Originally Posted by
Kona Flyer
I cannot believe that the airlines are able to jack passengers around like this.
Believe it. The Contract of Carriage entitles you to the difference in fare. Since you (likely) flew in F LAX-DTW, Delta will claim you needed a first class award on the return, and any segment destination back to origin means an F award the whole way.
You're not entitled to statutory Involuntary Denied Boarding compensation because equipment substitutions are exempted.
You refused equivalent transportation in the ticketed class of service on another carrier. Another Delta routing (if you wanted to extend your stay) would have been another option.
You might get something more as a goodwill gesture. And you might not.