Originally Posted by
mridley2
Really crappy for DL to not give customers a heads up that SDC rules are changing. My guess is an email will be out tomorrow which would at least give people a 1 week notice on changes.
But since we know DL is all about honesty, integrity and mutual respect so i'm sure they'll be absolutely 100% crystal clear on upcoming changes. no doubt!
And that's where the real "gaming" is going on; Delta is the true "gaming" entity here.
Since I pay for virtually all my own flights, I pay for the cheapest flight I can find ex one of 4 airports in FL to one of 6 in upstate NY and ditto reversed. If necessary and eceonomically sensible, I can score cheap one way car rentals for repositioning. I usually book 2-3 months ahead, since my schedule is fairly consistent, and I can recognize a challenging travel period well in advance. If on DL I keep the purchase to the same day as my "real" travel plan, but avoid the smaller airports if no good match, due to the sometime difficulty of standby, my last resort. If on UA (which I prefer for a number of reasons) I will book something that allows, at least for now, use of their brilliant and predictably usable +/- 24 hour window. Does that make me a gamer? In the inexpensive NY-FLA market, I'm clearly an LVC. But the label does not matter; to me, it's merely enlightened self-interest.
If DL effectively upends published SDC or standby rules for tickets I purchased under different, published, SDC and standby rules (which I believe form part of our contract), I have a big problem with their gaming the customer, changing the contract after purchase. Can I change my mind on my reservations at will, without penalty? Don't be silly... why should the other party to the contract be permitted to unilaterally discard contract terms? IANAL, but I doubt they can, without penalty.
Upgrades? Yippee... honestly could not care less; actually, the more interesting people tend to be in coach. If necessary, I'll stop blocking B6 and FL from my ITA searches.. never had a problem with their standby system and I can get where I'm going sooner on their direct flights.
At the end of the day I don't need DL, and I doubt DL needs me. Ability to SDC and/or standby to an open seat in any cabin with the aid of some stable set of non fee rules is perhaps the biggest component of all my airfare purchase decisions.
I'll pay to change my flights to a different same day flight when an airline will pay me for delays and diversions.