International (TATL/TPAC) OP-UP vs. SWU
May 11, 2012, 8:35 pm
#16
Join Date: Mar 2010
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Have your miles posted? What is noted for class paid/flown? Maybe you really did get upgraded, but someone else sat in your seat... I believe some posters here have reported in the past that, at least domestically, they have gotten home only to discover the DL site says they were upgraded...but they sat in coach.
May 11, 2012, 10:19 pm
#17
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 63
Have your miles posted? What is noted for class paid/flown? Maybe you really did get upgraded, but someone else sat in your seat... I believe some posters here have reported in the past that, at least domestically, they have gotten home only to discover the DL site says they were upgraded...but they sat in coach.
May 11, 2012, 10:26 pm
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 63
I have yet to fly the new 763 period but am presently booked on a 764 SVO-JFK for 10/4 and will be very frustrated and looking for alternatives if they change this back to the old 763 which I flew 5/11 SVO-JFK. In 2012 alone, I already survived the old 763 for IST and will do the same soon for ATH.
An unrelated question (maybe I should just ask in a separate thread), for the return trip, I can go on DL in an old 763 or via AMS on KL 747 in WBC. Anybody knows which one is a better seat? Does KL fly new(er) flights/seats on AMS-LAX flights or should I stick with DL's old 763? Thanks!
May 12, 2012, 12:19 am
#19
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OP, next time when you check in at the airport check to ensure you are coded properly (not just by looking at your PNR) and that a TA tells you this.
Also, I've found that once the flight goes to gate control, EF doesn't update accordingly. I.e. if a GA clears folks into F/J, EF won't update.
Also, I've found that once the flight goes to gate control, EF doesn't update accordingly. I.e. if a GA clears folks into F/J, EF won't update.
May 12, 2012, 7:56 am
#20
Join Date: Mar 2011
Posts: 82
I was on the same flight as the original poster (May 7 (arr May 8) JFK to SVO).........I do not want to make the OP feel worse, but I also witnessed something I had never seen before on this flight. After everybody was seated but before the door was closed, the gate agent came onto the plane with a new boarding pass that he gave to the passenger in seat 17F and told this lucky fellow he was being upgraded. Shortly thereafter, a new passenger came on the plane to take seat 17F. I am guessing this is another one of the operational upgrades, but I cannot say for sure. The thing that I had never seen before was the gate agent come onto the plane so late/deep into the boarding process to upgrade an already boarded/fully situated passenger in coach on a tatl flight.
Also, this flight was clearly oversold in coach....when I checked in, I was asked to bid to be bumped to a different flight (and I posted about this somewhere else on this forum because I too checked Expert Flyer and was surprised to be asked to VDB on a flight for which tickets remained on sale)....my bid was not accepted. I asked the gate agent about the potential to accept a VDB and he noted my name and status (same as original poster but on a HKQ fare) and told me to wait to the side....but that was to no avail.
Sometimes on this forum, there are people who can look inside the system and see what happened on a particular flight. I am sure there were at least 2 Diamonds not upgraded...it would be interesting to see if possible the status and fare basis of the flyers that were upgraded versus some of the less fortunates that might have been considered but were not.
Also, this flight was clearly oversold in coach....when I checked in, I was asked to bid to be bumped to a different flight (and I posted about this somewhere else on this forum because I too checked Expert Flyer and was surprised to be asked to VDB on a flight for which tickets remained on sale)....my bid was not accepted. I asked the gate agent about the potential to accept a VDB and he noted my name and status (same as original poster but on a HKQ fare) and told me to wait to the side....but that was to no avail.
Sometimes on this forum, there are people who can look inside the system and see what happened on a particular flight. I am sure there were at least 2 Diamonds not upgraded...it would be interesting to see if possible the status and fare basis of the flyers that were upgraded versus some of the less fortunates that might have been considered but were not.
May 12, 2012, 10:51 am
#21
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I was on the same flight as the original poster (May 7 (arr May 8) JFK to SVO).........I do not want to make the OP feel worse, but I also witnessed something I had never seen before on this flight. After everybody was seated but before the door was closed, the gate agent came onto the plane with a new boarding pass that he gave to the passenger in seat 17F and told this lucky fellow he was being upgraded. Shortly thereafter, a new passenger came on the plane to take seat 17F. I am guessing this is another one of the operational upgrades, but I cannot say for sure. The thing that I had never seen before was the gate agent come onto the plane so late/deep into the boarding process to upgrade an already boarded/fully situated passenger in coach on a tatl flight.
Also, this flight was clearly oversold in coach....when I checked in, I was asked to bid to be bumped to a different flight (and I posted about this somewhere else on this forum because I too checked Expert Flyer and was surprised to be asked to VDB on a flight for which tickets remained on sale)....my bid was not accepted. I asked the gate agent about the potential to accept a VDB and he noted my name and status (same as original poster but on a HKQ fare) and told me to wait to the side....but that was to no avail.
Sometimes on this forum, there are people who can look inside the system and see what happened on a particular flight. I am sure there were at least 2 Diamonds not upgraded...it would be interesting to see if possible the status and fare basis of the flyers that were upgraded versus some of the less fortunates that might have been considered but were not.
Also, this flight was clearly oversold in coach....when I checked in, I was asked to bid to be bumped to a different flight (and I posted about this somewhere else on this forum because I too checked Expert Flyer and was surprised to be asked to VDB on a flight for which tickets remained on sale)....my bid was not accepted. I asked the gate agent about the potential to accept a VDB and he noted my name and status (same as original poster but on a HKQ fare) and told me to wait to the side....but that was to no avail.
Sometimes on this forum, there are people who can look inside the system and see what happened on a particular flight. I am sure there were at least 2 Diamonds not upgraded...it would be interesting to see if possible the status and fare basis of the flyers that were upgraded versus some of the less fortunates that might have been considered but were not.
May 12, 2012, 11:38 am
#22
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Interesting to learn about this.
May 12, 2012, 12:03 pm
#23
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There's a same-day airport SWU waitlist you can use on DL flights. The GA's procedure is to clear those on the waitlist (by status and then fare class) into open J seats. No need for Y to be oversold. I'm not certain that being on the waitlist for Z properly gets one transferred to the airport waitlist.
May 12, 2012, 12:16 pm
#24
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Not only can SWUs be processed by GAs, if there are any on the waitlist and J space is available after the flight goes to gate control, they SHOULD be (that is, are supposed to be) processed by the GAs. This should be done prior to oping-up or VDBing people since it may eliminate the need for either.
May 12, 2012, 12:26 pm
#25
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There's a same-day airport SWU waitlist you can use on DL flights. The GA's procedure is to clear those on the waitlist (by status and then fare class) into open J seats. No need for Y to be oversold. I'm not certain that being on the waitlist for Z properly gets one transferred to the airport waitlist.
Not only can SWUs be processed by GAs, if there are any on the waitlist and J space is available after the flight goes to gate control, they SHOULD be (that is, are supposed to be) processed by the GAs. This should be done prior to oping-up or VDBing people since it may eliminate the need for either.
How do you know if an SWU is coded correctly?
May 12, 2012, 1:02 pm
#26
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Call and ask a rep (or tweet @DeltaAssist) and ask how your SWU is coded. The response should be UP2A for a DM or UP2B for a PM. If it isn't, tell them they need to code it properly. Never tell them the answer you want to hear in advance as they may "confirm" without even checking.
May 12, 2012, 1:53 pm
#27
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It seems to be a little different (and easier) for some reason to get an SWU coded properly for international flights. They just have to active the priority waitlist and enter the SWU number into the PNR, and if it hasn't cleared by checkin then it should be automatically passed to the airport standby gate upgrade list. At this point, according to the SWU terms and Delta internal procedures, you are ahead of any non-rev upgrades or other operational upgrades.
In fact, from my experience if op-ups are needed the people on the SWU waitlist are usually given the upgrade without using the SWU.
As mentioned, you got hosed badly and I hope you report this.
In fact, from my experience if op-ups are needed the people on the SWU waitlist are usually given the upgrade without using the SWU.
As mentioned, you got hosed badly and I hope you report this.
May 12, 2012, 2:08 pm
#28
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Personally, I would have demanded a redcoat before boarding and been on the phone to the DM line as well as the Atlanta resolution line until they closed the boarding door.
May 12, 2012, 3:42 pm
#29
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 63
On the day of departure, any remaining BE seats should be given to people on Y B M fares using SWUs. This does not require any particular inventory class and is definitely before OPUPs or NRSA. It is last seat availability. We were promised this when SWU terms were redefined a bit around the time of the merger and the DL ATL DO. It is not the option of the GA to decide to OPUP others first for convenience or to give the remaining BE seats to nonrevs. The OP should complain and insist on an investigation in the strongest possible terms.
Personally, I would have demanded a redcoat before boarding and been on the phone to the DM line as well as the Atlanta resolution line until they closed the boarding door.
Personally, I would have demanded a redcoat before boarding and been on the phone to the DM line as well as the Atlanta resolution line until they closed the boarding door.
May 12, 2012, 3:54 pm
#30
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 63
I was on the same flight as the original poster (May 7 (arr May 8) JFK to SVO).........I do not want to make the OP feel worse, but I also witnessed something I had never seen before on this flight. After everybody was seated but before the door was closed, the gate agent came onto the plane with a new boarding pass that he gave to the passenger in seat 17F and told this lucky fellow he was being upgraded. Shortly thereafter, a new passenger came on the plane to take seat 17F. I am guessing this is another one of the operational upgrades, but I cannot say for sure. The thing that I had never seen before was the gate agent come onto the plane so late/deep into the boarding process to upgrade an already boarded/fully situated passenger in coach on a tatl flight.
Also, this flight was clearly oversold in coach....when I checked in, I was asked to bid to be bumped to a different flight (and I posted about this somewhere else on this forum because I too checked Expert Flyer and was surprised to be asked to VDB on a flight for which tickets remained on sale)....my bid was not accepted. I asked the gate agent about the potential to accept a VDB and he noted my name and status (same as original poster but on a HKQ fare) and told me to wait to the side....but that was to no avail.
Sometimes on this forum, there are people who can look inside the system and see what happened on a particular flight. I am sure there were at least 2 Diamonds not upgraded...it would be interesting to see if possible the status and fare basis of the flyers that were upgraded versus some of the less fortunates that might have been considered but were not.
Also, this flight was clearly oversold in coach....when I checked in, I was asked to bid to be bumped to a different flight (and I posted about this somewhere else on this forum because I too checked Expert Flyer and was surprised to be asked to VDB on a flight for which tickets remained on sale)....my bid was not accepted. I asked the gate agent about the potential to accept a VDB and he noted my name and status (same as original poster but on a HKQ fare) and told me to wait to the side....but that was to no avail.
Sometimes on this forum, there are people who can look inside the system and see what happened on a particular flight. I am sure there were at least 2 Diamonds not upgraded...it would be interesting to see if possible the status and fare basis of the flyers that were upgraded versus some of the less fortunates that might have been considered but were not.
Anything and everything can be done for $$ in Russia, whether it is legal, semi-legal, or completely illegal. Just the way things work here, and can't imagine it not spilling into airline operations, in Russia and on Russian-bound flights handled by Russian agents. I should not be making blanket statements, and I am not accusing anyone of anything, but I have seen this scenario play out too many times on oversold flights. It may be tough to pull off under the normal circumstances, but on an oversold flight, even by one seat, GAs get nearly limitless discretion and can do as they please. DL closes its eyes to these ... "practices" as long as the company makes money, but it really, really smells bad.