discstickers

Was on 2949 DTW-SEA yesterday. When I SDC'ed at BDL around 9:30a, EF was showing F5. Got to DTW, DL.com showed 24 on the list (didn't show my position, due to the SDC?) and two seats open. Then a few minutes later, it was down to 1. The line for the GA was really long and they started boarding while I was in line to get my seat assignment. They never made an announcement, but I overhead one GA ask another if F was full, and she said yes.

Due to the line, I don't board until the end of Zone 2 (everyone was using the SkyPriority lane, the GAs had no control over the crowd ). Walking past F, I see two seats unoccupied, and make my way to my seat. Just before or just after the door the closed, an FA comes back into Y and pulls a uniformed captain into F

Shenanigans?

ktown

Who Cares?

td_in_training

The OP and probably other DL members concerned about the integrity of gate upgrades?

To the OP: I believe the PMNW pilots have something in their contract about flying in F to/from work.

discstickers

Perhaps, but why would they not be given a boarding pass with an F seat?

vatraveler

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8320/4.5.0.81 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Exactly. If he was entitled to f, he would've already been there.

MR_MAMA

I petsonally think a pilot in uniform should be in first out of respect.

SamuelS

If there were empty seats in F, they should have gone to those on the upgrade list. However as we all know by now, when you board the aircraft, you technically give up your place on the upgrade list.

If the F cabin had checked in full, but two pax no-showed, then the GA could have come down and pulled up the next two people that would have been on the upgrade list, but there again depending on their workload and time to departure, they may not have. It is well known and discussed that at Delta, GA's do not always come down to the aircraft to pull up FQTVs to F after boarding.

I am quite sure this scenario happens on many flights, every single day somewhere in the network.

Now, if a company pilot or flight attendant is jump seating, they are able to take "any open seat" including the F cabin rather than actually sitting in the jump seat.

FA's DO have the ability to tell jump seaters to take an open seat. They DO NOT have the ability to second guess which frequent flyers may or may not have been next on the upgrade list for the seat.

Just something to think about before calling Shenanigans.

SamuelS

huh?

FN-GM

To be honest most people on here would do it.

I work in a school, i regular jump the lines at dinner time. I only do it because i can. Its not the same thing but its along those lines.

b0nd0

I recently SDCd to earlier flight and also could not find my name on the upgrade list - which is weird because the phone agent assured me i had been added. I arrived at the gate and found that there was 1 seat unassigned in F. I approached the gate agent to ask why my name was not on the list and she said that it would not matter since there were no seats. I stated that the GIDS is showing 1 unassigned - so she cleared the number 1 person on the list....i still did not show up on the upgrade list.

PRWeezer

My guess, and it's just a guess: What the OP didn't say is that the flight went out late (by 11 minutes). OP did say the gate area was chaotic during boarding. Perhaps in the chaos GA didn't realize there was one seat left to clear & after the door closed FA didn't call back to gate to see who was next on the list, nor did the GA provide that info proactively, so FA grabbed the pilot and put him in front. And add to that the consenting opinion (expressed in this thread) that if you board you give up your spot on the upgrade list.

All those factors combine to result in human error amid the pressure to get a flight out that was already late. Doesn't make it right for the elite who lost his/her upgrade, but also doesn't make it a conspiracy on the part of Delta AirLines. I'm not defending the actions, just saying sometimes human error happens. "Shena" tends to be called in on this board for situations where it's a blatant effort on the part of the GA/cabin crew to upgrade a NRSA over an elite. I think we chalk this up to human oversight, unfortunate as it was for the next person on the list.

And don't shoot the messenger, just offering another opinion.

hfly

"out of respect"???? They are pilots, we pay their salaries when they are working, and when they are not, but working they are flying up front already. If they are not and just flying to/fr home they are just like regular pax, but lower down the ladder. What respect??

majorwibi

Its not Shenanigans if the FA did it after the door was closed or after the paperwork was delivered. According to sources this flight went out with one seat left in F (which appears to be a late misconnect as DL tends to hold F seats until the last second on misconnects.)

JFKSFOLAX_friend

LOL.

JFKSFOLAX_friend

Heh?

(WYTAW = What you talkin' about Willis?)