laptoptravel

We plan to see if some more international routes which are losing their D1 seating configuration will now be eligible for Complimentary Uogrades...

davetravels

Good for Medallions (I hate the term Elites), but bad for off duty employees. I'd luv to read all the chatter about this on an employee website!

hockeyinsider

Source?

rylan

Nice that is being added since these are on standard domestic F equip and is a waste of an upgrade cert unless the long tpac leg cleared... but not much of a benefit now, since DL is dropping NRT-GUM. So its really only NRT-SPN/ROR... and the ROR flight is only 2x weekly.

hockeyinsider

What is the source of this? I thought the Delta.com language on the new policy specifically excluded the island flights. Manila should be included because it isn't Delta One service. Singapore is a slimmed down version of Delta One.

DiverDave

When the source is Widgets, you can take it to the bank. ^ ^ ^

Fly_Delta_Jets

It was announced internally a few days ago.

hockeyinsider

Well, let's hope there is public confirmation of the policy because the new policy specifically excludes complimentary upgrades on these routes.

This is long overdue. I know many platinum and diamond passengers on Guam and Saipan that never get upgrades and can't use regional upgrade certificates because these routes were classified as international, despite the hard and soft products being equivelent to domestic first-class.

For what it's worth, paid first-class/business-class (whatever it's being called now) between Tokyo-NRT and the islands can be as low as $600. Of course, you have to originate in Tokyo-NRT. Still, the cheap deals to Asia of late means someone could fly to Tokyo, base themselves there for a while and rack up a lot of MQMs flying Tokyo-NRT to Guam, Saipan and Palau.

OHDL1

How does that square with:

Starting April 1, 2018:

Medallion Members will continue to be eligible for and rewarded with Complimentary Upgrades, to First Classand to Delta Comfort+ – anywhere the products are sold, with just one exception. Complimentary Upgrades to First Class are not available on:

• Non-stop flights between NRT (Tokyo-Narita) and ROR (Palau-Koror), GUM (Guam) and SPN (Saipan)

hockeyinsider

And maybe it's an oversight, but Delta had said it was pulling out of Guam in January. So why include Guam in the terms and conditions for flights after April?

bsagator

Am I the only one who initially read that as NRT-SIN and got super excited?

DLDiamond2013

I would be ecstatic about NRT-SIN as well, though I never expected it as that to me is classified as an international Delta One flight. Yes, you can say the service is slimmed down, etc. but it operates fully outside of the U.S. and does have lie-flat seats.

I’m waiting for clarification on the SPN/GUM/ROR routes since they, as others have noted, operate with domestic F style aircraft and service. These would seem to fit under the category of “worldwide first class” being eligible for complimentary upgrades, even though Delta then went on to except them in the policy.

Something seems amiss and the new policy wording contradicts itself in different parts. Will have to see how they sort this confusion out.

Renes Points

hockeyinsider

The "worldwide" verbiage matches the P.R. spin, but there's no asterisk exempting intra-Asia to the islands (and Manila, which is not Delta One service). With Iceland off the list, how many actual markets with domestic-configured aircraft are there besides Mexico, the Caribbean or Central America that are not presently complimentary upgrade?

As others have said, if Delta is now allowing theoretical upgrades into Delta One business-class on domestic routes then it could certainly theoretically offer them for international routes -- it's not like they would happen that much, especially with the smaller business-class cabin on the new A350.

What's potentially concerning is that Delta could downgrade service to several other tourist-heavy destinations, as with Iceland, by flying domestic-configured aircraft and calling it "premium-economy." New York-J.F.K. to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dublin could be done by a domestic-configured 757. Oslo and Copenhagen as well. Didn't Delta pull out Stockholm?

yaychemistry

Here's to hoping that they give this new policy a trial run for the holidays.

BOS-SFO (757) today.




Ok, zero chance, but I can hope can't I? Even less chance of an op-up. There are 45 seats in Y.