First Class Monetization, or FCM: The Definitive Thread
Apr 11, 2012, 4:23 pm
#707
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 5,292
I pray to everything holy that DL puts an option on the website to upgrade penalty-free to P. There would simply be no argument then from any elite that FCM is unfair. Work pays for Y, you pay for F out of your pocket.
Last edited by bubbashow; Apr 11, 2012 at 4:36 pm
Apr 11, 2012, 4:59 pm
#708
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Likely being followed...
Programs: DYKWIA Extraordinaire. TrollSlayer Mega Diamond. [insert esoteric sounding status level(s) here]
Posts: 5,240
Also there are often times where there are cases where buying P is cheaper than the cheapest available Y seat.
Apr 11, 2012, 5:06 pm
#709
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Washington,DC
Posts: 1,822
Then anyone who has to buy a low fare can, at their option upgrade
I bet thousands would and Delta gain millions. There is no revenue loss for Delta as a LUT fare person isn't paying a change fee on the same flight today
I wish for this change the project after converting to a revenue based elite program
Apr 11, 2012, 5:10 pm
#710
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 5,292
Gator....you will end up wanting to bang your head against a wall after just a few hours talking about this. So many on here have no business sense whatsoever and will argue until they are blue in the face. According to them, DL should NOT sell F....they should save it and reward them. DL has found a pricing model that is actually moving some F inventory, and they can't stand it. They are unwilling or unable to purchase the service that they desire.
Apr 11, 2012, 5:23 pm
#711
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: West of CLE
Programs: Delta DM/3 MM; Hertz PC; National EE; Amtrak GR; Bonvoy Silver; Via Rail Préférence
Posts: 5,384
I'm going to LAS Saturday night. My upgrade on the DCA-SLC leg cleared just after 5 pm yesterday (3 day window); there were no upgrades on the SLC-LAS leg at the DM/PM 5 day window, and no upgrades in the GM window, despite 11 of the 16 F seats on a 737-800 being open.
Apr 11, 2012, 5:26 pm
#712
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: Likely being followed...
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Posts: 5,240
Gator....you will end up wanting to bang your head against a wall after just a few hours talking about this. So many on here have no business sense whatsoever and will argue until they are blue in the face. According to them, DL should NOT sell F....they should save it and reward them. DL has found a pricing model that is actually moving some F inventory, and they can't stand it. They are unwilling or unable to purchase the service that they desire.
Corporate travel rules often do not allow F purchases.
DL targets corporate travelers heavily with the incentives of their medallion program.
Does $50 for an upsell to the 1x/year customer versus an upgrade to a customer who flys 25k+/year on your airline make sense? DL's strongest asset FFP wise is their upgrade program.
What I am not saying is that you should not try and sell F in any way shape or form. It should just make sense to factor loyalty in, right? Or do DL's ads not suggest that Loyalty programs should reward customers w/upgrades if avail?
Apr 11, 2012, 5:29 pm
#713
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: SEA
Programs: DL DM, AS MVP, Marriott Plat, SPG Plat
Posts: 237
Can't you usually call and upgrade penalty-free since it is a change of cabin?
Apr 11, 2012, 5:36 pm
#714
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 5,292
Apr 11, 2012, 5:37 pm
#715
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: JFK/LGA/EWR
Posts: 1,296
They'd move more if the removed the penalty for upgrading to a higher fare class, as you suggested. 
If I know I will fly XXX-YYY 3 months in advance, maybe I can get a T fare for $300, which is what I'd have to book. If I wait until 3 days before the flight, maybe I'd get an M fare for $600 as the cheapest available. If it's in my upgrade window I might get the upgrade at booking. If not, maybe the P fare would be $650. It might be worth me paying $50 out of pocket for the upgrade but not $200, depending on the actual route. I'm not sure how an expense auditor would see this as I bought the cheapest available ticket, but does he know how far in advance I knew my travel plans?
If I know I will fly XXX-YYY 3 months in advance, maybe I can get a T fare for $300, which is what I'd have to book. If I wait until 3 days before the flight, maybe I'd get an M fare for $600 as the cheapest available. If it's in my upgrade window I might get the upgrade at booking. If not, maybe the P fare would be $650. It might be worth me paying $50 out of pocket for the upgrade but not $200, depending on the actual route. I'm not sure how an expense auditor would see this as I bought the cheapest available ticket, but does he know how far in advance I knew my travel plans?
Apr 11, 2012, 5:56 pm
#716
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 5,292
Corporate travel rules often do not allow F purchases.
DL targets corporate travelers heavily with the incentives of their medallion program.
Does $50 for an upsell to the 1x/year customer versus an upgrade to a customer who flys 25k+/year on your airline make sense? DL's strongest asset FFP wise is their upgrade program.
What I am not saying is that you should not try and sell F in any way shape or form. It should just make sense to factor loyalty in, right? Or do DL's ads not suggest that Loyalty programs should reward customers w/upgrades if avail?
Apr 11, 2012, 5:59 pm
#717
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 5,292
Apr 11, 2012, 6:04 pm
#718
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Long Beach, CA
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 5,292
Does $50 for an upsell to the 1x/year customer versus an upgrade to a customer who flys 25k+/year on your airline make sense? DL's strongest asset FFP wise is their upgrade program.
I fly over 100,000 miles a year and I would welcome such a change. I have taken advantage of P fares in the past, but lately I have been putting paid F on AA because of the superior product.
Apr 11, 2012, 6:19 pm
#719
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: SEA (the REAL Washington); occasionally in the other Washington (DCA area)
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that was how I held GM for about five years, and hit PM with the late-2010 promotions ... starting in Jan 2011 the corporate travel policy changed, and ALL travel had to be booked thru the contract travel agency and billed direct to the corporate UATP card ... the agents were reasonably good about adding a note to the record to justify why I was taking DL flights that were anywhere from $30 to in some cases $120 over the lowest available fare (typically US in the markets I was flying), but it was goodbye to MRs in conjunction with business travel
Apr 11, 2012, 6:32 pm
#720
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I would not do it this way. Being reimbursed for a ticket that was cancelled and refunded could be considered fraud, even if you then purchased and used a more expensive ticket.