....waiting for the "Y is more flexible blah blah blah" spiel....

The difference in the two is the Y is fully flexible/refundable whereas the P is not. Both get you in front if space is available at the time of booking for Medallions.

Would I pay $500 for that flexibility? Might in certain situations. Is it FCM? If you subscribe to the premise that any discounted FC is FCM then it is.

6 minutes ;)

Assuming you're going to travel on Delta again, that would be ~3x+ ticket change fees to break even. (You'd still have to pay the fare difference with the Y fare, too.)

Also, you're not even guaranteed a seat up front with the "y" fare! :eek:

Other than complete refundability, which isn't that useful if you're planning to travel again, then I don't see the value...

ANOTHER thread on this? :confused:

Well actually in all seriousness, a suggestion was made that if we have another thread, it should be entitled "What is Sir Thomas Hudson up to" - if he was having a drink or what he was drinking would be pointles threads. ;) - I will try and dig the suggestions out for you. ;) OK one too many winks. I have already started on the sapphire ;) - yes just checked - sapphire is spelled with a double p ;)

Some organizations would deny the request and insist on a more expensive coach ticket.

I would hate to work for said organizations.

I definitely do!

Welcome (belatedly) to FT.

Full Y is indeed $1304.30. But one way Q class for the same flights is $686.30. So P is actually about $160 more than the lowest coach fare. Still, for that difference I would do it myself.

But 2 X $686.30 > $1304.30 > P fare RT. Unless the traveller is planning to throw away the return portion of the ticket, P is still cheaper than purchasing a Q class fare.

I do not really see the biggie here. It is well known at least for FF that with a disparate cabin fill up such things happen. Many occasional travelers never bother to check anything beyond Y and so are many corporate travel offices.

What bothers me much more are the frequent hickups regarding intra-Y fares in which a B sometimes turns out cheaper than a M. Usually you only see a genuine (not mixed with other classes) B when specifically searching for it, while with "M or above" usually M's, some diluted B's, full Y's, and even J's are showing. Pax seeking an upgradeable fare might ending up pay more.

Then don't buy a full fare Y. As for FC guarantee...if you buy a full Y on a flight with P > 1 you are in FC. The fun would begin if you have two medallions of equivalent metal, one on P and one on a Y to see who gets F1 on an IROP. Does a Y-UP beat an H-UP?

Is full fare Y a Y-UP? I don't think so, because to upgrade with full Y requires elite status, while Y-UP, H-UP etc. give FC seats if available to everyone who buys that fare.

I don't think V/X-inventory (where the Y instant upgrade gets pulled from, right?) corresponds one-to-one with P inventory.

However, it seems the original H-UP should be higher priority, since they are supposedly treated as FC tickets, as if they don't get the FC cabin, they are owed compensation. Although, I am not sure how the computer categorizes this case.