DeltaWings

Another data point, JFK-SEA, DL 443, 4/21.

At T-1 hour, there were 11 BE seats available. There were 10 BE seats occupied at door close and another man was moved up. There were three FAs that I could easily identify - one each from DL, AS & AA. I was fortunate to have the seat next to me empty.

Two men came up to the GA and asked for paid UGs and even after flirting with her, they were denied. They sat in EC. No one was on the upgrade list.

jdrtravel

#3. There have been reports in this thread that some GA's have now been processing mileage upgrades at the gate if the request was placed in advance.

goodandclassy

Data point and a nail biter
DL 2344: SEA-JFK 21Apr (post-easter-monday)

After having floated at j2 or so up until t-7 days, the cabin filled up at J0. Y was pretty full as well,with K+ on sale (again, monday after a holiday weekend). On checki n, I was 1 of 2 for the upgrade with SWU.

I was considering DL 182 with the 7-row J. That cabin was showing wide open, J6 or better, but of course, nothing luxurious about the 26F seating. But, crappy J is better than any Y. I was able to SDC onto 182 and was the sole passenger on that upgrade list.

In the morning, for the hell of it, I checked 2344 again. What do you know, it was J2. I was bale to switch back onto the flight, and by the time I arrived at the airport at t-50 min, it was showing J4, with the same ol 2 passengers on the upgrade list.

between the security checkpoint and gateb9 the cabin had filled up AGAIN. The standby list had not changed, per the app. At the counter, it looked like a couple of folks switched onto 2344 from other flights (understandable). I did however get the last remaining seat. Just before boarding, the seat map was showing another seat open, and the gate agent pulled up the last upgrade waitlist passenger into it.

So, 2 J seats did open up somehow (no-shows or SDCs) and both passengers on the upgrade list were accommodated. As expected for a holiday weekend trip, the cabin (and plane) was full of paid flyers. A lot of TPAC continuing on to the east coast, interestingly enough.

All in all, kudos to the gate agent for doing the right thing. Cabin full of paying passengers,and the usual good BE experience. As a nice touch, there was a cedar plank salmon entree.Very pacific northwest. I also ran into a flight attendant i knew, which made the trip that much more pleasant.

I am certainly enjoying the experience while it lasts. I will keep pricing up to K+ to be able to clear. The moment the SWUs run out, I will consider mileage upgrades with their limitations. If it's not a good deal (starts costing more miles, shows limited advance availability, and allows no airport waitlist), I am out...

Hankle

No surprise: this wacky plan didn't work out. When I got to the airport, the gate agent for the 10:45p told me that the flight was considerably overbooked and they don't do mileage upgrades at the gate. So, I was too afraid to fly standby to try to get an upgrade on the 11:30p, because I was afraid I might get no seat at all on either flight. I called the Medallion Line and the (very helpful) woman on the phone put me on the upgrade (with miles) waiting list for the 10:45p, which then gate agent then confirmed was true. However, they eventually made me board the flight after telling me that everyone in BE had taken their seat (which looked true to me when I boarded the flight).

I've learned my lesson and I did a miles upgrade for the return flight out of JFK days in advance.
-Hank

bennos

This is pretty much where I am as well (including almost the same story where I got the last J seat JFK-SFO yesterday, though without the salmon option). I'll give preference to DL until the RDM changes take effect, then probably onto B6. (I can get pretty much any B6 flight at the same price point in advance vs DL where maybe I can confirm the worst flight times on off peak days in advance.)

UVAhoo06

At the moment, what's the general consensus on the use of mileage upgrades on these transcon routes? I'm thinking about purchasing a K fare and burning 12,500 miles on one segment.

1) I know that mileage upgrades don't clear at the gate; however, there seem to be some conflicting reports that mileage UGs do happen--that is, clear in advance--especially since the loss of complimentary upgrades means "more" available seats in BE.

2) At the moment, I can either purchase a one-way fare on B6 for about $80 less than a K fare on DL.

What are your thoughts?

DeltaWings

If you don't mind burning miles on a domestic transcon, then go for it. I've confirmed two so far with miles.

UVAhoo06

Thanks for the quick reply! This seems to be somewhat good news...

How soon did your UGs clear? And if I may ask, what route(s) were they cleared on? Also, how should the mileage upgrade request be coded? I want to make sure that this is done right. From what I've heard, having a ticket correctly coded means everything...

DL2SXM

Same here. I'm in it with delta until i see first hand what the 'new' award calendar offers then weighing that with the reduced RDM. As for your B6 comment, what exactly are you comparing that to vs. Delta?

DL2SXM

But the delta fare is RT whereas the B6 is OW. How do you plan on getting back home if you choose B6?

Personally speaking, I love the new delta skyclub at JFK and that significantly factors into my decision on whether or not to pull the trigger and go with B6. Nothing more Relaxing then enjoying a few complimentary adult beverages whilst watching the planes take off and land

roknroll

DL is definitely releasing more advance UG inventory which I welcome. I cleared on SFO-JFK Wed morning with a mileage upgrade. I was waitlisted until DL released the seats (7) about 3 days out.

j.bell

There is evidence from myself and several other posters that they can clear at the gate, as long as you get on the gate upgrade list, which you can accomplish by (1) requesting the mileage upgrade in advance and (2) calling the medallion line after checking in and asking for your request to be transferred to the gate upgrade list.

UVAhoo06

Just called the Medallion desk and CSR said that you can't use miles on transcon flights. She checked upgrade availability--of which there was none (surprise! surprise!). She then proceeded to tell me about new rules regarding the forward cabin on all transcon flights...

Did I simply get an agent unfamiliar with upgrades using miles, or am I just misinterpreting the rules? Also, the Skymiles we page regarding mileage upgrades offers almost no clarity on this issue.

Can anyone please help me? What should I specifically saying to the CSR? Thanks!

UVAhoo06

UPDATE: I just called again and got an agent who knew what she was doing. I just checked my PNR online, and it says, "SYSTEMWIDE UPGRADE REQUESTED" under my name. Is it safe to assume that everything has been coded correctly? The CSR said that there should be two segments on my one-segment flight: segment #1 is the confirmed K-class ticket; segment #2 is a "request" where it's coded as "PA1" and "OP." I'm not sure what "PA1" means.

For those who have successfully confirmed an upgrade on these transcon flights, can I call at any point up until maybe 45-minutes prior to departure--which is when the flight goes to gate control? I will be coming in on a non-ST international flight that same day and calling will be a little bit more difficult--that is, unless I can have my partner call DL on behalf of me. Is that allowed?

rylan

Call back and ask again. Nothing in the skymiles upgrade rules say that those tcons are not allowed for mileage upgrades. Its only complimentary medallion upgrades that are gone.

EDIT: Saw you called back. They changed how upgrade waitlist requests display now, and you no longer see the original segment and the waitlisted one in the RP/OP upgrade class.

The PA1 is priority waitlist for using a certificate or miles. This part is apparently simple to code properly. The tricky part seems to be getting coded properly and transferred to the airport upgrade list.