WWGuy

Hi All. Have any of you had success calling the medallion line and getting EC seating for non-status spouse travelling the same itinerary on a different PNR?

Normally we'd be on the same PNR, but this time she's joining me on a work trip where I have to book my ticket through the corporate travel service. I'll purchase her ticket through DL.com

I'm willing to give her my upgrades (if any) but I'd prefer to decline upgrades and just sit together in EC or exit row. I'm a tall guy and the extra legroom is my main motivator for these seats. Sitting separately isn't the end of the world, but me sitting in better seats than Mrs. WWGuy might be.

Ideas or suggestions would be much appreciated.

rwoman

DL will typically accommodate one companion on a different PNR in EC or the exit row. You'd need to call to get an agent to do so.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...t-seating.html

injera

just call and ask (assuming you're GM or more and not buying up to EC) and they'll gladly do it for you. I've gotten as many as 3 friends into EC with me before. First agent would only move two. Second agent moved the 3rd.

payingdues

I've never had a problem getting an agent to seat me with a companion that was on a separate PNR. They may have to link the PNR's and I've occasionally had to be placed on hold while a supervisor got the seat assignments to be allowed. You can ask to be removed from the UG list when you call in for the seat assignments too.

CJKatl

I have flown with my three nieces/nephew on a different PNR and had no issues getting them into EC. I did this so I could get an UG, and even after I cleared the three of them still had their EC seats. No problem.

WWGuy

Thanks all for the replies. I'll make my request with the medallion line. Just wanted to gain some insight beforehand if it's a reasonable request.

MSPeconomist

It would have been a problem for three elites who couldn't get EC seats.

CJKatl

I fly many last minute flights where I pay out the nose and don't get EC. The system is first come first serve, everyone knows that, and DL gave us all EC seats without issue. I'm not worried, nor should it be a problem.

rwoman

Apart from this practice being contrary to the information both myself and others have received from the DM desk? Past purchases (or seating assignments) should not have any bearing on future seat assignments. It's consistently been one companion, not three. Are you implying your non-status companions are more entitled to those seats over other medallions booking at the last minute?

It'd be nice if DL actually included the relevant information in their T&C, which only comments on companions on the same PNR:

http://www.delta.com/content/www/en_...y-comfort.html

offdalip

I just did exactly this for my non-status wife, easy peasy.....

MSPeconomist

It's first come first served for those who either are entitled to those seats or pay for them. You got two for free that you should not have been able to book without paying. Moreover, you had no intention of sitting with those people, so it was a pure freebie extracted from DL for others. This is very different from DL allowing one EC request for an elite whose traveling companion is on a separate PNR for the purpose of allowing the elite to enjoy EC while sitting with the traveling companion.

gooselee

Actually, I don't think it's really that different. In the latter case, the elite probably has the same level of intention of sitting with their companion as in the former, and the same level of intent to sit separately from their companion if they get an UG.

I just took a trip where I booked all me and three others on one PNR. DL's policies state that everyone on my PNR (up to 8) can have EC seats, so of course I selected them for everyone.

But, I also wanted to list for an UG. You can't list for an UG with more than one other person on your PNR, so the phone agent had to split our reservation.

Are you saying that when I split my PNR, they should have booted all my companions out of EC? My intent was to sit with my companions in EC if not upgraded, but to still avail myself to the possibility of a complimentary UG that is another published elite benefit.

As it ended up, the flight sold out in F (good job, RM) and oversold in Y, so we did all end up together in EC.

MSPeconomist

If the requirement is that getting more than one companion into EC for free requires being on the same PNR, then DL certainly had the right to boot all but you and one other person unless you're willing to pay for EC seats. This is what happens after an aircraft change shuffles seat assignments.

IMO it's extraordinarily generous (and costly) that DL gives free EC and free checked bags to all on the same PNR as an elite (or DL credit card holder for the luggage). I don't like to see the distribution of elite benefits so skewed in distribution toward Brady Bunch and even Cheaper by the Dozen families and large groups.

Maybe if DL had many more EC seats, like Y+ on UA, then this generosity wouldn't seem so misguided. It should be the case that almost all elites are able to get EC seats on almost all flights rather than a lottery that favors those who book first and probably have purchased the cheapest tickets, with IMO DMs and PMs generally not forced to choose between an middle EC seat and an aisle or window farther back in the plane.

gooselee

Bolding mine.

We had an two equip changes on our flights after the PNR was split. A bit to my surprise, all my companions retained their EC seats.

And to be specific, the current requirement is that ALL companions must be on the same PNR in order to put them in EC. There is no written requirement/rule/policy that I know of that provides for the +1, so as of now, it's simply done as a courtesy for elites. If DL actually wrote a policy about split PNR companions, or consistently enforced the policies that ARE written, then they'd have more to stand on. For example, if I knew that DL strictly enforced the PNR rule, would not allow me to request EC for a companion on a separate PNR, and would definitely kick companions out of EC after splitting a PNR, that would have influenced my decision re: whether or not to split PNRs in order to request an UG.

While I agree that it's a bit unfair to solo passengers that entire families/groups with one elite can take up a big chunk of EC, you also have to consider how often those groups fly together (given that most of them are not elite). When I was an FO, I rarely had a problem getting an aisle/window EC at T-24, and I think in a lot of ways the EC seats are no more of a lottery than the rest of the seats - they're just first-come, first-served.

I actually think that while EC gets more of the marketing budget, the primary medallion benefit is the preferred seats. While EC is being monetized (and thus marketed heavily), non-elites don't even have the option of buying into the preferred seats until T-24, thus preserving them for late-booking elites. Even now as a PM, on the rare occasions that there aren't any good EC seats left when I book close-in, I'm generally able to grab an exit row or an aisle in front of the wing.

emg2919

Ive done it through Twitter, no problem at all. I'm DM, girlfriend is general member.

In fact, I do all of my correspondence through twitter, so much faster and easier. I can get the point fairly quick in 140 characters or less.