Fates

Not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I was hoping to get advice from other FB plats who fly with Delta.

I was flying out of SEA tonight to JFK (landing at 6am) followed by a flight from JFK to CDG on AF later that day (4pm).

At the SEA sky club, I was denied access on the basis that “this is not a same day connection”. This is patently false as the connection is happening on the same day. I have found that DL often search for any reason to deny access to ST elite plus members, despite what the ST rules say.

Can anyone confirm if this indeed went against the ST rules and, if so, who best to direct my complaint to? I’m growing more and more frustrated that DL medallions get treated well by AF/KLM while DL often refuses to follow ST rules (and usually with a “we know best” attitude).

BubbaX

Well, when you were in SEA, you were not departing on the same day on an international flight.
​​​​​​You might even have been on the same PNR, but your international flight was the next day. The rules are written expressly with the US West Coast-Europe double red-eye in mind. It could be worse. You could be flying from Hawaii.

Fates

Wait, you’re saying the rules are explicitly designed for this scenario? What could possibly be the logic here? My connection is still happening on the “same day”, it just so happens that my journey begins at 10:30pm the previous evening. Why on earth would that be any different than someone whose flight leaves two hours later?

brunos

was that on two separate tickets?

Fates

nope - just DL metal followed by AF metal

mlin32

DL has never treated upper tier AF/KLM members with the proper benefits deserved. The difficulty in assigning Confort plus seats for Plats, the hoops and insistence needed to get the proper lounge access as stated in SkyTeam rules, the general near-impossibility of redeeming FB miles, etc.....it's really a one-way road.

BubbaX

Your international connection is happening the same day as your arrival, not the same day as your departure. They could have written the rules such that lounge access is granted in a domestic flight if there's an international leg on the itinerary, but they didn't. Of the possible cases: separate same-day domestic ticket as an international one, domestic red-eye followed by an international one, international red-eye followed by a domestic one, which is the most common, and which will occur most often in the US?
anyway, yeah, I was through SEA the other day. Since they print FB Plat as platinum medallion, I offered to show my card. They first tried to explain to me that the rules had changed and that I wasn't eligible for lounge access anymore. I explained again that Delta could do what they wanted to their frequent flyers, but they couldn't change ST rules. Then they asked for my card.
Plenty of room in comfort plus on the flight, but not for me, by the way.

trooper

How is tomorrow afternoon the same day as tonight?

Fates

The language used by the lounge attendant was “same-day” connection. It’s perfectly obvious that, in my scenario, I’m making a same-day connection. If I land at 6am and depart at 4pm later that same day, the connection, by definition, is happening on the same day regardless of whether my departing flight happens to leave at 23:55 or 00:05

Fates

Is there anything to be done about this? Who should we be complaining to in these scenarios? Speaking to DL customer care feels useless as they also do not understand ST or care about it. Is it worth us all writing to Sky Team directly?

Fates

and if this is, indeed, the way the rules are written, then they are absurd. Take, for instance the 00:30 AF departure out of JFK. Are we seriously suggesting that a FB Platinum should be denied access to the lounge on their prior connecting domestic flight to JFK because their intl’ departure is 30 minutes into the “next day”??

Stil

Just an observation as elite in all alliances, where the other two actually has rules that makes their elites enjoy lounge access cross the board, when needed most... Long haul.

I wonder why Skyteam and Airlines didn't follow through on their talks of scrapping the domestic lounge rule in 2019?

Delta maby?

smartytravel

The Airlines appear to lie about the "benefits" to passengers when they establish JVs. They make very elaborate cases how a passenger will ostensibly benefit from these anti-competitive practices.

That crap needs to end.

Complaints to FTC and DOT should be filed regularly.

StevenSeagalFan

Based on what you’ve written, you being a ST elite isn’t relevant here. You weren’t denied due to being ST, you were denied due to the connection rule, status not withstanding.

hhdl

What exactly does the JV have to do with this? The domestic lounge access rule in SkyTeam predates any of DL's JVs.

Or are you using JV as a synonym for alliance?