MSPeconomist

This was my experience earlier this week with IROPs that arguably were DL's fault:

I had a Z class RT ticket to Europe, with all segments confirmed in either domestic FC (P class) or business class, with the TATL segments in DL D1. Outbound route was MSP-DTW-CDG-XXX where XXX is EU and CDG-XXX was originally booked as a DL codeshare for an AF operated flight in their EuroBusiness class (Z inventory class).

De-icing at DTW took about an hour from when the fluid ran down my window until we moved from the de-icing pad. Hence I would probably miss my connection at CDG, although checking flight status later suggested that there had been a good chance that I could have run to catch the flight.

I was following the situation on delta.dumb (747 had gogo) and noticed that I had been auto rebooked (with the original intraEU connecting segment cancelled) into COACH on the next AF flight, which I knew (from checking at DTW on the AF website) had earlier had at least three seats for sale in Z class.

I called the DM line from my iphone upon landing and got it fixed with the ticket being reissued again with the new segment in business class.

However, when I called, the first thing the DM agent said was that she would check for Z class. Then she found one Z class seat and was able to grab it for me. I started to point out that I should be rebooked into any empty business class seat on the new AF flight (which was not a DL codeshare), but then decided to shut up when she said that there was a single Z seat left on the flight.

As soon as I got to the lounge, I checked availability on my new flight on EF and found the following availability:

J4 C4 D4 I0 Z4 O4 W3 S3 A3 Y3 B3 M0 U0 K0 H0 L0 Q0 T0 E0 N0 R0 V0 X0 G0

The seat map on EF showed one blocked seat in business class and four empty business class seats. On board, I saw four business class seats that remained empty throughout the flight plus one additional seat (the blocked seat) that I think was also empty, but I couldn't see it very well.

The outcome in the end was OK (except for my phone bill) but shouldn't DL have automatically put me into business class, even regardless of whether the new AF flight had Z class availability or not? Or did I experience some new stealth enhancement (devaluation) of D1 tickets? Do others have recent data points on such situations?

BTW, is it possible that DL saw different inventory on the new AF flight than AF was willing to sell? It wasn't available as a DL codeshare, so that shouldn't have been the issue. Also, if married segments were playing a role here, should this really be a constraint on IROPs rebookings?

Vuelos

I think the real answer is that DL doesn't like you. They intentionally did it.

kop84

Just a theory, but perhaps multiple people were rebooked in Business and when the auto-rebooking happend there was J0 but by the time you were able to get through space had opened in BE. I'm not positive of the time between the auto-rebooking and you checking, but it's theoretically possible if there was some time in between.

dilbertsdaddy

I for one think the credit DL's rebooking system seems to get is overblown. My experience is that it works for simple itins, but anything somewhat more involved it never works. Kinda like delta.com when booking.

Example:

Missed ATL-IAH flight, rebooks onto next available flight an hour later. No problem.

Missed double connection? Ha! Had me walking from MSP-ATL and arriving home 26 hours late despite many other options which were available. Spent the entire flight into MSP trying to rebook on dl.com to no avail. Fixed by SC agent in 5 minutes.

MSPeconomist

My other experience with being VIPRed was also extremely unsatisfactory. The short version is that I was flying PHL-MSP and when I was on the way to the airport, the flight was delayed by five minutes. I was auto rebooked for the next morning at 7 am to RDU and then to MSP at 5pm, with at least one segment in coach despite having bought a P fare. of course there was no notification until my boarding pass on the phone didn't work for TSA. Then I stood in line for over an hour since the kiosks wouldn't work for me and consequently missed the flight that I had been booked on. The airport agent put me on the next nonstop in FC, but it was about six hours late and I arrived into MSP around 3 am after being in the airport starting around 1 pm that day. Still, it was better than the RDU excursion in coach when I had paid for FC.

I really wish it were possible for elites to opt out of VIPR and just call to be rebooked in person.

Widgets

Even simple itineraries can get screwed. XXX-SLC-LAX delayed. Rebooked next day XXX-SEA-LAX when XXX-SEA-LAX left 2 hours later with 40 open seats. It really sucks when the passenger doesn't talk to an agent, gets super pissed that he has to wait until next day, then mentions it the next morning and finds out he could have been delayed 2 hours instead of 25 hours.

For OP... auto-rebooking seems to suck right now.

rylan

Yes you should've been rebooked into your original class of service, not stuck in the back. My guess is since the replacement flight was not a codeshare, it confused the DL system... and apparently the agent sees different inventory available to DL vs AF.

SDQBound

My AF flight last christmas season got delayed by 15 minutes but arrived earlier than scheduled. By the time I arrived to JFK, I was already rebooked for the next day's connecting flight and my original flight was oversold. Fun times

flyerwma

This is where @DeltaAssist on Twitter saves the day. Someone solves the problem before you even land, and no need for international roaming charges.

BenA

I've had the same thing happen, unfortunately. I've never had VIPR select a desirable set of alternate flights when an issue occurs traveling to/from the EU.

The good news is that the phone agents consistently make it right for the transatlantic segment.... but I have experienced the occasional downgrade on intra-EU flights due to inventory, much like what happened here. I usually don't bother to fight it while flying KL given the low quality of their euro business experience, but I would probably be more persistent if I was booked on AF.

If you have wifi or data roaming, I can't recommend the Skype app highly enough for dealing with irops abroad. Particularly in stations with contract DL staff (or worse, AF/KL ground handling), I've had MUCH better outcomes calling the diamond line than with any other method, and SkypeOut rates are trivially cheap even for long calls.

Felixishim

if u had wifi on board, sometimes DL twitter is your best bet without costly phone calls ahead of time >.<

HDQDD

I get "auto rebooked" during IROPS, but I always have to "accept" it. Did you accept it?

Unless something has changed recently, the TSA BP scanners only verify the boarding pass signature and name, date, airline, flight, precheck status, etc. They aren't connected to the airlines ACI systems. The flight could be cancelled, and they wouldn't know, the pass would still work. There was most likely some other reason it wouldn't scan: broken scanner, dirty barcode, etc.

DLATL777

DL assist has become increasingly useless, usually "call DL" is the response now.

Xeno

I was auto-rebooked while in the air on a ATL-NRT flight - paid D1 - two years ago that made me miss my connecting flight to HKG. I was very disappointed with what DL did to me and was fortunate to find a sympathetic agent to correct faulty assumptions made by DL.

BTW, I knew before leaving ATL that I would mis-connect and thought I had settled everything with the DM phone line but the frustrating changes happened during the actual flight.

MSPeconomist

Of course I did not accept it. I'm aware that once one has accepted a change, it can be hard to obtain some other option.