Thanks for all the info everyone!
Originally Posted by
ChurnBabyChurn
Newbie question...
Why does the exact inbound plane matter, as long as you know the model/configuration of the outbound plane?
In this specific case it was the last flight home of the evening and had a small delay that was further increased (~30m, then ~1h) due to "weather". Finding out the equipment was there wasn't enough to guarantee DL had an accurate delay estimate, but makes me feel a little better about the situation. I wanted to know if the equipment was there, and if not at least know that it was in-bound. If the inbound flight hadn't even taken off then I'd know the delays were definitely being overly optimistic. E.g., Flight was coming up from ATL to DTW... if DL says delayed 1 hor 5 mins, but the equipment is still in ATL then I'd suspect that the delay at DTW will be extended further.
Short version: More data points to guesstimate whether stuff is running more or less on time, or to give me an early hint to start seriously considering my alternatives. Same as LoganFlyer and dEagleS