Berto

I am a Delta Silver booked on a Alaska flight (LAX-PDX) tomorrow as a Delta codeshare. After checking in my flights with Delta online, I went over to the Alaska site to see if there were any better seats available (would be nice as a DL Silver I wasn't stuck in 25A, but that's a different debate) and saw a gold "U" next to where it says coach with the footnote of "Flight available for Gold or Mileage upgrade". Now I know that I am not elligible for a complimentary upgrade unlike DL DM/PM/GM, but does this mean there is upgrade space that is available for purchase? And if so how does on pay for an upgrade? Do I wait until I get to LAX, can I do it over the phone, etc? Not my first time on an AS flight, but just never seen this before.

JPat

Best way to find out is to call AS and inquire if you can pay for the UG.

From my own experience though these aren't allowed until you are at the airport......

Be sure to report back as to what happens. There is lots of interest here in how these exchange benefits are playing out.

Berto

I can already tell you as DL Silver, I admit I feel like I am getting shafted when flying on an AS operated DL Codeshare. I'll admit not getting upgrades sucks, but I do understand the reasoning for not allowing DL Silvers the ability to get complimentary upgrades. However, I my biggest complaint is the lack of access to Elite seating on AS flights. This is the second time I have been stuck in the essentially very back of the plane in a window seat (which I'm not exactly fond of) while there are many free and open seats seats in rows 6,7,8 and the two exit rows (including a good few aisle seats) that I bet will be given away beforeI get to the gate in LAX. Granted a 2 hour flight isnt that bad, but before that I was on the ATL-SEA with a huge guy in the middle seat and me crammed into the window seat - it was just not fun at all.

I'll call AS and see what they tell me...

evoG

You might first try going through OLCI again on the AS site if it'll let you. If you know there's U space available, AS' OLCI may offer you the upgrade while checking in. Don't check-in too many times, though, or the system may lock you out.

Ask again about the UG and seating at the airport. I thought FO's were eligible for preferred seating and complimentary AS upgrades but can't find it on the DL site and may be wrong.

Berto

Guess I waited too long - the U is no longer indicated next to flight number. Went through the OLCI, but did not offer me anything - in fact it is apparently oversold. I guess I can always see the what the situation is tomorrow at the gate.

As for what us DL Silvers get as benefits on AS they are the following (from an email I recieved from Delta a month or so ago):

As a part of our preferred partnership, you already receive several elite benefits on Alaska. Here are all of the benefits that you enjoy on Alaska:
Baggage Fee Waivers
Priority Boarding
Priority Check-In
25% Mileage Bonus

So in summary - we get practically nothing. I typically dont check bags and usually my first flight is on DL anyways, if I were to check a bag. Priority boarding helps, priority check-in can be a nice thing but isnt really necessary, and since I book all my AS flights as DL codeshares I already get the 25% mileage bonus.

dgreen12

As they move pax around the plane for upgrades, etc. better seats will open up.

Ask at the gate and ye may receive.

Berto

Dont get me wrong, I have asked at the gate before each AS flight I have been booked on in the past. However, of my last two AS flights, by the time I get to the gate, all that I have been left with were middle seats or something even further back. I just am not lucky when flying AS...

Berto

Well things got interesting today with me and my seating choice once I got on the aircraft. After getting settled into my seat and being told at the gate no aisle seats were left, a fellow passenger came up to me and showed me his boarding pass for 25A....my seat. I pull out my boarding pass and my interary on alaskaair.com showing my selection of 25A. Since I guess he was holding the AS issued boarding pass, the FA told him to take the seat. I hung around in the rear galley for a bit before it was settled that I actually had 24C. Not going to complain - in the end I got an aisle like I had attempted to get. Plus the FA offered me a beer on the house. In the end I got exactly what I wanted and then some - it definitely made up for my last experience on AS.