Originally Posted by SOBE ER DOC

... People seem to assume that you have an inalienable right to UGs. Need I remind everyone that UGs are "space available." ...

Originally Posted by mridley2

... Most of us looking for a good bargain for the best experience do NOT believe we have an inalienable right to the best every time. We want reasonable access to first class based on the benefits promised by Delta. Delta does not offer this without hours of leg work. That is a legitimate complaint. You can Keep giving delta you're $3,000 for a rt transcontinental. I'm going to continue buying economy fares using legitimate, advertised, bragged about means of upgrade options confirmed by delta. ...

Originally Posted by mridley2

I think you're argument is a glib response.

Consider the source. USA today. It's a generic publication that caters to any town, USA. If you want the Times or WSJ level reporting.. Subscribe like many of us and happy reading.

Clearly the author's (editor's) intent was to provide a practical review of the major carriers operating on this route. Most of us are not the 1% so regularly purchasing a full First class fare on our own dime is out of the question. Information on reasonably priced upgrade options which seems accurate on fact is pertinent to the average reader.

And many of you on this board need to get off your high horse. Most of us looking for a good bargain for the best experience do NOT believe we have an inalienable right to the best every time. We want reasonable access to first class based on the benefits promised by Delta. Delta does not offer this without hours of leg work. That is a legitimate complaint. You can Keep giving delta you're $3,000 for a rt transcontinental. I'm going to continue buying economy fares using legitimate, advertised, bragged about means of upgrade options confirmed by delta.

Your argument is like saying. The best apples this fall are Gala variety at XX1 farm in Upstate New York which is 7 hours by car. Or they have very good apples at whole foods 5 blocks away. If a produce reviewer told readers were to find the best Galas but didn't mention the location. I think most would consider that reasonably disingenuous.

Rant over.

Originally Posted by StayingHomeIsBetter

But like many (mridley2 being a good example), I feel that the size of the gap between the reality and the rhetoric is becoming unseemly.

Originally Posted by pbarnette

I agree. I find the size of the gap between the reality of the situation and the rhetoric on this board to be unseemly.

Anybody that is a Medallion that is not aware that upgrades are capacity controlled is willfully ignorant, no matter what the "rhetoric" might be.

Originally Posted by bubbashow

.....and there is still shock on these boards over the introduction of MQD and reduced banked earnings from low fares. Thank you, DL for rewarding proper behavior for profitability.

Originally Posted by bubbashow

.....and there is still shock on these boards over the introduction of MQD and reduced banked earnings from low fares. Thank you, DL for rewarding proper behavior for profitability.

Originally Posted by StayingHomeIsBetter

Who do you find is denying that UGs are capacity controlled?

Originally Posted by DL2SXM

I second that. The thing is, I think Delta will wind up alienating the lower ranks faster then they will the higher ranks. Just as no more comp upgrades on transcons backfired on them, I think DL is treading a fine line with the MQD amounts for SM and GM.

Originally Posted by SJC ORD LDR

They should have done a study to compare J, Y+, and Y- on each airline.

From what I read, DL was dinged because they haven't finished putting in flat seats on their planes for this route and the difficulty of upgrading. As for difficulty of upgrading, DL has fewer J seats than UA and AA (even on the A321T). As a GM, I was never close to the top of the upgrade list when they went to the 16 J configuration when they allowed upgrades on this route, which I fly very rarely.

Originally Posted by pbarnette

I find a couple of people denying that they were adequately informed that they are. And a couple of people asserting that there is some minimum amount of upgrades, below which DL is somehow lying, when the reality is that those people simply seem to not understand what "capacity-controlled" means.

You knew (or should have known) that upgrades were subject to availability determined by DL. You knew (or should have known) that overcapacity was an industry-wide problem. You should have inferred from the above that upgrade rates would decline over time. Getting outraged over getting exactly what you were promised (which was nothing more than an indeterminate probability of an upgrade) is, well, disingenuous.

I refuse to believe that everyone on here is as gullible and naive as they pretend to be every time something doesn't reach some pie-in-the-sky ideal that may or may not have been advertised at some point in the past. Honestly, it is transparently nothing more than a way to try and stake some moral claim to something that you don't want to pay for.

Originally Posted by StayingHomeIsBetter

And, please understand. I would be perfectly content if Va Ave stated on its DL.com page listing Medallion benefits that we are entitled to an "indeterminate probability of an upgrade."

Originally Posted by MS02113

Some of the conclusions drawn in the article are rather questionable, such as the assertion that JetBlue's Mint is a first class product. (It's solidly business class.)

Originally Posted by telloh

I guess I'm dumb, but can you outline the difference? JetBlue "business class" has a single seat configuration; lie flat seat; massage in the seat; 100 channel 15 inch screen; food from Saxon+Parole ..... what additions would make it less "solidly business class"?

Originally Posted by pbarnette

I'd think a lounge would be right at the top of the list.

Originally Posted by telloh

The author of the article in question says specifically in the first paragraph he is comparing in-flight amenities.