Seatmap question
Mar 8, 2012 | 7:24 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: PVD, BDL
Programs: DL GM
Posts: 478
Seatmap question
Hey everyone. Here is something i always wondered about. As a GM i can see all the preferred seats shaded blue. Obviously a non status traveler cannot. On a full flight where all the non preferred seats are taken I assume that the traveler gets a "seats cannot be assigned" message even though they have a confirmed seat. However on my end I can still see the blue shaded ones if available. My basic question is will DL start assigning non status folk to these seats and making them not available to medallions even though it is not visible to the non status traveler? On more than 1 occasion I have sat next to a non status passenger in a preferred seat that I saw become unavailable on the seat map days before the flight.
Last edited by sectflyer; Mar 8, 2012 at 7:40 am
Mar 8, 2012 | 7:28 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: IND
Programs: DL DM, SPG AMB, National EE
Posts: 1,301
I always wonder the same about bulkheads. I've checked at EXACTLY T-24 when the "open up" and 2/3 are already taken. When boarding, no one is old/disabled/etc. so how do people get these seats assigned?
Mar 8, 2012 | 9:12 am
#3
Join Date: Mar 2011
Programs: Delta Ballast Medallion, Card Carrying Honorary KM
Posts: 553
People can call and say they have a disability that requires the bulkhead seating, and they have to be transferred to a supervisor for screening before those seats can be opened up. They are also told that if someone with a service animal or a fused leg needs that seat, they will be moved to accommodate.
Mar 8, 2012 | 9:16 am
#4
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 417
Mar 8, 2012 | 9:19 am
#5
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: MSN
Posts: 8,051
And passengers who need to wait for seat assignment at the gate can be put into preferred seats that are open (particularly those vacated by elites given gate upgrades).
Mar 8, 2012 | 10:38 am
#6
Suspended
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Note that opinions on this point differ on FT. For example, OrangeCountyCommuter thinks that all those people have disabilities that are not visible. LMAO
Mar 8, 2012 | 10:49 am
#7
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: Delta GM, Marriott Platinum, Hertz 5*
Posts: 2,530
I see people all the time taking advantage of benefits for the disabled (i.e. handicapped hang-tag in car, pre-boarding on flights) when they have no visible reason to do so. I always chalk this up to a "mental" handicap! 
Mar 8, 2012 | 11:03 am
#9
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Planet Earth
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Posts: 3,772
for example, if you are elite, would you pick an aisle seat in economy vs a middle seat in economy comfort?
I would pick aisle any day over ec middle seat if it isn't too far in the back.
Mar 8, 2012 | 11:10 am
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
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No. If you're a non-elite, and flying on a non-Y/B fare, and there are no more regular seats but there are preferred seats available, you won't be assigned a seat in advance. You'd have the option to purchase a preferred seat during check in, or you might ultimately be given one for free if you wait until the gate for your seat assigmnent.
Mar 8, 2012 | 11:11 am
#11
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: NYC
Programs: Delta DM, 2MM
Posts: 1,269
You said that you have sat beside a non-elite when you were in a seat marked as a preferred seat. That's easily explainable as most seat maps mark the middle seats as non-elite.
Of course, if a non-status passenger doesn't have an available "free" seat at check-in and chooses not to pay for a preferred seat, the GA will assign what ever is available at the time of departure.
Of course, if a non-status passenger doesn't have an available "free" seat at check-in and chooses not to pay for a preferred seat, the GA will assign what ever is available at the time of departure.
Mar 8, 2012 | 11:38 am
#12
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: Delta GM, Marriott Platinum, Hertz 5*
Posts: 2,530
Bulkhead and exit row middle = preferred, but otherwise I think the middle seat can be selected by anyone. (not even sure about how preferable the bulkhead/exit row middle seats are!)