No breaking of promises. If you read the rules, DL covers itself. One example, "Upgrades...may not be available on all flights or in all markets..." That is a pretty wide blanket of exceptions that they cover.
I interpret the quoted phrase as meaning that upgrades aren't available when the flight sells out in FC or doesn't have a FC cabin, for example. This is different from saying that one might not be eligible for upgrades on all domestic flights.
You don't need to avoid through flights, you just need to book each segment of the through flight separately. So for ATL-HKG, you just book ATL-DTW and DTW-HKG under the same flight number. It costs $2.50 more in AY tax and $4.50 more in XF tax. Same flights you would have been on if you just booked the through flight.
I'm not sure that even DMs can reasonably be expected to know that trick. I once asked an elite phone agent to book me as MSP-NRT-SIN rather than MSP-SIN (when it was the same flight number) and she said that it could not be done (except if I were willing to connect in PDX, SEA, etc. rather than taking the nonstop MSP-NRT and vv).
Originally Posted by
Yaatri
I did not know it was stopping in DTW. WHen I booked the trip, on the phone, I thought it was a non-stop from ATL-HKG. I agree one has to be watchful.
This also has been my experience in general. Phone agents don't tell you about stops on direct flights. (In fact, sometimes it feels like pulling teeth when you inconveneince them by insisting on being told which are the connecting airports and the arrival and departure times for each connection.) It shouldn't be necessary to play twenty questions to ensure that one is eligible for upgrades; the agents should be aware of this rule (they're the DL employee, the customer shouldn't have to do this research to spend money) and point it out to the elite, offering to book it as separate segments if the passenger is willing to pay the small additional charges.
Similarly, delta.dumb doesn't always make it obvious that the flight has a stop or even a change of aircraft, although gauge changes now seem to appear since last week's changes to the website.
Originally Posted by
Yaatri
It's easy to slip up when you are booking on the phone, especially if the airline chages flight numbers and one is not familiar with routings. One has to be watchful.
I don't consider it a matter of the customer slipping up but of the carrier failing to disclose relevant information when the ticket is being purchased.
In addition, I don't know why DL (and other carriers) insist that the passenger have the same seat assignment on all segments, especially when all passengers will be forced to deplane during the stop (before international, for customs, in certain airports like NRT, etc.). If one must deplane with all belongs anyway, why can't one pick different (better) seats for the separate segments on the same aircraft configuration?