Originally Posted by Tennisbum
My question is: if we miss the connection and cannot be upgraded, what, if any, adjustments/compensation should I expect from Delta? Of course, I expect they'll redeposit our upgrade miles, but I purchased the M fares solely in order to upgrade. Should I expect any compensation for the difference between the M fares and deep-discounted fares? (I bought the tickets 6 months in advance when there were plenty of Q fares available.)
I imagine one of two things can happen. If you miss your connection because of weather or DL's own fault, and they have already pulled the miles from your account, I imagine they will place you in BE, if available, on the next flight out. If they have pulled the miles and the next flight out does not have BE available that could be interesting. Most people will buy the more expensive ticket with the knowledge the upgrade is available at the time of booking. You buy a B fare knowing you will be upgraded. Even if they redeposited your miles, you are still going to be unhappy because you bought the more expensive ticket because of the upgrade availablity. Had upgrades not been available, you might have purchased a much less expensive coach fare. So not sure how DL would handle that situation.
Best scenario: You don't miss your connection. I have connected to international flights in ATL and CVG with less than 30 minutes to spare. ^
Okay scenario: You miss your connection, but are placed in BE on next flight.
Bad scenario: Miss your connection, no BE available, placed in coach and miles redeposited, but DL compensates you for the troubles in either a voucher or miles.
Worst scenario: Miss your connection, no BE available, placed in coach and no compensation from DL, but they redeposit your miles from half of the upgrade outbound portion.