The Official “I Got Upgraded” Thread: JFK-LAX/SFO/SEA
#61
Join Date: Nov 2013
Programs: DL PM
Posts: 1,089
http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...-upgrades.html
...that's the entire point of this thread...
I'm in the air now; BE is almost empty (6/16 full). The DM/PM members sitting near me have been grumbling about it the entire flight.
I can't complain though; I have an empty middle next to me in EC on a mostly full flight :-)
#62
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Somewhere between here and there...
Programs: WWF, Appalachian Mountain Club
Posts: 11,595
#63
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Mostly living in the basement
Programs: Newly minted free agent; MR LT(!)TE, HH SE, BA SECM, DL MM, UA PS, 2V Fanboi, CBP GE
Posts: 5,108
#64
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,427
Sooo. By your definition, A, G, & P fares make one a HVC???
Tell that to the poor guy that had to buy a Y, B, M fare last minute and has to sit in back. A, G,& P are DISCOUNTED F fares, which are often only tens of dollars more than Y pricing.
Sure you get booked directly in FC, but tell me how valuable you are when IRROPS occur and you find yourself rebooked in Y on that A/G fare.
The elitist attitude of some on here is very unbecoming.
Tell that to the poor guy that had to buy a Y, B, M fare last minute and has to sit in back. A, G,& P are DISCOUNTED F fares, which are often only tens of dollars more than Y pricing.
Sure you get booked directly in FC, but tell me how valuable you are when IRROPS occur and you find yourself rebooked in Y on that A/G fare.
The elitist attitude of some on here is very unbecoming.
#65
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: DL DM 2MM, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 15,197
I guess the original posts about some flights being filled with non-revs up front is going to be true as word gets around that they're going out empty.
Suppose it ends up being a nice break for the FA who is working the J cabin also with almost nobody there. Wonder if they'll start loading less meals to save on cost of the food.
#66
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: los angeles, calif.
Programs: Alaska Airlines Gold MVP
Posts: 7,170
I find it funny that Delta is doing this. It continues to struggle in the NYC trans-con markets, especially JFKLAX, where it's average fare is on par with JetBlue, lower than Virgin America, and far below UA and AA. (UA doesn't allow UDU on these routes either; AA does, but only Y to J, and, of course, for most elites it cost $150 in stickers the first place).
Not sure what it's going to accomplish here. It doesn't have much of the premium market as is.
Not sure what it's going to accomplish here. It doesn't have much of the premium market as is.
#67
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: BOS
Programs: DL DM 2MM, Marriott LT Titanium, Hertz PC, Avis PC
Posts: 15,197
They're going after corp contracts for the premium tcons, but somebody must be smoking something good if they think they're going to fill all of the seats up front on those on all or most of the flights. Outside of those substantially discounted J corp fares, the price difference is just too high for most pax to buy-up. While you can usually find a 1-stop tcon A or P fare in the 1.2k range, for the JFK routes its up over 3k.
#68
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Mostly living in the basement
Programs: Newly minted free agent; MR LT(!)TE, HH SE, BA SECM, DL MM, UA PS, 2V Fanboi, CBP GE
Posts: 5,108
They're going after corp contracts for the premium tcons, but somebody must be smoking something good if they think they're going to fill all of the seats up front on those on all or most of the flights. Outside of those substantially discounted J corp fares, the price difference is just too high for most pax to buy-up. While you can usually find a 1-stop tcon A or P fare in the 1.2k range, for the JFK routes its up over 3k.
A simple fix would be for mileage upgrades to go to the gate. Then K+miles would fill the gap.
#69
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: San Jose, CA
Programs: DL DM, HH Gold, SPG Gold, Hyatt Plat
Posts: 2,874
This is the part I don't really understand. Almost nobody is paying $3k since as you point out the corporate contracts are significantly discounted. But other than burning one of 4 globals that only DMs receive, or paying the ludicrous full fare, there's no way for anyone to buy up from Y to J. AA has it (stickers), UA has it (regional certs), VX has it (DoD upgrades), B6 has it (reasonable pricing in the first place).
A simple fix would be for mileage upgrades to go to the gate. Then K+miles would fill the gap.
A simple fix would be for mileage upgrades to go to the gate. Then K+miles would fill the gap.
#70
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: MCO
Programs: AA EXP, United PS, Hyatt Explorist, Marriott Titanium, Wyndham Gold, Club Carlson Gold, Amtrak
Posts: 1,254
Though I'd spend 12,500 Skypesos to guarantee an upgrade on my ATL-SEA flight on the A330 next week. So I'd be happy for that change in this instance.
#72
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA | CLT, formerly LHR & AMS (with just a bit of PSP)
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Diamond, BonVoy Titanium, (soon former) Caesars7*, (former) Wynn Black, HR "Icon"
Posts: 8,172
As I was scrunched into an EC seat with yet another passenger next to me who kept invading my (lateral) space, I considered how much cheaper it would be to just buy the seat next to me than to buy J on these routes. Even buying a whole row for cheap lie flat is less than half the price.
I accept the situation, and try to buy decently priced Z-fares. On my last empty cabin A330 (non-modified) end of December the BusinessElite cabin ATL-AMS was absolutely empty. Originally, a Non-Rev flight attendant was seated next to me; but once we realized there were so many empty seats basically everyone solo took two seats (in the old 2-2-2 configuration) with exception to those who were flying together. Y was packed, hardly an empty seat. At minimum there were at least 4 Non-Rev passengers in Business Elite on this flight; but that cabin was still empty.
Now, my argument, in this case, is that I paid for BusinessElite (albeit, a "Z-fare") and got an extra empty seat next to me (this was probably the third time I have managed this in the last quarter of 2013; twice AMS-BOS, and once ATL-AMS). Of course, that's sort of a mute point now, since all the planes are 1-2-1 configuration, and I always choose a solo seat.
I received probably the best service of 2013 on this flight. Total rock-star flight attendants; and even though, they seemed to know a number of the Non-Rev flight attendants; I was definitely receiving amazing service and priority. Perhaps, just a good crew. Also, perhaps, since the flight was so empty up front, it was near impossible to provide "bad" service.
#73
FlyerTalk Evangelist & Ambassador: China
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: DEN
Programs: DL DM/MM, UA 1K, AA Exp, HH Dia, WOH Glob, IHG Plat, Marriott Gold, NA EE, Hertz PC
Posts: 17,421
#74
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: SEA
Programs: Delta TDK(or care)WIA, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,869
They're going after corp contracts for the premium tcons, but somebody must be smoking something good if they think they're going to fill all of the seats up front on those on all or most of the flights. Outside of those substantially discounted J corp fares, the price difference is just too high for most pax to buy-up. While you can usually find a 1-stop tcon A or P fare in the 1.2k range, for the JFK routes its up over 3k.
Or, I could be wrong, it could be that the Westin Heavenly Bedding really is that special.
#75
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: DL FO, UA, AA, AsiaMiles, SPG, HHonors
Posts: 7,982
Sooo. By your definition, A, G, & P fares make one a HVC???
Tell that to the poor guy that had to buy a Y, B, M fare last minute and has to sit in back. A, G,& P are DISCOUNTED F fares, which are often only tens of dollars more than Y pricing.
Sure you get booked directly in FC, but tell me how valuable you are when IRROPS occur and you find yourself rebooked in Y on that A/G fare..
The elitist attitude of some on here is very unbecoming.
Tell that to the poor guy that had to buy a Y, B, M fare last minute and has to sit in back. A, G,& P are DISCOUNTED F fares, which are often only tens of dollars more than Y pricing.
Sure you get booked directly in FC, but tell me how valuable you are when IRROPS occur and you find yourself rebooked in Y on that A/G fare..
The elitist attitude of some on here is very unbecoming.