MSPeconomist

I know PMNW used to sometimes proactively upgrade elites in order to create more coach seats to sell on the flight. The logic seemed to be that many companies permitted purchase of FULL Y but not FC fares, so they would be more likely to get last minute bookings inn coach.

Now, however, with real time inventory sales, it should be easy to code availability as either 3 F or 3 Y, with the understanding that when a seat is sold, inventory in both cabin class buckets will be reduced. The odds of a simultaneous sale of more than three seats would seem to be minuscule and even if it would happen, DL would still win after paying for VDB(s) if necessary since the fares what are being sold are so high.