SusanDK

Reporting back on what happened last week on my CPH-JFK SWU-waitlisted upgrade.

I called Delta Platinum line before departure for the airport, about 5 hours before flight time as EF was still showing 7 unclaimed BE seats and the upgrade didn't come through overnight, Z still showing 0. I was advised that my standby airport upgrade with SWU was correctly coded and that there were indeed many BE seats left, but I'd have to go to the airport and ask at check-in as they could not process the upgrade for me.

Arrived at the check-in counter 3 hours prior to flight time, and was the 2nd person in the Sky Priority queue to check in. When I advised that I was waitlisted for an SWU upgrade if a BE seat was available, the agent didn't have a clue what I was referring to, nor did her colleague who was stated to be the 'supervisor'. They could both look up my record and see the two entries for my flight, i.e. the B fare confirmed and the Z fare waitlisted, but had no idea what an SWU was, or a standby upgrade, etc.

The supervisor told the agent to call 'Ken' who was stated to be the Delta local rep, to ask him how to process my boarding pass using the Z coded line. At the other end of the phone, Ken told them that there was no Z availability and it could not be done. I explained that they no longer needed Z availability, that my standby upgrade should be processed as long as there was a BE seat available. I was advised that there was "thousands of dollars" of difference between the fare for a Z class up to a BE seat, and they certainly could not give me a BE seat.

After much, much begging, pleading and explanation on my part, they agreed to call the "Delta representative" on site at the airport. After discussion on the phone with her, where I again could tell from the one side of the conversation that it wasn't going well, I was told that this Delta rep would be at the gate one hour before flight time, and she would look into my request at that time.

Without a BE boarding card, I did not have access to the BE lounge, but used my Elite+ status to access the lesser Novia lounge where I called the Platinum line again. By this time, it was two hours prior to flight time. Initially, the Platinum desk agent told me that everything was coded right, there were still 7 unclaimed BE seats, and he was sure they'd process the upgrade at the gate - all said in a very optimistic and knowledgeable voice. When I explained to him my lack of faith that the CPH gate agents would come through, he put me on hold and made a call.

When he came back on the line, I could hear in his voice that he obviously was not so sure any more, as he did not sound so optimistic. He said that KLM agents were contracted to manage the Delta flights in CPH, and that it was up to the GA's discretion whether or not to process the upgrade. I asked him if it wasn't Delta's policy when a Platinum or Diamond elite is on the standby waitlist for a SWU upgrade, that it will be processed if there is a seat available, and that a BE seat should not go out empty if an elite is waitlisted to use an SWU? He said yes, that is the policy, however it is still the discretion of the KLM GA to do what she wants. I asked if these contracted KLM agents shouldn't be required to follow Delta's rules for a Delta flight, and he agreed they should, but that there was nothing DL could do if they didn't.

Before we hung up, about 1 hour 40 minutes prior to flight time, he confirmed that there were still many open BE seats.

I headed to the gate where the 'supervisor' agent with whom I had spoken at check-in saw me told me that the "Delta" representative had not yet arrived (about 1 hour 5 minutes prior to flight time), but that I should go ahead and proceed into the gate area and she would come and get me with my new boarding pass if it was processed. Note that at CPH, when you arrive at the gate, they scan your boarding pass and you are sent into a secure gate area where you wait until the aircraft is ready to board - so once you do this, the system shows you as 'boarded.'

I told her I did not want to do this as once I've 'boarded' I was concerned that my upgrade request would fall out of the system (plus once they had me out of sight and unable to approach the desk from inside the secure area, I knew I'd be out of mind), so she allowed me to wait in the outer gate area, where I actually was able to sit in view of her and the other GAs who were helping passengers with last minute requests (eg. different seat assignments, etc.). The "Delta" representative (who I now knew was really a KLM representative) never turned up, but the 'supervisor' GA finally called my name and gave me a BE boarding pass.

Once on board, I looked around BE and all BE seats were filled. I am guessing that there were many op-ups, as Y was completely full the prior day based on EF's seat map. Also, I doubt they sold 6 BE seats within 1 1/2 hours of the flight.

Ok, so at the end of the day, I flew in BE, but was it really necessary to put me through such agony for something that should have been straightforward? I am certain that a less persistent person would not have gotten the standby SWU upgrade as should be automatic under these circumstances. And I have a hard time believing that the other 6 BE seats were all filled by other Diamond / Platinum members using SWUs.

Another minor issue was that when I was confirmed in B fare and waitlisted, I had selected an Economy Comfort seat in advance, just to be sure I had it in case the BE upgrade did not come through. My seat choice was still showing on DL.com before I left for the airport (about 4 hours prior to flight time), yet when I checked in, I was given a boarding pass with a different EC seat assignment than my selected seat. And I know I was one of the first people to check in at the airport because when I arrived, they were still setting up the queue and passengers were not yet starting to be helped at the check-in desks. When I questioned the seat assignment on the initial BP given to me, the agent snapped at me that she didn't know what my original seat request was, but that this was now my seat.

I usually only buy Y/B/M if I can confirm Z at time of booking, and only once previously did I buy my own ticket with one leg waitlisted (which came through 3 days before departure). But this was a last-minute business trip with my work having to buy a B fare.

I don't know how most non-U.S. stations handle these, but I recommend ensuring your SWU upgrades are processed in advance, if at all possible, when travelling out of CPH.