DL softening SDC policy, or was I just lucky?
 

Needed to SDC to an earlier flight for DEN-SLC, and thought there was no way I could get confirmed, as my ticket was V fare and the lowest available on Delta.dumb was showing as L (and was much more expensive than what I paid). So, called medallion line to at least get on standby list, and was told I could get confirmed seat on the new flight for $6 in taxes. My ticket still says V fare, so it wasn't that they bought me up to L.

I'm certainly not complaining, but was curious whether anyone has had a similar experience? Is it that V fare was actually available, but not showing for sale on the website (I know there's a whole thread on this), or was it just the phone agent being nice? The flight I SDCed to had more open spots than my original flight, so I see why they would be happy to change me, but this seemed to be not in line with the new policy.

this would certainly seem to be the most likely scenario, but I doubt you will get a definitive answer from anyone here

Lucky maybe. I think you got an agent that, since the flight wasn't oversold and Y available, just overbooked V and got you on your desired flight. Maybe....that's a good question to ask when calling if all else fails..."Would you be able to overbook (whatever fare class) since Y is available?" You might find agents willing to do that if asked. RM be damned....lol.

Lots of bad info here. The fare rules for a V fare generally require an advance purchase. Often 2 or 3 weeks in advance. There can frequently be last minute V bucket availability, but you cannot actually purchase the fare due to advance purchase requirements for the V fare on that flight. There are no shenanigans being pulled here. If there are advance purchase requirements, you cannot buy the fare from any outlet without meeting that requirement. SDC does not require that the fare be available for purchase, only that there is inventory in the bucket. flightstats.com will tell which buckets have availability for a flight. You can't get that info on delta.com.

Agree 100% that's what happend^

Correct. You can no longer look up fare bucket availability on expertflyer, but you can see it through flightstats.com for the time being.

David

+1 - DL really isn't that stupid. DL has been tough on SDC for a reason and an agent offering up an SDC without even being asked to waive a requirement is a clear sign that OP's bucket was available, but that a new purchaser would not meet the qualifications. Hence the fare is not offered for sale.

Ah, that makes sense!

Why the $6 in taxes? Did you switch from DEN-SLC to a connecting flight? (airport tax?)

I had the same thing happen to me a couple of weeks ago when I did a SDC from SAN to SLC. The agent told me that the fare had increased and I had to pay exactly $6 in taxes.

Perhaps due to the increase in the TSA tax on July 21st? If you bought before then, the TSA tax would have been $5 for a non-stop roundtrip ($2.50/segment). Tickets issued after July 21st would be $11.20 for non-stop roundtrip ($5.60/each way). So perhaps doing a reissue triggers the higher tax on the entire ticket ($6.20 higher for a roundtrip). Maybe DL is rounding down to $6 and eating the $.20.

If the tickets were originally booked before the tax/fee changes on 7/21, probably just a re-booking required new tax rates to be charged.
http://online.wsj.com/articles/for-t...ets-1404341606

New to DL, so sorry for the basic question. Couldn't find the answer elsewhere. Does DL open all (or lower fare buckets) closer to departure? I'm on a status challenge right now and am going to try to get it on segments. I've got a V fare booked on a direct flight but want a connecting for the extra segment.

depends on how the flight is doing but i would say rarely