bubbashow

First attempt was with the Diamond Line exactly 24 hours prior. Edited to add - airport attempts were 6-8 hours prior to ATL flight departure. I do know from a friend that nonrevs eventually filled much of the space in the front cabin on the A330. I didn't pay for it, I'm not going to B**ch. I think DL went way above and beyond to call and apologize.

WFBBFB = Want flat bed, buy flat bed.

wesbob

Were you continuing on from atl or was that your final destination?

rylan

I wonder if there is something 'special' with SDC about originating in HNL vs mainland?

MSPeconomist

Is Hawaii on the same SDC list as lower 48, Canada, etc.? I had assumed that all domestic itineraries were SDCable (onto DL operated flights, not onto AS, etc.).

wesbob

And fwiw why would i pay literally double the miles for a flat bed when i can spend half the miles and pay a sdc fee to transfer into a flat bed? Isnt that what all of this is about? Working the system within the rules to get the best seats/routes/planes etc. For the least amount money? If delta had a written policy in place that about flat bed seats sdc i wouldnt complain because those are the rules.

wesbob

Just got off with delta reissue dept. They confirmed there is no issues changing from a standard first class plane to a plane with flat bed seats as long as their are seats open, same orgin and destination and no partner airlines involved.

jrl767

^ that, by the letter of the rules, is exactly as it should be (sorry, Bubba)

btonkid12345

I changed myself (and three companions - two with RUCs, others with mileage upgrades, none with status) to ATL-HNL via the DM line at the end of 2015 (from XXX-MSP-LAX-HNL non flat bed).

Didn't even need a Supervisor. Just a counter point to Bubba's experience.

rylan

For these routes with lie flay, DL does not market them as D1 service or anything similar, so I really don't see why there should be an issue. The only difference is a more comfortable seat... its the same bleh F service to HNL. If they had a D1 service and menu then maybe yeah.

bubbashow

...and this post right here is why somebody on Virginia Avenue needs to hit [prtscn] and march it into somebody that can get it in the hands of somebody in power. This is a loophole that needs to be closed. Now. For the good of the company, for the integrity of the program, and for the integrity of the front cabin. Too many actively "work" the system. I admit that I asked for it coming out of HNL, but I didn't expect it. Too many expect it. Time to close the loophole. It's not so much the action, but the attitude. Edited to add: The unwillingness to even consider paying a premium for a premium service. This is why DL will never take FT seriously as a representation of even their most frequent flyers.

KDCAflyer

So what happens then if someone needs to change for the right reasons, and the ATL-HNL flight is the only option? Should the "integrity of the front cabin" be preserved during IRROPS too? God forbid the plebs flying XXX-LAX-HNL in first experience a WX or MX, and have to be rerouted via ATL. How will the "premium" passengers on that flight possibly survive?

With the contempt that DL has shown its loyalists in recent years, we're hardly the ones compromising the "integrity of the program."

bubbashow

Of course not, don't be silly.

The outright refusal to be willing to pay any extra money for a service desired (DEMANDED) is a sign that loophole should be closed.

jrl767

why does EVERYTHING have to be for the good of the corporate bottom line ALL THE TIME?

realistically, there are probably a dozen people on this board who "actively 'work' the system" (sic) by buying a G/A/P ticket and SDCing to a D1 flight; for the sake of argument, say each does so 10x a year at a differential cost of $500 per flight ... that's a total of $60k lost revenue, which is a fraction of a per cent of profit ... I think a lot of us are suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the intangible benefit of occasionally allowing paying customers to have a better experience WITHIN THE RULES should be part of a better style of doing business

TrojanTraveler

Actually, from a business standpoint, it's the action, not the attitude. DL doesn't care about intent or attitude, but rather the impact of an actual action. So in DL's eyes, you are no different, in this case, than someone trying to do what you did but with a different "attitude".

gooselee

I have seen fare rules on some routes that specifically add an extra surcharge for flights scheduled on specific equipment (planes with flatbeds). So I assume that technically, you can't SDC between equip because the new flight no longer agrees with your original fare rules. Just as the system doesn't offer SDC to itineraries using an invalid connection point like BOS-ATL-MCO to BOS-LAX-MCO or something - in theory not a valid SDC because it doesn't agree with original fare/routing rules.

That said, it's all YMMV. People SDC to ridiculous itineraries all the time. I couldn't online SDC a LAX-ATL one time to get OFF a flatbed flight due to the fare rule, but calling in I was switched immediately to a lovely domestic 763 that arrived 6 hours earlier than my original.

At the same time, on routes without that fare rule, but where flatbed planes fly every so often, it's never been a problem. I've switched to and from the 75S that occasionally shows up on JFK-ATL plenty of times. Often online, and never with any issues so long as there was a seat open.

My point is that the minutae of the fare rules has been in play for a while and is generally enforced by the website/kiosks, and YMMV when calling in or speaking to an airport agent has also been in play for a while.