Not trying to pick one up either. szerfam started a thread which got merged into this existing thread. szerfam's first complaint was about not getting an upgrade at booking. szerfam's last post then complains about Delta not following the rules. Delta is exactly following their rules. That was my response, which you quoted.

Delta's rules are less generous to full Y fares than NW or CO, but they are the known and published rules. You should not book a Y fare on delta expecting that you are guaranteed any available F seat. You should research a Y fare on delta before booking using delta.com or EF to find upgrade availability. I do this routinely for my Y fare business travel.

There are lots of reasons for NW elites to dislike Delta. But this case is not one of them IMO.

And it was actually travelindave's line about why he hates Delta ... today.

David