I think I am ready to give up on LGA
Jul 29, 2014, 6:01 pm
#61
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Nashville
Programs: DL DM 3 MM AA PLAT HH Lifetime Diamond Marriott Plat AMB lifetime titanium Hertz PC
Posts: 6,187
I agree, we flew as a family not to long ago and had 4 seats in F. When we had some issues it was next to impossible to rebook us in F. I can see DL holding even more seats back in the future.
Last edited by troyintn; Jul 29, 2014 at 7:15 pm
Jul 29, 2014, 6:17 pm
#63
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Minneapolis, originally from Cincinnati
Programs: Diamond with Delta, Hyatt and Hilton. 2 MM and Plat with America (thank you citi:))
Posts: 2,345
+1, particularly to the bolded statements
My employer (USG) doesn't permit me to buy FC fares. So if I travel for work and happen to be on DL, my only option is to play upgrade roulette. If it clears, great. If not, oh well.
And if DL doesn't offer what you want, vote with your wallet and fly another carrier. DL's lack of "Upgrade with Miles" availability on a trip I'm taking from SEA to Florida is why I booked AA.
Not only FCM, but also IROPS accomodation, as pointed out above. Given that I'm taking advantage of FCM more and more, I'm quite alright with them holding back upgrades so that if I do get IROPed, I have a better chance of being re-accomodated in FC.
My employer (USG) doesn't permit me to buy FC fares. So if I travel for work and happen to be on DL, my only option is to play upgrade roulette. If it clears, great. If not, oh well.
And if DL doesn't offer what you want, vote with your wallet and fly another carrier. DL's lack of "Upgrade with Miles" availability on a trip I'm taking from SEA to Florida is why I booked AA.
Not only FCM, but also IROPS accomodation, as pointed out above. Given that I'm taking advantage of FCM more and more, I'm quite alright with them holding back upgrades so that if I do get IROPed, I have a better chance of being re-accomodated in FC.
If someone wants to pay to upgrade to first all they have to do is call Delta and provide a credit card number for the different in fare.
I have mixed feelings about holding too many upgrades back. If you are number 3 for three empty seats on the upgrade list for a four to five hour flight and the GA clears the list during zone 1 boarding and for some reason you don't get the upgrade, means no time to grab something in the concourse and if you get the bulkhead it can be a pain finding bin space (although the FA's are usually good about putting a bag in the closet). On the other hand I have received two upgrades in the past three weeks where I would have been in the back otherwise. Both were pretty long flights and since my upgrades didn't look good, I did SB on both. Seeing the GA's are holding seats back till t-30 on both those flights they cleared the SB list before the upgrade list. The one time the GA put me right into first since there were 3 seats and she said no diamonds on the list. The other time there was one seat and she said there were 2 golds and the rest were FO's on the upgrade list, so apparently GM's and higher must have cleared at the window and she cleared the SB list and I had to go on the upgrade list and got the upgrade. In the first case a PM would have gotten upgraded over me and my flight the other day a GM or FO would have gotten upgraded over me, so holding back upgrades is a benefit for higher level elites who fly SB.
Both
Jul 29, 2014, 6:25 pm
#64
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Minneapolis, originally from Cincinnati
Programs: Diamond with Delta, Hyatt and Hilton. 2 MM and Plat with America (thank you citi:))
Posts: 2,345
The final insult by DL was a flight Sunday LGA-MSP, using a SWU with 3 open seats at T3 sat in the back. Every flight I have out of LGA the segments not to/from LGA clear at window and the others always go BF and are 50/50 at best.
Add the fact that the parking is a mess now and HPN has pre check I think I am going to avoid that dump LGA. My return flight has 8 open seats in F and still it is going BF.
Add the fact that the parking is a mess now and HPN has pre check I think I am going to avoid that dump LGA. My return flight has 8 open seats in F and still it is going BF.
And as mentioned above holding back upgrades does have advantages for diamonds if you SB. When they hold the upgrades back and clear the SB list you have a decent chance at the upgrade if there are seats upfront than if they clear lower elites or diamonds on a lower fare at the window
Jul 29, 2014, 6:28 pm
#65
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Minneapolis, originally from Cincinnati
Programs: Diamond with Delta, Hyatt and Hilton. 2 MM and Plat with America (thank you citi:))
Posts: 2,345
If you're ex NYC you have a number of airlines to choose from. If DL isn't cutting it switch. Send DL copies of the receipts of travel and send them a note why you switched. So long as folks put up with FCM and quip want first buy first this will be your reality.
I only fly F/J so the changes are generally in my favor, but the status program gives me few reasons to fly DL. I fly DL when it's a competitive fare. Sometimes that's DL, a lot of the time it ends up being AA.
I only fly F/J so the changes are generally in my favor, but the status program gives me few reasons to fly DL. I fly DL when it's a competitive fare. Sometimes that's DL, a lot of the time it ends up being AA.
Jul 29, 2014, 6:31 pm
#66
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Minneapolis, originally from Cincinnati
Programs: Diamond with Delta, Hyatt and Hilton. 2 MM and Plat with America (thank you citi:))
Posts: 2,345
But he said he was trying to use a SWU, a perk DL gave him. And he sat in the back with empty seats up front. That means the SWU processing didn't work properly as he should have been close to #1 on the UG list and should have cleared if there were empty seats in F.
Why anyone would waste a SWU LGA-MSP is beyond me, but it's his to use as he pleases, and DL screwed him in a situation where he should have been able to use it.
Why anyone would waste a SWU LGA-MSP is beyond me, but it's his to use as he pleases, and DL screwed him in a situation where he should have been able to use it.
If FC went out with all sold seats there was nothing the OP could do about it. If there was even one empty seat up front, it should have gone to the OP-I can't imagine there would have been anyone else using an SWU on that route unless they were connecting at MSP. There have been numerous complaints about the diamond and PM desks not coding SWU's right. If I'm not #1 or 2 on the upgrade list I am on the phone with the diamond desk and usually it's because it wasn't coded right and they undo the check in and code it correctly and then I move up to #1 on the list
Jul 29, 2014, 9:23 pm
#67
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: CT
Programs: DL DM 2MM, MR LTT, Hilton D, Hertz PC. National Emerald Exec, UA Silver(thanks to Marriott)
Posts: 2,026
I did the same thing
Jul 29, 2014, 9:26 pm
#68
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: CT
Programs: DL DM 2MM, MR LTT, Hilton D, Hertz PC. National Emerald Exec, UA Silver(thanks to Marriott)
Posts: 2,026
Just curious if the SWU was about to expire. I live in MSP and would never use a SWU on that short of a flight. It's only a 2 1/2 hour flight. Or is EWR/MSP an option? I always clear on that route and am 90% on LGA/msp. It isn't just MSP flights they are holding back.
And as mentioned above holding back upgrades does have advantages for diamonds if you SB. When they hold the upgrades back and clear the SB list you have a decent chance at the upgrade if there are seats upfront than if they clear lower elites or diamonds on a lower fare at the window
And as mentioned above holding back upgrades does have advantages for diamonds if you SB. When they hold the upgrades back and clear the SB list you have a decent chance at the upgrade if there are seats upfront than if they clear lower elites or diamonds on a lower fare at the window
No matter my flight next week out of HPN upgraded at the window
Jul 29, 2014, 9:32 pm
#69
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: CT
Programs: DL DM 2MM, MR LTT, Hilton D, Hertz PC. National Emerald Exec, UA Silver(thanks to Marriott)
Posts: 2,026
I thought the OP meant there were three empty seats at t-3 but F went out full, if F went out with 3 empty seats I would have been demanding to speak to a red coat if the door hadn't closed yet or be on the phone with the diamond desk the second the plane hit the ground at MSP.
If FC went out with all sold seats there was nothing the OP could do about it. If there was even one empty seat up front, it should have gone to the OP-I can't imagine there would have been anyone else using an SWU on that route unless they were connecting at MSP. There have been numerous complaints about the diamond and PM desks not coding SWU's right. If I'm not #1 or 2 on the upgrade list I am on the phone with the diamond desk and usually it's because it wasn't coded right and they undo the check in and code it correctly and then I move up to #1 on the list
If FC went out with all sold seats there was nothing the OP could do about it. If there was even one empty seat up front, it should have gone to the OP-I can't imagine there would have been anyone else using an SWU on that route unless they were connecting at MSP. There have been numerous complaints about the diamond and PM desks not coding SWU's right. If I'm not #1 or 2 on the upgrade list I am on the phone with the diamond desk and usually it's because it wasn't coded right and they undo the check in and code it correctly and then I move up to #1 on the list
Last edited by BusTrav8yrs; Jul 29, 2014 at 9:37 pm
Jul 29, 2014, 10:04 pm
#70
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Programs: DL SM Plat, B6 TrueBlue, UA MP, AAdvantage
Posts: 10,008
LGA...
Ah, LGA, how we love you and how we despise you...
Even with all its warts and indignities it's still my airport of choice (I live in Brooklyn).
Yet every time I get there I am reminded of Vice President Biden's comment that it feels like being at a third-world airport (actually I take exception with that comment because the only place nowadays you are likely to come across an airport like LGA is in the First World).
In any case, in order to deal with LGA you have to have a system. I almost never drive because of the parking. The car service from Brooklyn is affordable. TSA pre-check is huge.
Regarding upgrades I began the year as a lowly FO so I had zero expectations and yet I was upgraded on 6 out of 8 LGA segments. All BF, of course.
I can't remember the last time I had an IrrOps or even a delay at LGA. Lucky? I recently flew LGA-DFW and the captain told us there would be a 45-min taxi delay. Yet 5 minutes later we were airborne.
My biggest gripe, in the end, is the stifling overcrowding at Terminal D. It's an okay facility, but anything that crowded is unpleasant.
Actually, I like Terminal C better. For some reason it's much less crowded, or at least feels less crowded. And then there is the Marine Air Terminal. Sure, it isn't much more than a glorified construction trailer, but boy is it clean and tidy, never crowded.
And, in the end, whenever I start to feel negative about "Le Garbage" (ha ha) I need only think briefly of the Delta Connection RJ hell at JFK T2 and then I realize how much worse it could be...
Even with all its warts and indignities it's still my airport of choice (I live in Brooklyn).
Yet every time I get there I am reminded of Vice President Biden's comment that it feels like being at a third-world airport (actually I take exception with that comment because the only place nowadays you are likely to come across an airport like LGA is in the First World).
In any case, in order to deal with LGA you have to have a system. I almost never drive because of the parking. The car service from Brooklyn is affordable. TSA pre-check is huge.
Regarding upgrades I began the year as a lowly FO so I had zero expectations and yet I was upgraded on 6 out of 8 LGA segments. All BF, of course.
I can't remember the last time I had an IrrOps or even a delay at LGA. Lucky? I recently flew LGA-DFW and the captain told us there would be a 45-min taxi delay. Yet 5 minutes later we were airborne.
My biggest gripe, in the end, is the stifling overcrowding at Terminal D. It's an okay facility, but anything that crowded is unpleasant.
Actually, I like Terminal C better. For some reason it's much less crowded, or at least feels less crowded. And then there is the Marine Air Terminal. Sure, it isn't much more than a glorified construction trailer, but boy is it clean and tidy, never crowded.
And, in the end, whenever I start to feel negative about "Le Garbage" (ha ha) I need only think briefly of the Delta Connection RJ hell at JFK T2 and then I realize how much worse it could be...
Jul 30, 2014, 7:41 am
#71
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: New York, western US
Programs: DM/3MM
Posts: 4,246
Jul 30, 2014, 8:02 am
#72
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: LA
Programs: DL GM, HH Diamond
Posts: 727
Jul 30, 2014, 8:04 am
#73
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: LA
Programs: DL GM, HH Diamond
Posts: 727
Jul 30, 2014, 8:56 am
#74
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2012
Programs: DL FO/KM, AA PLT
Posts: 2,594
I agree to vote with your wallet, especially if you live in NYC and have a choice of carriers. I would switch to AA if I lived in NYC, they still have a lot of LGA flights and a lot of JFK flights. two guys in our Burbank office made the switch when Delta jumped the gun too early and eliminated JFK/LAX upgrades (they should have tested out the current policy of only upgrading DM's and PM's on paid fares first but too late now for people who jumped ship).
If someone wants to pay to upgrade to first all they have to do is call Delta and provide a credit card number for the different in fare.
I have mixed feelings about holding too many upgrades back. If you are number 3 for three empty seats on the upgrade list for a four to five hour flight and the GA clears the list during zone 1 boarding and for some reason you don't get the upgrade, means no time to grab something in the concourse and if you get the bulkhead it can be a pain finding bin space (although the FA's are usually good about putting a bag in the closet). On the other hand I have received two upgrades in the past three weeks where I would have been in the back otherwise. Both were pretty long flights and since my upgrades didn't look good, I did SB on both. Seeing the GA's are holding seats back till t-30 on both those flights they cleared the SB list before the upgrade list. The one time the GA put me right into first since there were 3 seats and she said no diamonds on the list. The other time there was one seat and she said there were 2 golds and the rest were FO's on the upgrade list, so apparently GM's and higher must have cleared at the window and she cleared the SB list and I had to go on the upgrade list and got the upgrade. In the first case a PM would have gotten upgraded over me and my flight the other day a GM or FO would have gotten upgraded over me, so holding back upgrades is a benefit for higher level elites who fly SB.
Both
If someone wants to pay to upgrade to first all they have to do is call Delta and provide a credit card number for the different in fare.
I have mixed feelings about holding too many upgrades back. If you are number 3 for three empty seats on the upgrade list for a four to five hour flight and the GA clears the list during zone 1 boarding and for some reason you don't get the upgrade, means no time to grab something in the concourse and if you get the bulkhead it can be a pain finding bin space (although the FA's are usually good about putting a bag in the closet). On the other hand I have received two upgrades in the past three weeks where I would have been in the back otherwise. Both were pretty long flights and since my upgrades didn't look good, I did SB on both. Seeing the GA's are holding seats back till t-30 on both those flights they cleared the SB list before the upgrade list. The one time the GA put me right into first since there were 3 seats and she said no diamonds on the list. The other time there was one seat and she said there were 2 golds and the rest were FO's on the upgrade list, so apparently GM's and higher must have cleared at the window and she cleared the SB list and I had to go on the upgrade list and got the upgrade. In the first case a PM would have gotten upgraded over me and my flight the other day a GM or FO would have gotten upgraded over me, so holding back upgrades is a benefit for higher level elites who fly SB.
Both
" I admit, I'm biased depending on what side of the fence I'm on at any given time. 
I'm retired USAF, spent the next 8+ years in the same HQ office as a contractor, currently working for another contractor supporting OSD; I fully understand and agree with this ...
while I believe the JFTR allows things like upfare at your own expense, I don't want to turn this into a debate about ethics (ploys such as purchasing a ticket on the preferred carrier to capture the receipt for reimbursement purposes, then cancelling within the 24-hour window and rebooking on one's own preferred carrier)
while I believe the JFTR allows things like upfare at your own expense, I don't want to turn this into a debate about ethics (ploys such as purchasing a ticket on the preferred carrier to capture the receipt for reimbursement purposes, then cancelling within the 24-hour window and rebooking on one's own preferred carrier)
Jul 30, 2014, 9:25 am
#75
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: RDU
Programs: DL Platinum, SPG Gold
Posts: 244
Exactly. People are getting upgrades, and an exception notice that the class of service changed from what was booked.