wrytoast

Ok, so, searched the archives and found nothing definitive. And, of course, 4 different Delta people have told me 4 different things, so I figured I would come to the source.

Here's the scoop: Booked a paid first class fare, AUS-ATL-LAS. (G fare.) Got to ATL early, tried to SDC onto an earlier ATL-LAS flight.

1) Was unable to SDC onto that flight, because there was no G inventory available. No problem. This I understand. Expertflyer showed 6 F available, but of course no G. (Dumb policy, but that fight is over.)

2) Was told by an airport agent that I could Same-Day Standby for a seat in the front of the plane, so I put my name on the list.

3) Got to the gate, and eventually cleared-- but into Y. So I talked to the gate agent and said that I'd rather wait for the later flight than take this flight in coach.

4) Went to the Skyclub, and the agent there said that what the original agent SHOULD have done was Same Day Confirm me into a coach seat, and code me UP1 for an upgrade.

So-- here's my question-- is it impossible to change flights, same-day, from a paid first class ticket into another first class seat, unless your same fare inventory is available that day? (Which pretty much means it would be impossible to ever change flights on a G fare ticket.) Even thought there are multiple seats available in that cabin?


Here's the craziness; there were still 6 seats available, and 6 medallion upgrades were processed. So people traveling on lower fare classes wound up in a seat that I would have imagined Delta should have made available for someone who Wanted First, Bought First.

Any thoughts?

DCAproducer

This is being discussed in the SDC thread.

The same rules apply in F as they do in Y. The same fare bucket or below must be available. I also was not able to SDC today due to lack of G inventory, which rarely exists at the 24hr window.

You can standby, but normal upgrade rules apply and you would go by status and then fare code.

Often1

But, OP was on G not F. If in F, his ticket would have been fully changeable and not reliant on SDC. And even if not fully changeable, all 6 of those seats would have been available for SDC from an F fare.

What OP could have done is paid the change fee + fare difference to the lowest FC fare bucket available and stayed in DC.

MSPeconomist

Was a lower (coach) fare class available? If so, you might have been able to SDC into coach and get on the upgrade list, ideally as a person with a FC ticket waiting for a seat assignment.

rylan

Yes its been/being discussed in the SDC thread... but basically if you have a PAG first ticket and don't have inventory, you can only standby for coach and get stuck in the back and not be on the upgrade list.

GAs will clear the upgrades into F before clearing standby for coach, so even if you are somehow put on the list (which you won't without a confirmed seat), the F cabin will already be filled with medallion upgrades and you'll be stuck sitting in coach on a paid first ticket.

jkatzen

In this scenario, if there's Y1, why wouldn't you be SDCd into coach (lower fare class) and then put on the upgrade list, maybe as UP1, ahead of SWUs and complimentary upgrades? Or am I misunderstanding what UP1 does?

rylan

I think you're misunderstanding the rules... you need your fare bucket available to SDC. If you are on a P ticket and there is only F1 left, you can only standby... and in this case the standby goes to coach and you don't get on the upgrade list.

UP1 should be for the situation where you have a confirmed first class ticket and get displaced (such as irops etc) to another flight where F is full.

Often1

Because the fare basis issued must be available on the SDC flight sought.