Delta "Through" Flight Warning Thread
 

I was thinking it would be a good idea to make a through flight warning thread so people aren't surprised when they aren't receiving a complimentary medallion upgrade on a domestic flight.

DL 72 goes from ATL-JFK on a 767 and then from JFK-IST on a A330. If you were to book the ATL-JFK segment on a ticket itself for $200, you would get on the upgrade list. Booking it in conjunction with the international portion, and you aren't on the upgrade list for the domestic flight! Spend more money, get less benefits. Excellent IT and PR move......

Anyone else know of similar flights to warn about?

List So Far:

DL1/2 (LAS-JFK-LHR and reverse)
DL5/6 (SEA-DTW-LHR and reverse)
DL9/10 (TPA-ATL-LHR and reverse)
DL11/12 (LGW-ATL-JAX and reverse)
DL16/17 (ATL-LAX-SYD and reverse)
DL24/25 (RDU-ATL-DUS and reverse)
DL30/31 (SFO-JFK-SVO and reverse)
DL40/41 (SEA-MSP-LHR and reverse)
DL46/47 (SFO-ATL-SVO and reverse)
DL72/73 (ATL-JFK-IST and reverse)
DL150/151 (DCA-ATL-LIM and reverse)
DL186/187 (HKG-DTW-BOS and reverse)

DL 40 goes SEA-MSP-LHR with a plane change, DL 6 goes SEA-DTW-LHR with a plane change. On the return, DL 41 goes LHR-MSP-SEA and DL 5 goes LHR DTW-SEA both with a plane change.

The list is probably too long to reasonably assemble. Off the top of my head:

DL16/17 (ATL-LAX-SYD and reverse)
DL40 (SEA-MSP-LHR)
DL9/10 (TPA-ATL-LHR and reverse)
DL11/12 (LGW-ATL-JAX and reverse)

DL6 doesn't do SEA-DTW every day, it seems, as I had been booked on it for this past Sunday (breaking into two segments) and got schedule-changed off of it. Similarly for DL41, which isn't going on to SEA today from what I can see. I'm guessing that all of the LHR flights are direct flights from somewhere that's not a DL hub.

From a practical or even a business standpoint what is the point of a through flight?

To be able to say they offer "Direct service from XXX to YYY". A lot of times when people are booking, they don't even notice that the flight stops somewhere intermediate.

So it's completely just to confuse people... Not nice!

Most global distribution systems (GDSs) rank "direct" flights above connecting flights. This comes from the days when enroute stops to refuel were common, and passengers might genuinely think a stop like that is different/better than a true connection. But now, airlines just abuse the system for the most part. There are a few flights left that might fit the old mold (e.g. the stop in DKK enroute to South Africa), but mostly it's just trickery.

Btw, they also screw you on miles for these flights, only awarding miles from initial departure point to final destination excluding the intermediate stop.

Not DL, but other carriers to have more of those "technical stop" sort of direct flights: several carriers stop in SIN (or elsewhere in SE Asia) to make LHR-SYD work out, and BA stops at SNN on its LCY-JFK A318 service. The A318 can't make LHR-JFK, but can do SNN-JFK if it fuels at SNN. They change crews and allow the pax to pre-clear US CBP at SNN to smooth the arrival at JFK.

Yeah they really need to change this policy. Changing gates, planes, is not a stop, it's a connection.

Well not confusing us
 

I think they call it marketing. Most major airlines do it.

DL1 LAS-JFK-LHR. Frequently flown DL 1 JFK-LHR and LAS-JFK. Anyone doing the "direct" flight would have to switch planes.

yes, but what's that special kind of marketing called where you advertise one thing but give another....

I would add 150/151 DCA-ATL-LIM and reverse

I know there are some via NRT, but I don't know which ones they are, not having flown any of them.