GypsyMay

So, I am walking into the line after they call zone 1 and my boarding pass causes the machine to beep at me. This has happened before, nothing to worry about. I checked in early so maybe that was the problem.

But instead, I am pleasantly surprised when I received my upgrade to business class! And I had recently had a conversation where I mentioned that I liked Delta, but I was never going to get an upgrade internationally and I had accepted that fate.

I finally was able to experience Delta' business product.

Either there was an angel looking out for me or this was a full coach cabin for something like this to happen.

Less than a year ago, I was sitting next to a Diamond who was in the middle seat next to mine complaining that she - at her level - was never upgraded complimentarily. (Is that a word??)

Yay Delta. It made my week.

FriendlySkies

Probably a coincidence. I was talking to a UA agent over the summer about the fact that I wanted to get another SYD TWARE. Thirty minutes later, an email from FT said that UA was doing a TWARE to SYD. I booked two tickets..

avidflyer

Nicely done. Those are rare and that actually makes them even more enjoyable! Nothing like flying BE for free!

LETTERBOY

This happened to me in June of 09 when I was flying British Airways IAD-LHR. I'm not sure how/why it happened.

For a few weeks before my flight they were offering upgrades from WT to WT+ for $199 each way. I passed at the time. About a week before the flight, it dropped to $99 each way. I tried to buy the upgrade, but each time I did, I got an error. After a few days of trying, I gave up. When I went to check in for the flight, I got there about 30 minutes before the desk opened, and was literally the first person in line.

When I hand the GA my BP and passport at the gate, an error message came up on her screen. I damn near had a heart attack, thinking they weren't going to let me on the plane, but she told me I was getting upgraded to business class. Even though I heard her say "business" I was just worried about whether or not I'd have to pay anything extra. She said no, so I forgot about it and went to my seat. It wasn't until I came to my seat in the CW cabin that I realized what was happening. I sat down & thought to myself, "I can get used to this." ^

cmn.jcs

GypsyMay and LETTERBOY, I'm pretty sure you're both describing op-up situation (operational upgrades). As GypsyMay alluded to, if an airline has oversold their Y cabin (and/or J, on a 3-class aircraft, if applicable), and still has seats available in J/F, they will sometimes upgrade passengers from the lower cabin to the higher cabin. I believe it's typical for airlines to prioritize these upgrades by elite status.

However it happens, it still works out the same--more comfort for free!

milst1

I fly TATL on SkyTeam frequently and I've been op-upgraded approx. 15% of the time on Delta legs, and just once (5%) on KLM legs. It's averaged about 3 times a year when flying one DL TATL leg per month. Almost every time it's because of full coach section and empty seats in BE. I've hit DM recently so I wonder if my % will go up, but I'm not optimistic because the full coach condition has to come first. High load factor can be a blessing and curse.

I know some on FT become infuriated when they hear of Medallions getting TATL upgrades after paying sLUT fares, but I'm paying out of my own pocket so I don't feel a bit guilty crowding them in BE.

Funny thing is that these op-upgrades come in bunches...I'll get an op-upgrade on three consecutive DL legs in Spring or Fall, then nothing for a long time. Obviously coincides with increased traffic at those times. I don't do the trip in the summer, so I wonder whether my chances would go up in the summer, of if that's trumped by more BE seats being sold to summer travelers.

Do they sell more TATL BE seats in the summer or is BE demand uniform year-round? Do leisure travelers buy first class TATL seats in the summer? Or is it mainly a product sold to business travelers? Just curious.

NCommander

It's happened to me twice as an FO, once AMS-EWR, and JFK-PRG, both in the same month oddly enough. AMS-EWR was even a codeshare! (DL operated, KL coded). When we printed the boarding pass on the codeshare, the Delta ticket was in Y, which makes me thinks Delta treated it as a YUP, and put me in BE (Y was not oversold on that flight AFAIK, but due to slow AMS customs, I only made the gate closing by about 5 minutes so its possible that it was just a normal op-up).

JFK-PRG was an op-up; that flight was completely full, I think they even IDB'ed some people on it. The reverse flight was pretty packed as well, but my co-worker who was GM at the time got the op-up and I was in Y. So it goes :-).

DLATL777

Yet ANOTHER OP-UP Thread. OP, there are 4 identical threads this week. No angels looking out for you (seriously?) ; Happens when coach is oversold.

Edit; There might be angels looking out for you, but I highly doubt they show themselves in the form of an OP-UP, and such was the direction of my sarcasm.

MSPeconomist

Unless there's some special promotion--I've never heard of such--there's no Y-UP fare on TATL BE.

DALelite

@ GypsyMay why would you talk on the plane about your complimentary upgrade? Not very wise of you. Delta probably now has lost one or two customers.

mrbrad

This happens about every other time I fly LAX-LHR on BA, which is nice because economy+ to BE lay-flats is AWESOME. Unfortunately, I think it has to do with purchased seats and possible doubled up seat selection or something:

Last time I was upgraded in this fashion, about 10-15 minutes later at the end of boarding two women walked past giving me the worst glare commenting about how they had checked in on time and were pissed about not getting their seats in BE... very awkward. I sipped my preflight bev and shrugged it off.

hoth300

GypsyMay, HOW DARE YOU post something that DLATL777 doesn't find interesting, relevant and unique! There are NO SUCH THING as angels (seriously!) and you are not allowed to share your joy with others on FT. Please take a lesson from DLATL777 and reserve your posts for primarily complaining about the posts of others.

PS- Glad to hear you got an op-up! ^

tentseller

I plan my TATL and TPAC flying according highest load periods to increase my chance of Op-up. I am batting about 20% TATL and 35% TPAC.

DLATL777

Your post was substantially more useful than mine; thanks for posting.

Hypocrisy is a funny this, isnt it?

hoth300

I'm not being hypocritical... Didn't you read my post? I'm on YOUR side... OP was totally out of line posting his/her excitement with an op-up!