Originally Posted by
javabytes
For better or worse, DL doesn't want to reward those who can book in advance, nor does it really care about how many other times you've already flown DL this year. I can easily see them either expanding the fare classes for higher upgrade priority beyond just Y, similar to what UA did, or finding some other way of significantly prioritizing fare class/ticket value over status. I don't think they'll eliminate upgrades for certain fare classes, as it's a great marketing ploy to offer "unlimited complimentary Medallion upgrades" to even your lowliest elites... kind of like how with the Amex, you get "Zone 1" boarding even though Zone 1 is the fourth group of pax to board the plane.
Booking in advance gives DL the money in advance and a better chance of having to change the fare, so there are some gains in revenue.
But, I think you're right, they can add B fares to instant upgrades like UA or come up with a way of coming up with a priority based on $$ and status combined as opposed to looking at status first and then fare and then time of booking.