasons to keep monitoring your reservations. Airlines occasionally swap aircraft at the last minute, which could mean changes in seating configurations or even downgrades in service class. Additionally, tools like TripIt or AwardWallet can help you track your reservations and ensure you’re alerted to changes as they happen. For those booking positioning flights, it’s also crucial to confirm alignment between connecting itineraries to avoid potential misalignments caused by time changes.
Ultimately, everything worked out, and we had an incredible trip. But this was a valuable lesson: even when you think all the details are set, it pays to stay vigilant. Double-check your reservations regularly, act quickly when you receive schedule change notices, and don’t let minor hiccups throw you off course. Travel is about the journey and the destination—make sure you’re ready to enjoy both!
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