The Definitive B/E Upgrade Complaint Thread
 

Anyone else seen this ?

I was on DL 247 yesterday (AMS->MSP). Door closing, 6 open seats in BE. I upgraded on SWU's for this one.

2 NRSA's (I assume - crew tags on luggage, hugging, talking with other FA's etc) overheard they were in AMS for 5 days vacation and were returning to MSP - took 2 of the seats.

Of the remaining 4 crew taped (literally) off 2 of them (which were used for about 2 hrs during the flight for crew rest) and the other 2 were used as storage during the flight for various food and beverage prep - and crew "stuff" (bags of immigration forms etc.)

I know that there was at least one DM in coach (met him at gate).

I am sympathetic to the need for DL to maximize revenue (I paid my M fare, used SWU's) but it seems there are much better uses for BE seats than for crew storage. Why not put a DM there ?

Note to DL board members, I have retitled this topic "The Definitive B/E Upgrade Complaint Thread" and any newly created threads on the same issue will be combined into this new master thread. This master thread will cover all issue pertaining to upgrades into the B/E cabin including the use of miles, the use of SWU's, lack of day of departure upgrades and eligible fare class posts that frequently appear on this forum and have created so many dupe threads.
RSSrsvp - Moderator

I hope you wore your "fire proof" suit today :D

If the DM was on an eligible fare and got on the waitlist to use an SWU, he has a beef. Otherwise, this just shows persistence ignorance of SkyMiles program benefits.

I think they simply figure that if upper level Medallions know they have a good chance at a free upgrade, they would rarely sell any of those seats up front, so they simply don't give them away! (NW threw you a bone every once in a while) Any employee will tell you that it's "part of their employment package" to be able to fly non-rev in BE on an int'l flight. Domestic - they know that Medallions are "SUPPOSED" to be upgraded before they are - - but that's "ANOTHER WHOLE CAN OF WORMS" we don't wanna open here! :D

^

The seats should have been empty, but what I cannot stand is the way the DL FAs tape off seats and use other seats for storage. This is supposed to be Business Elite, and it is very tacky to have drinks and food items stored on a row of seats near you. UA FAs do this from time to time too, I've never seen it done on one of the international carriers actually known for a good premium cabin product.

Now this would make a good topic for discussion however the upgrade policy (or maybe that should read the non-upgrade policy) that Delta has for international flights now falls in the "beating a dead horse" category.

This is the only legit issue in the thread.

I agree. ^

So I am taking DL634 out of NRT to SFO on May 11. I checked seat availability and 21 seats are open in Biz Elite (I imagine some of these are sold, but unassigned). Anyone wanna give some pointers on how I might weasel my way up there from a upper row Coach ticket?:D

Using open seats for storage is kinda, ahem, gauche.

Get enough of your friends without status to fly with you so as to over-sell coach and you get an op-up :).

Seriously the coach over-sell is really your only hope. Of course, it would never hurt to ask at the gate (expect 'no' though).

Just off the top of my head, DL has to block 4 BE seats for crew rest if bunks are not available. As for taping, there may not have been "CREW REST" placards available to attach to the seats. While I don't agree with the practice, stowing service equipment in those seats is a guarantee that a passenger won't take the designated crew seats.

(This is true for PMNW FAs. It's a contractual agreement. I don't know about PMDL FAs.)

And as for the employees up front, they don't control where they sit. The GA clears the non-revs. There could be numerous reasons why the DM sat in Y and not in BE.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8310/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/102)

Guess I should be more clear. Issue wasn't the NrSAs - shoudnt have mentioned it. Issue was 4 open seats. I wasnt aware that it was a rule that there had to be 4 - which I get. 2 were used for about 2 hrs and the other 2 were only used for storage. Seemed a waste of premium space to me - but now I understand why

There is no issue. DM's in the back didnt pay for the BE seats nor used their SWUs or miles. Therefore they are not eligible to sit in BE. If DL (or any other airline) was giving premium BE seats on their transatlantic and tranpacific flights for free to their top elites, those seats would never be paid for. There is something called revenue protection, fare rules and SkyMiles rules. I don't understand what is this thread about. :rolleyes: