“Shena”: The Definitive “Shenanigans” Thread
Apr 22, 2011, 10:04 am
#46
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: SAV
Programs: Atlanta's hometown airline. A bunch of hotel programs. PetSmart PetPerks.
Posts: 2,531
So I guess you're only on the gate upgrade list if you are checked in. Good to know.
It sounds like the gate agent didn't actually follow procedure if he/she processed gate upgrades before the 30 minute mark. They are supposed to wait until the 30 minute mark to make sure all passengers are legally checked in.
-RM
It sounds like the gate agent didn't actually follow procedure if he/she processed gate upgrades before the 30 minute mark. They are supposed to wait until the 30 minute mark to make sure all passengers are legally checked in.
-RM
There is protocol for boarding times according to the type of aircraft. Protocol says lists should be cleared prior to boarding, though conditions don't always allow that. If there's only one agent working the flight, a good agent will get things in order before boarding.
Apr 22, 2011, 12:39 pm
#47
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Floating around
Programs: UA 1K (1MM), DL Gold (1MM), Marriott LTT
Posts: 10,345
Paging zsmith2 or any other DL gate agent on this board...
What is DL's policy with regards to clearing upgrade & standby lists at the gate? I thought it had to be after the legal check-in cutoff time (30 minutes for domestic flights).
If the agent wants to start boarding the flight early that's fine but the standby's and upgrade standby's need to wait. At least that was always my impression.
Bottom line though is that you should always OLCI at least an hour before even if you're running late to the airport so you will be on the gate upgrade list and the agent can process your upgrade. That part is cool.
-RM
What is DL's policy with regards to clearing upgrade & standby lists at the gate? I thought it had to be after the legal check-in cutoff time (30 minutes for domestic flights).
If the agent wants to start boarding the flight early that's fine but the standby's and upgrade standby's need to wait. At least that was always my impression.
Bottom line though is that you should always OLCI at least an hour before even if you're running late to the airport so you will be on the gate upgrade list and the agent can process your upgrade. That part is cool.
-RM
Apr 23, 2011, 12:04 pm
#48
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: BOS/MHT (Lakes Region)
Programs: DL PM(sigh)/2.3MM & a bunch of other programs...
Posts: 692
Ms. Shena N. Egans is a Delta gate agent who is notorious for circumventing the normal upgrade process... Ironically she has been with Delta for quite a long time and apparently evades getting caught by constantly working at different airports, although it does seem that ATL is her favorite location....
Apr 23, 2011, 1:53 pm
#49
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: Free checked in bag on UA & DL. Free icecream at Marriott checkin.
Posts: 2,862
Ms. Shena N. Egans is a Delta gate agent who is notorious for circumventing the normal upgrade process... Ironically she has been with Delta for quite a long time and apparently evades getting caught by constantly working at different airports, although it does seem that ATL is her favorite location....
Apr 23, 2011, 2:40 pm
#51
Join Date: May 2007
Location: SEA
Programs: Delta Platinum Medallion, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 624
Apr 24, 2011, 7:23 am
#52
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: BOS/MHT (Lakes Region)
Programs: DL PM(sigh)/2.3MM & a bunch of other programs...
Posts: 692
Let me start of by saying that I didn't feel entitled to an upgrade and it was a short flight too, but what I observed led me to believe that Miss Egan's relative was at MCO (an airport I like too...security wasn't even that bad yesterday 
)...
My family and I (party of 4) were on award travel home MCO-ATL-BOS yesterday (flight 2018 MCO-ATL).
We arrived at the gate about 10 min prior to boarding and the GIDS said Y was full and F had 5 seats not assigned. They were offering standby upgrades for purchase and there was no upgrade list. The standby list had 2+ columns on it (15-16 pax?).
We had been upgraded on our outbound ATL-MCO segment under what appeared to be the same circumstances (and without my asking) so I thought I had a good shot if I asked politely. It seemed to make sense: upgrade a DM and his family and free up four Y seats for standby pax. Win-win. Or so I thought.
I approached the podium and asked one of the two GAs if he'd be willing to upgrade us. He seemed unsure of what he could do. I told him it had been done on our outbound flight so he should be able to do it. There was a red coat near the boarding door and I said that there was a "red coat right there if he needed help." The red coat ignored our conversation.
He then looked at the other GA for guidance and that one said I must have been upgraded outbound due to the flight being oversold and that his flight wasn't so he wasn't going to upgrade us. I said "you have a standby list.." and he cut me off saying he was in charge of the flight and had it "taken care of." I said that I was disappointed and he immediately gave me his name, obviously expecting me to complain and evidently not caring if I did. I've never been treated with such disdain by a DL front-line employee.
At that point, I suspected Shena was near, so I paid close attention once we boarded and sat in Y (near the mid-door of the 757). Boarding takes place and once finished I observed five pax board in F. Then, after about five minutes there is a lot of apparent confusion, GA walks on and three pax are removed from F and three new pax are seated there. Then one of those from F is seated just behind us and a couple minutes later, Mr "I'm in Charge of this Flight" comes on, smiles at her, says "sorry," deplanes her and another person takes her seat.
Obviously, I don't have all the inside info on what happened (when do we ever as passengers?). However, all this shuffling of people and the GA saying he had it "taken care of" leads me to believe the GA was trying to do a "friends & family" upgrade that ultimately failed.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did email DL and not about the upgrade, but the GA's rudeness, disdain and apparent attempt at shena-n-gans.
)...My family and I (party of 4) were on award travel home MCO-ATL-BOS yesterday (flight 2018 MCO-ATL).
We arrived at the gate about 10 min prior to boarding and the GIDS said Y was full and F had 5 seats not assigned. They were offering standby upgrades for purchase and there was no upgrade list. The standby list had 2+ columns on it (15-16 pax?).
We had been upgraded on our outbound ATL-MCO segment under what appeared to be the same circumstances (and without my asking) so I thought I had a good shot if I asked politely. It seemed to make sense: upgrade a DM and his family and free up four Y seats for standby pax. Win-win. Or so I thought.
I approached the podium and asked one of the two GAs if he'd be willing to upgrade us. He seemed unsure of what he could do. I told him it had been done on our outbound flight so he should be able to do it. There was a red coat near the boarding door and I said that there was a "red coat right there if he needed help." The red coat ignored our conversation.
He then looked at the other GA for guidance and that one said I must have been upgraded outbound due to the flight being oversold and that his flight wasn't so he wasn't going to upgrade us. I said "you have a standby list.." and he cut me off saying he was in charge of the flight and had it "taken care of." I said that I was disappointed and he immediately gave me his name, obviously expecting me to complain and evidently not caring if I did. I've never been treated with such disdain by a DL front-line employee.
At that point, I suspected Shena was near, so I paid close attention once we boarded and sat in Y (near the mid-door of the 757). Boarding takes place and once finished I observed five pax board in F. Then, after about five minutes there is a lot of apparent confusion, GA walks on and three pax are removed from F and three new pax are seated there. Then one of those from F is seated just behind us and a couple minutes later, Mr "I'm in Charge of this Flight" comes on, smiles at her, says "sorry," deplanes her and another person takes her seat.
Obviously, I don't have all the inside info on what happened (when do we ever as passengers?). However, all this shuffling of people and the GA saying he had it "taken care of" leads me to believe the GA was trying to do a "friends & family" upgrade that ultimately failed.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did email DL and not about the upgrade, but the GA's rudeness, disdain and apparent attempt at shena-n-gans.
Apr 24, 2011, 9:48 am
#53
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: CT
Programs: DL DM 2MM, MR LTT, Hilton D, Hertz PC. National Emerald Exec, UA Silver(thanks to Marriott)
Posts: 2,026
If it comes down to a gate upgrade I prefer it be before 30 min mark. There is nothing more annoying then trying to navigate the gate lice to get your new BP around while FC is boarding.
OLCI is easy enough and you can still print your BP when you get to the airport.
OLCI is easy enough and you can still print your BP when you get to the airport.
Apr 24, 2011, 9:56 am
#54
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: CT
Programs: DL DM 2MM, MR LTT, Hilton D, Hertz PC. National Emerald Exec, UA Silver(thanks to Marriott)
Posts: 2,026
Let me start of by saying that I didn't feel entitled to an upgrade and it was a short flight too, but what I observed led me to believe that Miss Egan's relative was at MCO (an airport I like too...security wasn't even that bad yesterday )...
My family and I (party of 4) were on award travel home MCO-ATL-BOS yesterday (flight 2018 MCO-ATL).
We arrived at the gate about 10 min prior to boarding and the GIDS said Y was full and F had 5 seats not assigned. They were offering standby upgrades for purchase and there was no upgrade list. The standby list had 2+ columns on it (15-16 pax?).
We had been upgraded on our outbound ATL-MCO segment under what appeared to be the same circumstances (and without my asking) so I thought I had a good shot if I asked politely. It seemed to make sense: upgrade a DM and his family and free up four Y seats for standby pax. Win-win. Or so I thought.
I approached the podium and asked one of the two GAs if he'd be willing to upgrade us. He seemed unsure of what he could do. I told him it had been done on our outbound flight so he should be able to do it. There was a red coat near the boarding door and I said that there was a "red coat right there if he needed help." The red coat ignored our conversation.
He then looked at the other GA for guidance and that one said I must have been upgraded outbound due to the flight being oversold and that his flight wasn't so he wasn't going to upgrade us. I said "you have a standby list.." and he cut me off saying he was in charge of the flight and had it "taken care of." I said that I was disappointed and he immediately gave me his name, obviously expecting me to complain and evidently not caring if I did. I've never been treated with such disdain by a DL front-line employee.
At that point, I suspected Shena was near, so I paid close attention once we boarded and sat in Y (near the mid-door of the 757). Boarding takes place and once finished I observed five pax board in F. Then, after about five minutes there is a lot of apparent confusion, GA walks on and three pax are removed from F and three new pax are seated there. Then one of those from F is seated just behind us and a couple minutes later, Mr "I'm in Charge of this Flight" comes on, smiles at her, says "sorry," deplanes her and another person takes her seat.
Obviously, I don't have all the inside info on what happened (when do we ever as passengers?). However, all this shuffling of people and the GA saying he had it "taken care of" leads me to believe the GA was trying to do a "friends & family" upgrade that ultimately failed.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did email DL and not about the upgrade, but the GA's rudeness, disdain and apparent attempt at shena-n-gans.
)...My family and I (party of 4) were on award travel home MCO-ATL-BOS yesterday (flight 2018 MCO-ATL).
We arrived at the gate about 10 min prior to boarding and the GIDS said Y was full and F had 5 seats not assigned. They were offering standby upgrades for purchase and there was no upgrade list. The standby list had 2+ columns on it (15-16 pax?).
We had been upgraded on our outbound ATL-MCO segment under what appeared to be the same circumstances (and without my asking) so I thought I had a good shot if I asked politely. It seemed to make sense: upgrade a DM and his family and free up four Y seats for standby pax. Win-win. Or so I thought.
I approached the podium and asked one of the two GAs if he'd be willing to upgrade us. He seemed unsure of what he could do. I told him it had been done on our outbound flight so he should be able to do it. There was a red coat near the boarding door and I said that there was a "red coat right there if he needed help." The red coat ignored our conversation.
He then looked at the other GA for guidance and that one said I must have been upgraded outbound due to the flight being oversold and that his flight wasn't so he wasn't going to upgrade us. I said "you have a standby list.." and he cut me off saying he was in charge of the flight and had it "taken care of." I said that I was disappointed and he immediately gave me his name, obviously expecting me to complain and evidently not caring if I did. I've never been treated with such disdain by a DL front-line employee.
At that point, I suspected Shena was near, so I paid close attention once we boarded and sat in Y (near the mid-door of the 757). Boarding takes place and once finished I observed five pax board in F. Then, after about five minutes there is a lot of apparent confusion, GA walks on and three pax are removed from F and three new pax are seated there. Then one of those from F is seated just behind us and a couple minutes later, Mr "I'm in Charge of this Flight" comes on, smiles at her, says "sorry," deplanes her and another person takes her seat.
Obviously, I don't have all the inside info on what happened (when do we ever as passengers?). However, all this shuffling of people and the GA saying he had it "taken care of" leads me to believe the GA was trying to do a "friends & family" upgrade that ultimately failed.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did email DL and not about the upgrade, but the GA's rudeness, disdain and apparent attempt at shena-n-gans.
Apr 24, 2011, 10:44 am
#55
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Floating around
Programs: UA 1K (1MM), DL Gold (1MM), Marriott LTT
Posts: 10,345
Let me start of by saying that I didn't feel entitled to an upgrade and it was a short flight too, but what I observed led me to believe that Miss Egan's relative was at MCO (an airport I like too...security wasn't even that bad yesterday )...
My family and I (party of 4) were on award travel home MCO-ATL-BOS yesterday (flight 2018 MCO-ATL).
We arrived at the gate about 10 min prior to boarding and the GIDS said Y was full and F had 5 seats not assigned. They were offering standby upgrades for purchase and there was no upgrade list. The standby list had 2+ columns on it (15-16 pax?).
We had been upgraded on our outbound ATL-MCO segment under what appeared to be the same circumstances (and without my asking) so I thought I had a good shot if I asked politely. It seemed to make sense: upgrade a DM and his family and free up four Y seats for standby pax. Win-win. Or so I thought.
I approached the podium and asked one of the two GAs if he'd be willing to upgrade us. He seemed unsure of what he could do. I told him it had been done on our outbound flight so he should be able to do it. There was a red coat near the boarding door and I said that there was a "red coat right there if he needed help." The red coat ignored our conversation.
He then looked at the other GA for guidance and that one said I must have been upgraded outbound due to the flight being oversold and that his flight wasn't so he wasn't going to upgrade us. I said "you have a standby list.." and he cut me off saying he was in charge of the flight and had it "taken care of." I said that I was disappointed and he immediately gave me his name, obviously expecting me to complain and evidently not caring if I did. I've never been treated with such disdain by a DL front-line employee.
At that point, I suspected Shena was near, so I paid close attention once we boarded and sat in Y (near the mid-door of the 757). Boarding takes place and once finished I observed five pax board in F. Then, after about five minutes there is a lot of apparent confusion, GA walks on and three pax are removed from F and three new pax are seated there. Then one of those from F is seated just behind us and a couple minutes later, Mr "I'm in Charge of this Flight" comes on, smiles at her, says "sorry," deplanes her and another person takes her seat.
Obviously, I don't have all the inside info on what happened (when do we ever as passengers?). However, all this shuffling of people and the GA saying he had it "taken care of" leads me to believe the GA was trying to do a "friends & family" upgrade that ultimately failed.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did email DL and not about the upgrade, but the GA's rudeness, disdain and apparent attempt at shena-n-gans.
)...My family and I (party of 4) were on award travel home MCO-ATL-BOS yesterday (flight 2018 MCO-ATL).
We arrived at the gate about 10 min prior to boarding and the GIDS said Y was full and F had 5 seats not assigned. They were offering standby upgrades for purchase and there was no upgrade list. The standby list had 2+ columns on it (15-16 pax?).
We had been upgraded on our outbound ATL-MCO segment under what appeared to be the same circumstances (and without my asking) so I thought I had a good shot if I asked politely. It seemed to make sense: upgrade a DM and his family and free up four Y seats for standby pax. Win-win. Or so I thought.
I approached the podium and asked one of the two GAs if he'd be willing to upgrade us. He seemed unsure of what he could do. I told him it had been done on our outbound flight so he should be able to do it. There was a red coat near the boarding door and I said that there was a "red coat right there if he needed help." The red coat ignored our conversation.
He then looked at the other GA for guidance and that one said I must have been upgraded outbound due to the flight being oversold and that his flight wasn't so he wasn't going to upgrade us. I said "you have a standby list.." and he cut me off saying he was in charge of the flight and had it "taken care of." I said that I was disappointed and he immediately gave me his name, obviously expecting me to complain and evidently not caring if I did. I've never been treated with such disdain by a DL front-line employee.
At that point, I suspected Shena was near, so I paid close attention once we boarded and sat in Y (near the mid-door of the 757). Boarding takes place and once finished I observed five pax board in F. Then, after about five minutes there is a lot of apparent confusion, GA walks on and three pax are removed from F and three new pax are seated there. Then one of those from F is seated just behind us and a couple minutes later, Mr "I'm in Charge of this Flight" comes on, smiles at her, says "sorry," deplanes her and another person takes her seat.
Obviously, I don't have all the inside info on what happened (when do we ever as passengers?). However, all this shuffling of people and the GA saying he had it "taken care of" leads me to believe the GA was trying to do a "friends & family" upgrade that ultimately failed.
In the interest of full disclosure, I did email DL and not about the upgrade, but the GA's rudeness, disdain and apparent attempt at shena-n-gans.
There are several reasons the gate agent could have denied your request, all by DL rules:
1. You had 5 people in your reservation. This means no EUA for you.
2. You were on award tickets. Remember that only DM/PM/GM can get upgrades on award tickets and companions are not allowed upgrades on award tickets. So any elite with any other non-elite (or FO) in their award ticket reservation is not eligible for EUA.
Having a lengthy standby list for a flight does not mean it's oversold. It simply means there are a lot of people with unconfirmed seats trying to get on the flight (maybe employees, maybe buddy passes, etc.). To the gate agent this was a moot point in your attempt to get all five of you in FC.
The best thing, and only thing, you could have done to get upgraded was to separate your PNR and get upgraded as a DM and let the four other family members sit in the back.
-RM
Apr 24, 2011, 10:45 am
#56
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Floating around
Programs: UA 1K (1MM), DL Gold (1MM), Marriott LTT
Posts: 10,345
-RM
Apr 24, 2011, 11:38 am
#57
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: MCO
Programs: DL-DM/1MM, HILTON-DIA, .HYATT-DIA/GLOB , IHG-PLT,HERTZ 5*, NATIONAL ES
Posts: 8,691
Allow me to be the first to tell you that Ms. Egans and her cousin were nowhere near your gate at MCO that day with regards to your reservation. The ATL gate agent who upgraded your entire family did it as a courtesy only and technically broke DL rules. The gate agents at MCO were correct to deny you.
There are several reasons the gate agent could have denied your request, all by DL rules:
1. You had 5 people in your reservation. This means no EUA for you.
2. You were on award tickets. Remember that only DM/PM/GM can get upgrades on award tickets and companions are not allowed upgrades on award tickets. So any elite with any other non-elite (or FO) in their award ticket reservation is not eligible for EUA.
Having a lengthy standby list for a flight does not mean it's oversold. It simply means there are a lot of people with unconfirmed seats trying to get on the flight (maybe employees, maybe buddy passes, etc.). To the gate agent this was a moot point in your attempt to get all five of you in FC.
The best thing, and only thing, you could have done to get upgraded was to separate your PNR and get upgraded as a DM and let the four other family members sit in the back.
-RM
There are several reasons the gate agent could have denied your request, all by DL rules:
1. You had 5 people in your reservation. This means no EUA for you.
2. You were on award tickets. Remember that only DM/PM/GM can get upgrades on award tickets and companions are not allowed upgrades on award tickets. So any elite with any other non-elite (or FO) in their award ticket reservation is not eligible for EUA.
Having a lengthy standby list for a flight does not mean it's oversold. It simply means there are a lot of people with unconfirmed seats trying to get on the flight (maybe employees, maybe buddy passes, etc.). To the gate agent this was a moot point in your attempt to get all five of you in FC.
The best thing, and only thing, you could have done to get upgraded was to separate your PNR and get upgraded as a DM and let the four other family members sit in the back.
-RM
I see the OP's point that there was a slight expectation based on previous experience. Out of MCO, the remaining FC seats in FC AFTER all upgrades are cleared tend to go to other crew on the u/g list first. This is based on observation only!!! On my flights, it is rare to find empty FC seats as there are usually people still on the U/g list after all FC seats are full.
Apr 24, 2011, 4:23 pm
#59
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: BOS/MHT (Lakes Region)
Programs: DL PM(sigh)/2.3MM & a bunch of other programs...
Posts: 692
The fact that the MCO GA basically said "talk to the hand," boarded pax he obviously knew in F and then deplaned them for other pax only leads me to believe he was up to something.
Like I said in my post above, I didn't expect an upgrade, I just thought I'd ask. The way the GA handled the request disappointed me and led me to observe & report how I thought things went down.
For ATL-MCO, the GA said to me that "we moved you because we needed your seats." Whether that means oversold, or the just wanted to clear some standbys, I don't know. If that broke a rule, I don't know, but there was no upgrade list so we didn't jump ahead of any other deserving Medallions.
I appreciate that they took the time in ATL to recognize my status and move us forward instead of just clearing standbys directly into F. That's the kind of loyalty I love to see DL show for the loyalty I give them.
Apr 24, 2011, 5:18 pm
#60
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: MCO
Programs: DL-DM/1MM, HILTON-DIA, .HYATT-DIA/GLOB , IHG-PLT,HERTZ 5*, NATIONAL ES
Posts: 8,691
None of my family has status. I am DM/MM. I was well aware of the award upgrade rules, but chose not to split my PNR as with the loads during school vacation I was concerned (probably a baseless concern) that my wife & children could be bumped if they were on their own PNR. Had I done a split, I would have cleared BOS-ATL-MCO easily and likely MCO-ATL. ATL-BOS had been F0 for a long time so I didn't think there'd be anything for it.
The fact that the MCO GA basically said "talk to the hand," boarded pax he obviously knew in F and then deplaned them for other pax only leads me to believe he was up to something.
Like I said in my post above, I didn't expect an upgrade, I just thought I'd ask. The way the GA handled the request disappointed me and led me to observe & report how I thought things went down.
For ATL-MCO, the GA said to me that "we moved you because we needed your seats." Whether that means oversold, or the just wanted to clear some standbys, I don't know. If that broke a rule, I don't know, but there was no upgrade list so we didn't jump ahead of any other deserving Medallions.
I appreciate that they took the time in ATL to recognize my status and move us forward instead of just clearing standbys directly into F. That's the kind of loyalty I love to see DL show for the loyalty I give them.
The fact that the MCO GA basically said "talk to the hand," boarded pax he obviously knew in F and then deplaned them for other pax only leads me to believe he was up to something.
Like I said in my post above, I didn't expect an upgrade, I just thought I'd ask. The way the GA handled the request disappointed me and led me to observe & report how I thought things went down.
For ATL-MCO, the GA said to me that "we moved you because we needed your seats." Whether that means oversold, or the just wanted to clear some standbys, I don't know. If that broke a rule, I don't know, but there was no upgrade list so we didn't jump ahead of any other deserving Medallions.
I appreciate that they took the time in ATL to recognize my status and move us forward instead of just clearing standbys directly into F. That's the kind of loyalty I love to see DL show for the loyalty I give them.
Some of the other MCOers may correct me on that one....