bennos

The evening transcons are pretty easy upgrades out of JFK. However, at pretty much every other time (including Saturday morning!) the upgrade lists are often easily 20-30 people long.

bfxfd

You make very good criticisms of the Skymiles program. However, the first two suggestions have some drawbacks.

1. Rollover drives loyalty beyond status thresholds. I am at 60k MQM this year. I would not have gone beyond 50K on DL and gone for Plat on AA. However, I will fly at least to 74K MQM and depending on the math and how my flights for next year look I might push it to PM. DL has gotten an several thousand dollars out of me that they would not have if rollover did not exist.

2. I still have not found a good argument why BIS MQM are better than CC MQM. I can see the arguments against the 2x and 3x MQM promos, however CC MQM provide DL with a great amount of revenue . CC MQM are great for DL, they can never be redeemed and they can sell them. They are more or less pure profit.

5. I would like to see an option for HVC to earn status. If one regularly flies very expensive regional tickets but does not meet the DM threshold than there is a problem with that.

6. By all means HVC should get better and more generous perks. I think that DM status does offer some very nice benefits that make it very competitive top tier product. However, I would like to see DM's be able to utilize SWUs on K+ fares. I think if that was changed than DM would be something really special.

glbetrotter

Wanted to thank everyone for the quick responses, lively discussion, and thoughts and ideas. I did not expect an obvious consensus, but it is quite clear that top tier HVCs would like to see more recognition for their loyalty, in the form of SWU intl upgrades from K+ fares and last minute upgrades from high fares. The latter part should be obvious to Delta -- something is definitely wrong with DM flying in the back on M+ fare simply because s/he got the ticket a day or two before the flight, when all GMs and FOs have been upgraded and filled the FC/BE cabin.

vasantn

Do you really think DL management has not thought through every one of these scenarios?

All will be well for whom? You and the 10 other people who fly 300K miles a year? If you all left DL it would not even be a rounding error. They are not going to create a customized program for you guys.

You are voting with your wallet and that is cool. Do you feel that AA treats you better? Just curious.

Word.

SJC ORD LDR

If there were no upgrades for FO/GM, I would be flying another airline. I'm someone who flies 5 - 10 trans/mid-cons on LUT fares and have had a decent upgrade percentage because I tend to do a lot of Saturday - Tuesday flights. I don't expect upgrades when I fly, but I do really like flying in F.

They only time I would ever jump over a PM/DM would be getting a Y ticket due to IRROPS or VDB. It seems that DL now does hold a few more seats back than when I first got my Medallion card in 2006.

If DL had no upgrades for GM/PM on LUT fares, there are other airlines that would be more than happy to take my few thousand of dollars I spend on airline tickets.

glbetrotter

And this is where I have a problem -- the lower-tier customers are rewarded at my expense, and I resent that. I can be getting a full Y ticket in the last moment and still not get an upgrade because Delta's geniuses filled the FC cabin with FO and GMs. I was in this situation last month: could not even buy a full F ticket because FC was full (with upgrades, naturally). Now, this is a pinnacle of absurdity in my book, because of those "valuable" FOs who paid $300 for their ticket and were sitting upfront, a $2+K fare was turned down.

javabytes

Exactly. DL's geniuses filled the cabin. FO and GM are enticed by these benefits and provide a lot of volume. Also, keep in mind that plenty of FOs and GMs also travel on high fares. You have no idea what fare any of them are traveling on, and you cannot make assumptions about their fare class based on their status. Finally, you not being able to buy a full F ticket is not because the cabin was full with upgrades. DL does not release EVERY seat in the F cabin for upgrades prior to the gate. Some are held back for last minute purchases. The last few seats in the F cabin went to other last-minute purchases, SDC, or IROPS.

bocastephen

If you're a DM flying on mid-to-high fares, why do you even care if DL upgrades all Elites on lower fares? Their upgrades won't clear before yours...

glbetrotter

Unfortunately, my experience shows that they sometime do. Perhaps not always, and not on all routes, but they absolutely do.

glbetrotter

Very simple: I do not always get my tickets 5+ days in advance. And when I buy it 1-2 days before the trip, the FC is often nearly or completely filled with FO and GMs. So, I end up with an H, if not BM fare, in the back. Isn't there something wrong with this picture?

bocastephen

How do you know the cabin is filled with FOs and GMs? Plenty of threads here talk of DL holding back F seats from upgrades and selling them at check-in. Should the F monetization program get scrapped too?

CJKatl

Not true, but you don't realize it...

The scenario that happens to many of us is we purchase a ticket the day before a flight, pay a very high fare, and wind up in the back because the GMs and FOs have cleared. This happens frequently when, as a PM, I get a B or M fare a day out only to have SDC DMs on lower fares get the couple seats that might be left.

You may also jump over us if we are on the SB list, because your UG is what causes an open Y seat for us to clear. I can live with this, though, because I'm happy to be on the plane. On longer flights where an UG is more important, I'm going to wait for my later flight rather than risk this scenario.

CJKatl

Bag tags often tell you this.

Sometimes as a PM I'll be last of three on the UG list, or some scenario like that. Either there were no GMs or FOs on the flight, which would be unusual, or they all cleared by the time I purchased my ticket, one day out.

Several times, I've been the only one boarding in Zone 1 after purchasing a last minute ticket. This would indicate all other PMs cleared and, likely, even those below. The PMs that cleared were likely on lower fares.

Finally, when this does happen, the GAs have often given me free drink coupons, and/or the FAs have stopped by my seat, apologized for my not getting an UG, told me they would take care of me, and then plied me with bananas and Twix. Mind you, in this scenario I haven't said anything to the FAs, but the GAs have given a heads up.

glbetrotter

Not at all! In fact, if you followed my posts, I am all for FCM! No free upgrades to anyone but DMs until the boarding time. At that point, if any F seats are left, they can go to PM, GM, and FO (with the usual IROPS exceptions).

glbetrotter

CJKatl pretty much answered your question. Plus I now often ask FAs how many DMs, PMs, and FOs are are on the flight. They do not mind sharing that information (no personal data, of course, just aggregate numbers). The statistics is very telling; I should keep a log of what I learn ...