I believe NW is still in complete control of this flight. I haven't heard that Delta has taken over any of the back-end IT systems from NW that control seat maps. Maybe I'm wrong and missed that announcement somewhere, though.

If there's an equipment swap, most people will lose their originally assigned seats and the computer will auto-assign a new one. Yes, most seats between a 333 and a 332 are 'where they should be' but the computer doesn't recognize that and moves everyone. This is a frustrating area where technology isn't being put to great use.

The only time I've ever had an equipment swap on NW was a DTW-SEA flight a couple of years ago. I got moved from my exit row window seat (I know - no upgrade!) to a center seat in the last row. The equip changed from one version of the 752 to another. The best they could do at the gate was give an aisle seat three rows from the back. I know I've just jinxed myself because DL is notorious for seat changes and equipment swaps.

My point is that it happens and people should pay attention to their seat assignments from time to time. However, I don't think you can blame this one on Delta. It's NW's problem.

-RM