Playsmart

Was this with a global cert?

Sabai

First things first.

bgriff

Well, they forgot the word "complimentary" which was presumably what they were going for as that is what they describe. 500-milers would be required for other upgrades on that route.

My bigger complaint is that they don't mention that UA allows regional upgrades to be used on that route. I could make my peace with it if DL allowed RUCs on the transcons; it's the fact that GUCs are so scarce (fewer granted, at a higher number of miles flown, than either AA or UA, and no ability to earn more by flying more, unlike UA), and so much more valuable elsewhere, that grates.

eternalX

No. it was with a domestic SWU I got when I hit plat.

terryb99

Got the magic slip to pop out of the boarding scanner, Seat 1D yesterday, Monday on flight 443 JFK-SEA. They had standbys, so my lucky day.
The downside, WiFi was down, they tried to reset it, but didn't help.

Coincidentally, my SEA-ATL flight to start the trip last week was an international configured 767, so no WiFi on it either. New lay flats on that flight, but I was like number 99 on the upgrade list, lol.
My monthly GoGo subscription is not looking so great right now.

yohanson

I was on a V fare. Besides, I don't think I'm going to fly international again this year besides the flight I'm wait listed for. Granted, it's good until March 1 next year. That and I was flying MSO-SLC-ANC-SEA-JFK-MSP with a 15 hour layover in ANC. This was 3 separate PNRs where I booked an award flight from ANC and back because I changed my vacation plans. It took me almost 2 days to get home. I've gotten home from Asia quicker.

Oh, and, what's up with the seats on the SEA-JFK flights? These aren't the same as the ones in the old 764s or A330s are they? I could not get comfortable all. I'm shocked I even got the hour and a half of sleep that I did get. I don't think they recline nearly as far.

DL2SXM

you were on a K or higher fare and waitlisted.?

terryb99

Here is from my receipt;

SEA ► ATL THU 12JUN2014 DL 128 FLWN V
ATL ► DCA THU 12JUN2014 DL 1938 FLWN V
DCA ► JFK SUN 15JUN2014 9E 3390 FLWN K
JFK ► SEA MON 16JUN2014 DL 443 FLWN L

I knew there no longer did comp upgrades but played dumb and asked the check in agent what the upgrade list looked liked and he said I was " first on the list with 8 seats open"
I replied that was great, because my buddy said I could not get an upgrade on the JFK-SEA flight. He said that you can when they are full, and they were a few seats short.

bgriff

Those seats have been around for a while (on the JFK-LAX/JFK-SFO and international 757 routes). They are definitely worse than the old NW A330 seats but fairly similar, I think, to the old 767 recliner seats. Fortunately those seats aren't around any more so I don't know how well I remember.

I agree they're not great for sleeping (though still better than a regular domestic F seat), but I actually think for lounging, watching TV, reading a book, etc., they're the most comfortable seat in Delta's fleet. And they have an underappreciated/almost-never-used feature in that the tray table has a little kickstand leg that allows it to fold into an easel shape, perfect for propping up a book or iPad for reading.

All in all not a bad deal for a comp upgrade. That said I wouldn't burn a GUC for that seat.

Carl Johnson

No, not those seats. Just regular domestic F seats. 26 seats in front. Not what you're talking about with 16 in front.

bgriff

Ohhhhhh. Well in that case, they are definitely waaaaaay less comfortable than any widebody business seat Delta has ever had, and if I had used a GUC for them, I would be pitching a fit.

That is not supposed to be the seat on the JFK-SEA 757s (it's supposed to be the 16-seat version), and perhaps that's why you were upgraded -- when the regular equipment was swapped in they decided to allow regular upgrades? Was it still the upgraded onboard service with amenity kits, Westin bedding, etc.?

DLATL777

The 767 that does ATL-SEA goes onto Asia and has never had wifi, it is not one of the 763 that does JFK-LAX/SFO,

Carl Johnson

That wasn't me, I just fly that route all the time and know this. I'm also pretty sure it isn't upgraded onboard service. I did get upgraded back before they swapped out the sleeper seat models - this was in March and the plane wasn't full in the back - not sure why I got upgraded.

payingdues

Got called to the podium this morning on DL16 LAX-JFK. Flight was oversold and I got the upgrade. I gave it to my travel companion. Writing this from EC right now. Side note, the enhanced EC service is kind of nice. Sure, it's just a snack wrap, but it's sort of a nice touch.

mother-

So it seems that Elites are adapting to the new normal- either you use/attempt to use an instrument to upgrade, or you don't fly the flight.

There were 4 of us on the list for the late redeye SFO-JFK last night- and only ~5 people boarded in Sky including the 2 of us who did not make it. One of the others spent the entire boarding time in an argument with a Delta phone rep about the surprise new upgrade policy and not even being able to use a RUC...

Last flight of the day went out very full however, with the rest of EC filled with those paying for it, oversold Y-, standbys, and misconnects.