not just Delta: TWA was notorious for "change-of-gauge" services on their European services to/from JFK ... it was always amusing to see TW 701 or TW 873 coming in from LHR or CDG or FCO as a 747 or L-1011, knowing that a 727 would carry the same flight number to DCA
Originally Posted by
bmchris
Very interesting! Why would this be a need to be at the top of list? Were these flights somehow more important?
not "more important" per se; when doing business over the phone and across the desk, travel agents just tended to tell the customer the first flight or two that showed up on their displays ... even though it involved a stop and a change of aircraft, the fact that it had a single flight number "promoted" it and the airlines figured that the TAs were more likely to sell a seat on the first option they presented