Originally Posted by
scunnered
Then with 27 days to go, I opened ExpertFlyer to see Z 0, but opening my intinerary on delta.com, I saw that my Westbound leg status had changed from "Waitlisted" to "Contact Delta".
I called Delta and got a cheerful lady who immediately said "You're calling about your upgrade which has cleared!". She then bashed her keyboard for a long time, asked me aisle or window and gave me a BE seat.
This immediately updated on the delta website, but refreshing ExpertFlyer I still saw Z 0.
I guess this is a timing issue of some kind, but it seemed a bit odd to me. Maybe the number of Z seats released was immediately consumed by processed upgrades, though it seems to me that mine had not actually been processed.
Would my upgrade not have been processed if I had not called?
Why do they not just process it when the seat becomes available?
Is ExpertFlyer not a guaranteed way to be aware of Z inventory?
EF is not a guaranteed way to view Z inventory, but what you describe is what should have happened. DL opened Z inventory, which immediately was moved to your record, and out of the general inventory. If DL had left it in general inventory, someone else might have snagged it before you called! Now, if you leave it unclaimed in your record too long, it your wait-list may 'unclear' and the inventory pop back into Z or away entirely.
FWIW, DL is extremely fickle with both Z and O availability. I've seen entirely month's worth of flights come and go on a day-by-day basis.