Zeeb

I don't even like people talking about Comfort Plus being an "upgrade". Don't give Delta any ideas!

MSPeconomist

I totally agree, although I do wonder whether DL is testing the water and taking baby steps toward a premium economy offering.

gooselee

I would not want any auto-UGs to C+ done at the gate or anytime beforehand. If I have the choice between a regular aisle seat and a C+ middle, I'll just pay my $7 for booze and hang out in the back.

The existence of middle seats means that all C+ seats are not universally better than any other coach seat in the same way that all FC seats are better than any coach seat (and even that's debatable on some planes).

jdrtravel

It should be simple enough for them to create an automated upgrade request system that also gives the option of not upgrading to middle seats. This is exactly the kind of the thing that computers are made to do, it should not require manual processing by GA.

gooselee

But this is DL IT we're talking about. Whenever I have an advanced UG processed, it always seems to move me into a window seat in F despite my having selected an aisle seat in coach, aisle listed as my preference on DL.com, and several aisle seats left open in F (which I then immediately switch to).

So while it's possible to program, I feel unlikely that DL IT will get it right.

Besides, there are lots of exit row seats that I would take over even a C+ aisle.

JayTeaBee

I don't mean to muddy up the waters here but I'm a PM who was travelling C+ yesterday on two segments. I was in PREM, not SKY (I had posted about this in another thread).

Both BP's were PREM even though the second seg got cancelled. I was on a 757-300 and the seats had been re-skinned. They really messed up all the IFE when they changed the seat covers, I would say 60-70% of the shells were hanging. My didn't fall off completely but the one next to me did during take off. hah. Here's a pic I tweeted:

https://twitter.com/JTBisson/status/573935020026433536

gooselee

Is that a Linux bootup screen on there?

JayTeaBee

LOL yes, the system must have rebooted 4 or 5 diff times before take off....

Also, I said it was a 757, it wasn't, it was a 767-300.

jason143

I am a silver medallion, and flew CLT-ATL (5:30am, 45 mins) & ATL-HOU (8:30am, 100 mins) on C+ on Mar 4 (had selected C+ seats 24 hrs prior to departure). Didn't see anything special, maybe because it was the morning. And my boarding pass still showed Zone 1, even on the Delta App (maybe because I had not paid for my C+?)

And I flew the return on Mar 6 on C+ (again selected the seats 24 hrs prior to departure). I was able to order beer on the HOU-ATL (5pm) leg and didn't have to pay (even though the FA didn't mention anything abt free drinks). No upgrade in snacks though, just the regular pretzels, peanuts and biscotti. They didn't come again for refills though. And there was no service on ATL-CLT, maybe because it was such a short flight. My boarding zone was still Zone 1

GatorBlues

My speculation is that Delta's long range plan is to eliminate upgrades (except for a handful of certificates, perhaps) and focus on E+ as the medallion perk.

I flew ATL to LAS in E+ this morning. The service was great. I had two bourbons (no charge) and could have ordered a couple more given how regularly the FAs checked in with us. They passed the fancy snack basket at least four times. It's nothing special, but a banana and a nutrition bar beats a bag of peanuts every time. The seats are still small, however, and I needed to work. Thus, despite the complimentary cocktails and top notch service, I was disappointed that I had been first on the upgrade list for 24 hours only to see first class check in full. Juggling my laptop and some documents in a cramped coach seat is always a challenge.

jdrtravel

I don't think they can ever fully do this. This would mean potentially not selling all seats on a flight, and this would just not make for good business. Right now they can oversell coach by the amount of seats available in F and not have to deny boarding and compensate anyone.

JayTeaBee

Just to add another data point, I have 2 segs in C+ today. First seg is SKY and second is PREM....

sethb

They could still do that the same way they do on international flights. OpUps are not a perk, they just happen.

jdrtravel

True, but since they do happen, they may as well market it as a perk for loyal customers.

gooselee

Key difference between domestic medallion UGs and int'l op-ups is that the former completely fills the front cabin, possibly resulting in empty seats in the back. The latter only fills the front cabin to the extent needed to have a perfectly full cabin in the back.

If you market it, elites are going to expect a seat in F/J if they see an open one, vs. being okay watching their flight go out with empties. And I hardly think DL wants to market something like "Unlimited complimentary medallion UGs on flights where we have sold more coach tickets than we actually have seats to accommodate"