Originally Posted by
defrosted
Ultimately you make your choice by the airline you choose to fly. Don't like it try another airline.
I do fly other airlines whenever possible (I am UA Gold and AA Gold as well as DM). Obviously there are constraints on route networks that lead me to fly Delta more frequently than I would like. I would fly Delta more if they did not have such ridiculous issues (and also had more C+ seats like United).
And yes, they do have the ability to change one's seat for any reason and have contractual cover to do so. However, it is just bad business. I flew about 150 segments in United two years ago and only had my seat changed 3 times (excluding upgrades of course) - 2 were for real equipment swaps and the other was pretty clearly for an air marshal. I'm not sure why Delta has so much trouble with this.