tkjazzer

Ever notice that they sometimes don't give silver medalion the open delta comfort sears even though I am first on the list and it says that i am number one for upgrade on the delta app?

I then scan boarding pass. It spits out a ticket.
The agent tells me i have a seat change.
The seat is the same non-upgraded seat that is om the app.
i board and see multiple open seats in delta confort.
I recheck the app and the upgrade list now says zero seats available.

While i cant prove the person sitting in the open seats will be nonrev, i highly suspect it.

Often1

DL, by contract, flies many of its employees in F and C+. Those are not upgrades, they are confirmed space available.

If you pay for C+, you will go ahead of the employee. If you do not, you come behind (depending on the employee and nature of the travel)

Businesses do all sorts of things for their employees.

mnbp

Here's the problem.

DL designed a product and a procedure for C+ upgrades based on their experience with Y->F upgrades. Unfortunately, the C+ product doesn't deliver in the opinion of actual DL Medallion customers.

In the case of Y->F, there is little controversy that the worst F seat is actually better than the best Y seat. No-one is going to get upset with an upgrade to F.

Contrast that with Y->C+. In this scenario, the seats left for assignment at the gate are often middle seats (understandably). Unless you are DL's marketing team who only talk to each other, the limited C+ "amenities", such as they are, don't make up for the "downgrade" of moving a Medallion from their carefully chosen (lets say) exit row aisle seat to a C+ middle seat.

The hue and cry from the upset Medallions - on every flight - must have been so bad that gate agents did what anyone would logically do in the case where their company created a procedure which angered their best customers. They stopped running the C+ upgrade list.

In my opinion, many (not all, but many) gate agents stopped running C+ upgrades because their best customers on every flight were getting the most upset.

Y->C+ will work just as soon as DL creates a C+ product where the worst C+ seat is better than the best Y seat. Until then, the upgrade process simply will not work. In my opinion.

KevinDTW

^ I unchecked the C+ upgrade option in my profile a long time ago.

StayingHomeIsBetter

But... But... C+ is the second-best real estate on the planet.

jdrtravel

If the employee was flying confirmed I believe that would have already had the seat and not be flying standby.


A non-rev should never be going ahead of a revenue pax on a domestic upgrade list. They can take a domestic C+ or F seat while rev pax are on the list if they have confirmed ticket for that seat, but this should not, AFAIK, be handled through the upgrade list. If a non-rev is on an upgrade list they should be behind all rev pax. If a non-rev is given a C+ seat or F seat when rev pax are on the upgrade list, it should be through confirmed space and because of some other internal policy having nothing to do with upgrades.

Non-revs are able to be seated in D1 when there is open space because there are not free upgrades to D1, and so they are on the upgrade list when revenue pax are not, except in the case of overbooking Y (and I believe non-revs would come first in this case).

PurdueFlyer

most nonrevs I know dislike C+ middle seats as much as medallions dislike C+ middle seats.

rob0225

I as well turned of C+ "upgrades". Going from any aisle or window to a middle C+ is not an "upgrade".

MSPeconomist

Technically, NRSAs are not given upgrades but they can be cleared into premium cabin seats if available, depending also on the rules of the carrier regarding their eligibility for premium cabin seats (for example, dressed appropriately and not traveling with small children, etc., although some foreign carriers are much more strict about keeping nonrevs out of premium cabins for normal NRSA travel).

xliioper

Upgrades are processed prior to boarding, not when you scan your BP. You should always check on the app or gate info display to verify that you have been cleared into C+ prior to boarding rather than assuming you will be upgraded when your BP is scanned. It sounds like they hadn't done the C+ upgrades yet when you boarded. The solution here is to approach the gate and ask them about processing the C+ upgrades if boarding has commenced and C+ seats are still showing as open on the upgrade listing.

MSPeconomist

If you want a C+ "upgrade" you should be sure to ask the GA whether C+ has BOARDED full before you board. I would expect many FAs to follow the YBYL system just like they do for FC upgrades.

jdrtravel

I would expect this to be even more commonly followed in C+, where to GA's it's really all just main cabin and the goal is to get the flight out on time.

ATLMike1234

Also, non-revs are often not cleared until much of boarding is complete. By that point in the process, if you've already boarded, the only way for you to receive the upgrade would be if the GA upgraded you then came on board to move you up to C+. While this makes sense for F upgrades, it is not worth adding this complication to the boarding process over a marginal difference in product for C+... especially when, as has been mentioned, the person being "upgraded" may even be pissed off about it.

So instead, any remaining C+ seats at this point in the process go to the non-revs who are cleared directly into the best remaining seats available.