Originally Posted by turkeyRIOO

This may have something to do with the new A319 configuration with only 12 F seats. The GA may not have known it was an "old" A319 with 4 rows of F.

Originally Posted by DP-340

A few weeks ago a similar situation happened to me, and I notified DL. Below is my letter to DL and their response:

My letter

I recently flew from A to B via ATL. As a Plat medallion I was upgraded and sat in the F cabin. Although the upgrade list was long, two seats were available in F in flight A to ATL on date1 and another one in flight B on date2.
I do not know why, but similar experiences are being reported by other Medallions on forums such as FlyerTalk. Personally, I find it UNACCEPTABLE that fellow Medallions are denied their upgrades! I encourage DL to go back to the system of a few years ago, when the flight attendants would go into the Y cabin and inform Medallions that a seat was available in F.
Thank you


DL's response

Dear DP-340

RE: Case Number ###

Thank you for sharing your concerns regarding the service provided while traveling with us from A to B via Atlanta. On behalf of everyone at Delta Air Lines, I sincerely apologize for the concern caused with our airport first class standby processing.

I am truly sorry for the concern caused when you observed vacant first class seats on your recent flights and you feel the upgrade process is not consistently applied and that your fellow Medallion members are being denied their upgrades. I researched one of your flights in order to determine what may have occurred. Our records indicate that on flight B from Atlanta to Los Angeles on date2, there were 21 people on the stand-by list for first class. Of those 21, only 5 showed up and were accommodated in the forward cabin. Regrettably, I am unable to provide a general statement as to why this may be occurring.

Additionally, we appreciate receiving your suggestions on how to improve our airport standby upgrade procedures. Many customers share their feedback with us, and these observations oftentimes form the basis for improvements in our service. Be assured I will be sharing your suggestions with our SkyMiles Marketing and Airport Customer Service
leadership teams for internal follow up.

DP-340, we value your support as a Platinum Medallion member. Thank you for taking the time to write about your recent upgrade experiences.
Be assured, we will make every attempt to serve you well; we are focused on the future and look forward to our continued business relationship.

Sincerely,

Cindy Bachand
Coordinator, Customer Care
Delta Air Lines/KLM Royal Dutch Airlines