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does Delta pay attention to seating preferences when clearing upgrades?

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does Delta pay attention to seating preferences when clearing upgrades?

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Old Jan 1, 2015, 7:14 am
  #1  
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does Delta pay attention to seating preferences when clearing upgrades?

Just curious. Is Delta supposed to pay attention to seating preferences when clearing upgrades?

I'm about to board a flight where I was 2 of 14 on the list who cleared with several aisles available. Got a window; of course they had cleared everyone else by the time I got to the desk and the seat map was locked in the interim.

Of course, i'm happy to get upgraded at all but it seems that hardly ever does the GA pay attention to seating preferences, which is a big bummer.

Thanks! Happy New Year!
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 7:35 am
  #2  
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I know that in the past, it was not the case, but every upgrade I got last year was to my seat preference (Aisle) while window seats remained open. Not sure if it's a coincidence, but all my upgrades were to the same seat (4B) on 738s.
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 7:36 am
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I agree; I think the assumption is that most people aren't too picky about seating preference when it comes to upgrades. I don't think I've ever gotten my seating preference in the rare instances I've been upgraded, but I'm certainly not complaining.
PS: Happy new year!
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 7:42 am
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IME, no they don't. Their responsibility is to get the plane off on schedule. Adding time to find and research the FF's preferred seating has the potential to further delay the flight. In the grand scheme of things, this is not of those items I fret over. I am thankful for the UG, including the occasional bulkhead which is my non-preferred seat, and move on.
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 7:42 am
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All my UGs that clear in advance take into account my seat preference and all those at the gate do not seem to. That seems reasonable given that a programmed machine does the former and a harried human being who probably doesn't examine people's profiles the latter.
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 8:04 am
  #6  
 
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Originally Posted by bumble
Just curious. Is Delta supposed to pay attention to seating preferences when clearing upgrades?

I'm about to board a flight where I was 2 of 14 on the list who cleared with several aisles available. Got a window; of course they had cleared everyone else by the time I got to the desk and the seat map was locked in the interim.
To answer your first question, yes they pay attention. I prefer aisle, I get aisle as long as it is not BF.

Now if you are talking about the gate UG's, of course they won't look up every pax's preference. That said, I think last year I had only 2 window seat UG's. Personally would rather have all window seats up front than all aisles in the back.
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 8:08 am
  #7  
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No. There is no way to match the tecnology between seat preference and what is available, unless the GA happens to have the time to deeply examine your profile, play around with what the computer assigns and then changes and mixes things up.
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 8:24 am
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Originally Posted by NotHamSarnie
All my UGs that clear in advance take into account my seat preference and all those at the gate do not seem to. That seems reasonable given that a programmed machine does the former and a harried human being who probably doesn't examine people's profiles the latter.
I've had the same experience. If it clears before the airport, I get a window if available. If battlefield, I get whatever they give me (which I'm fine with).
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 8:27 am
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Originally Posted by SFTNYC
I've had the same experience. If it clears before the airport, I get a window if available. If battlefield, I get whatever they give me (which I'm fine with).
Same with me. I usually am just glad when they clear.
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 8:44 am
  #10  
 
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Just another data point. As most of the above, if I clear in advance, I get my preference (aisle). Crapshoot for upgrades at the gate.
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 8:58 am
  #11  
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My impression is that upgrades in advance assign seats based on the upgrade priority waitlist, so #1 (the first upgrade at the window) gets the most forward non bulkhead aisle seat, #2 gets next aisle nonbulkhead seat, etc.

For gate upgrades, if the GA notices that two are traveling together, he/she might try to give them seats together. Otherwise, it seems to be random to save time.
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 8:59 am
  #12  
 
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Originally Posted by bumble
Just curious. Is Delta supposed to pay attention to seating preferences when clearing upgrades?

I'm about to board a flight where I was 2 of 14 on the list who cleared with several aisles available. Got a window; of course they had cleared everyone else by the time I got to the desk and the seat map was locked in the interim.

Of course, i'm happy to get upgraded at all but it seems that hardly ever does the GA pay attention to seating preferences, which is a big bummer.

Thanks! Happy New Year!
Yes, it appears that Delta does take into account individual Seat Preferences when upgrading to 1st class.

If the Upgrade to 1st class clears anytime from T-6 days to T-3 hours, before the gate, I usually get my preferred seating Aisle seat.

At the gate .... it does not matter, just happy to be upgraded, even if I get a window seat.

And am always happy to exchange seats on board with anyone that MUST have a window seat!
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 10:03 am
  #13  
 
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Humm, I must be the exception. I prefer window but invariably am upgraded to an aisle seat. Fortunately most of my upgrades occur at the 6 day mark so I just go online change the to a window seat.
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Old Jan 1, 2015, 10:08 am
  #14  
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Originally Posted by DL2SXM
No. There is no way to match the tecnology between seat preference and what is available, unless the GA happens to have the time to deeply examine your profile, play around with what the computer assigns and then changes and mixes things up.
I'm sure there is a way, since your preferences are stored and used when you first buy a ticket. If they were inclined to do this systematically for gate upgrades also, I'm sure they could.

My preferences (aisle) seem to only be respected during purchase. If I am upgraded at the window, I am frequently assigned a window even if there are aisles available. At the gate, it seems to be the same - completely random.
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Old Jan 4, 2015, 7:13 am
  #15  
 
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[QUOTE=MSPeconomist;24083013]My impression is that upgrades in advance assign seats based on the upgrade priority waitlist, so #1 (the first upgrade at the window) gets the most forward non bulkhead aisle seat, #2 gets next aisle nonbulkhead seat, etc.QUOTE]

My experience with upgrades would confirm that this is what happens. I've even watched the upgrade process where the GA was very busy and doing the upgrades in spurts. This is exactly what happened in those situations.
GeorgeBurdell is offline  


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