Have you ever thought twice about purchasing an airline ticket — fretting the price might go down later that same day? Rick Seaney, the Chief Traveler Advocate at FareCompare.com, decided to put all the airlines same day cheapest airline ticket guarantees to the ultimate test a side-by-side bake off. The complete bake off results can be reviewed by clicking this link. Read on to see if Delta can compete with other major carriers.

Step 1 Airline Ticket Purchase on Delta.com

This document details the step-by-step process (including screen copies of correspondence) related to the successful filing of an Delta Airlines Low Fare Guarantee claim.

Although Delta Air Lines did not have an official low airfare guarantee, they did have a no-questions-asked cancellation policy. The cancellation has to occur before midnight, on the day after a purchase. I decided to go ahead, buy a ticket and test Delta Air Lines’ no-frills policy for non-refundable airline tickets.

After receiving a FareCompare.com Email First Alert, I purchased an airline ticket for $410 on Delta.com (11am CDT). The Delta Electronic Ticket Receipt is shown below:

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[click the thumbnail to see full size image]

Step 2 Airline Ticket Price Goes Down Later that Day

During the next 2 hours I monitored Delta.com and Travelocity.com waiting for the price to go down to $280 as expected. At 2:30pm CDT, the new low price quote is shown below on Delta.com and Travelocity.com ($5 processing fee added):

[click the thumbnail to see full size image]

[click the thumbnail to see full size image]

Step 3 No-Questions-Asked Cancellation Request

I called the main reservation number from the Delta.com Contact Us Page. I was quickly connected to an agent who, without question, cancelled my itinerary and refunded my credit card.

Conclusion

Delta Air Lines cancellation process was very simple and a very pleasant surprise. Their efficient process makes it easy for the busy air traveler to cancel a high priced airfare ticket and rebook at a lower price without the extra work of proving a claim. The down side of Delta Air Lines process is no bonus certificates are rewarded. However, the benefit of a seamless experience is refreshing and saves valuable time.