Originally Posted by Robert Leach
No one would knowingly, but the trouble is that it may not be presented as available, depending on the booking method used (e.g., travel agent).
The situation would be so much better/cleaner/neater if the fares were actually coded as A fares (like some to Honolulu are), e.g., A14NR or something like that, rather than the infamous QUP-variety, coach-appearing fare basis that books into A. I suspect the reason the QUP thing sticks around is that many companies forbid paid first class travel as a matter of policy, so if a travel report came back showing an A14NR fare, for example, the employee might be criticized, whereas he never will if it shows QDLUP.
I'll accept that, but it still doesn't mean that DAL employees shouldn't be instructed to treat it as a FC fare, rather than getting into arguments with customers who have bought a fare listed as FC on their website. The issue is still the same--it's a poor way to conduct business to market something as one thing and then try to say it really isn't.