Based on what I have seen most elites should be riding up front tomorrow. Not surprising that they are try to offer the upgrade to others. I don't think it is at the expense of elites, at least in this case.

FCM trumps battlefield?
 

I'm on DL 389 ATL-SDQ this morning, allegedly #5 for 2 seats on the UG list as a PM. As i walked up to board, the GIDS was advertising standby upgrades for sale at $150 each.

Just to confirm my understanding, if a random pax had a qualifying fare and wanted to pay up, would they get the UG ahead of complimentary medallion UGs? Or is it standby at the back of the list?

There have been recent reports of this message showing up as a glitch in the system, IIRC specifically on E concourse. Sometimes they will 'offer' buy ups but they won't be processed until all medallion upgrades have cleared.

+1. If you don't get upgraded let is know. You should and then any leftovers get sold

This happened to me at SFO a few weeks ago for an SFO-MSP flight. I pointed it out to the gate agent and she immediately removed the offer from the GIDS. She claimed it was a mistake and shouldn't have been showing. I noticed the GIDS did not display the upgrade list while the offer was showing. Once she removed the offer, the upgrade list began showing in the rotation.

If the OP is #5 for 2 seats the chances are pretty good he wont be getting upgraded anyways

Am currently on DL2159 from JFK->MCO. First time in a very long time I have not seen an upgrade waiting list on the monitors (I presume all medallions got upgrades - I got mine at the window). They were offering upgrades at the gate for $75. I presume they felt comfortable doing that with all medallions awarded upgrades. It appears there were some takers for the $75.

I've seen DL offer paid upgrades before clearing AS elites :( [My UG did clear and we left with empty seats in F...but a bit frustrating nonetheless]

As noted, the paid gate upgrades are supposed to be processed only after all eligible elite upgrades have been processed. Offering paid upgrades does not mean they will actually be processed.

In any case, Delta has had this program for years and personally I do not consider it to be a case of FCM as commonly understood here on FT.

David

Saw the exact same thing at an E gate in ATL on Sunday. I did not talk with the GA to verify they were selling the seats, but it was posted on the monitors. I was not upgraded at the gate but was pulled from coach before takeoff to FC.
My PM companion did not get upgraded. I wish I would have spoken with the GA, but just seeing the upselling knowing all medallions would not be upgraded, made me a little miffed.

I also saw the same thing at a E gate yesterday. The monitor showed a $75 charge to upgrade to First if desired.

I also saw 2 separate groups of people try to go and buy the upgrades but they were turned away and the offer was actually "unavailable".

They may be offering them, but on the standby list they would go beneath any Medallions/AS elites. Paid upgrades fall into place after Medallions/AS elites on the standby list and above non-revs -- so any Medallions/AS elites would be cleared before any paid upgrades were. The GA may start selling paid upgrades, but, again, they only clear after everyone else has (keep in mind the customer is only charged if they're actually upgraded - they're buying a place on the UG list, not a F class seat if you will).

That said, I haven't been upgraded for this coming Thursday ORD-MSP. So I thought about doing SDC to an earlier flight, to make it less likely to miss my tight connection.

To check the seatmap for the earlier flight, I pulled up availability. I noticed that you can book a Coach seat on the flight for $212 one-way. Or, you could splurge, and buy one of the four First Class seats left on the flight for $228 one-way.

FCM; how'd I do?
 

Was all set and ready to book a flight in coach. The non stop JFK to SXM, and then SJU to JFK. have to take jetblue SXM to SJU as DL has Saturday only service to SXM after April 15 and I refuse to take Jetblue all the way to JFK. Anyway, I digress... The coach fare was $395 whereas the business class/first class fare was only $719.00 for a difference of $324.00, or $162 each way . a no brainer in my book, plus the JFK to SXM non stop is on a 757 with sleeper seats. Thank you big D!

a 757 with sleeper seats to SXM?