QuiGonJohn

I asked this in another thread, but then realized most of that thread was different issues, sorry.

I am about to book a trip for my wife and I to visit my son and see our granddaughter in North Dakota. Looks like Delta and we are looking at the Basic Economy fare. I too, as others have stated, wish Delta (and American and United) would not even sell these fares. Our BE fare would be $888 for both of us. It is $100 more to "upgrade" to Main Cabin, so we can choose our seats. If Ivnloud is correct, (from other thread), and we book on Delta's website, both of us on the same booking, (and I am booking with my Delta Gold Skymiles card), is it fairly likely we would be able to sit together? I don't really care where on the plane as much as we'd like to sit together. If it absolutely does not happen, that's not the end of the world. But its so damn aggravating, as the BE fare is about what the regular economy fare used to be, with seat selection. So this is really just a money grab on Delta's part. Oh, also, when you check in 24 hours ahead, do you get your seat assigments for all legs outbound and return? Or do you have to go thru that again 24 hours prior to your return flight?

vincentharris

No on sitting together and no on 24 hours for all your flights. They essentially “clear” all BE into your seat about 3 hours or less before departure. Having a credit card, or medallion status changes nothing. The likelihood is minimal you will be seated next to each other and most likely you will be at least a few rows away from each other.

vincentharris

Is the $100 more the R/T additional price and for both of you (so essentially $25 per person each way)?

also how many flights are you takingp? Ie is it non stop or how many stops?

langbr01

I have a flown on 2 BE RT tickets and 3 of 4 segments cleared into a seat at check-in (preferred none the less). If you receive a seat at check in, you will have the option to change seats (among non preferred seats).

YMMV, I suspect clearing at check in has to do with how full the plane is. I would also suspect your delta credit card/$25K CC spend waiver or early check in may impact your position on the list or ability to secure seats first.

aquamarinesteph

I have not flown Delta's BE, but from what I have seen at the gate the seats assigned are very random. There is no guarantee that you'd be seated together, and your odds of being stuck in a middle seat are good.

If it were me, I'd pay the extra $100 and pick my seats. That's just me. I know that's not an option for everyone. But I do have one question - when are you flying and what's your departing airport? Sometimes those can make a difference in the fare, and also fares do vary depending on what day of the week you're flying. Sometimes shifting the dates just a day or two one way or the other (if that is an option) can make a difference in the pricing.

Often1

The BE rules appear in plain English on the DL website. All of OP's questions are answered.

With Basic Economy, you will not receive a seat assignment until after check-in or at the gate. Passengers traveling together, including families, may not be seated together. You will not be eligible for same-day changes or any other ticket changes or refunds after the Risk Free Cancellation Period. You will board in the last zone and not be eligible for paid or complimentary upgrades or preferred seats, even with Medallion® Status. Also, checked baggage fees will apply, even when traveling internationally.

There is no way to predict whether, if OP checks in at T-24, he will be assigned a seat at that time or closer to departure, perhaps at the gate. In any event, it is not a process in which he will participate, e.g., it is an assignment not a selection. Someone else on the same PNR may or may not be assigned to a seat close by but that is wholly dependent on availability. On a full flight, there may only be random middle seats. Thus, OP needs to plan on random middle seats.

A greater issue and this is something OP really needs to consider is that these tickets are wholly inflexible. They must be flown exactly as booked. No changes for a fee ---- either outright change or SDC. That can be a bad thing and suggests that if one is booking BE, one needs to hedge that savings with travel insurance which would cover a cancellation or change.

QuiGonJohn

To answer some of these questions, Oct 10 & Oct 17. FLL to MSP, then MSP to BIS. Reverse on way home. Funny vincentharris says no/no, but one person on the other thread here said they flew BE 3 times and were seated together, when seeing seating at Check In. I am against paying the extra hundred because at 444 each person, this is already higher than fares we have paid on Delta and American, for the same routing, prior to these airlines starting this stupid BE class. Oh, and for Often1, I did find where they said that even with BE, using our Delta Skymiles Gold, we could still check our bags for free. (first bag each). Changing dates or day of week (currently Wed both ways) is not an option due to my wife's days off at work.

CPMaverick

The answer is there is no way to tell if you will be seated together. Either pay the extra to select seats, or take your chances. Delta explicitly says they are under no obligation to seat you together. It's pretty black and white.

Your question of 'is it likely'? This depends on a lot of variables. If the flight is empty, yes. If the flight is full, no. Even if the flight is empty, if there are any delays or cancellations (of your flight or another flight on the route), then it suddenly becomes less likely.

Nobody here can see the future and there is not going to be enough of a sample size to give you the 'odds' on your particular flight. If you want to save the $100 I would do so under the assumption that you can't sit together, and you'll both be in undesirable seats. That way you won't be disappointed.

QuiGonJohn

CPMaverick I understand what it says. My intention was to find out from people's experience how it seems to work in practice. As I mentioned, one poster Ivnloud, in the other thread said he's done it 3 times and got seats together at checkin.

MSPeconomist

Check these dates against the annual fall break for all public K-12 schools in the state of Minnesota (for a big teacher training conference). If you're traveling at that time, expect every flight through MSP to be completely packed (and probably overbooked/oversold).

xliioper

In the end, it's likely going to largely come down to how full the flights are. There's no way of telling how full a flight is going to be until a day or two before the actual flight. Basing your expectations on an anecdotal observation with a very small flight sample size is simply not realistic.

CarmenOM

Often1

It does not matter what other peoples' experiences are. All that matters is the flights on which you are booked. How on earth will you be seated together if all that is left are middle seats (which is 1/3 of the Y cabin)? If there are seats together and you are amoung the first the system assigns, then maybe. If not, then it won't happen. Not even thinking about because it cannot be predicted and you cannot influence it.

skchin

Only way you can use BE is to be flying together is to fly with underage children, who has to seat next to the parents.

aacar

When flying BE, you can select any available non-preferred seat 24 hours prior to each flight - there may well be pairs of seats toward the back of the plane available, but you can't count on it (if no 'regular' seats are available, you go on the standby list for seat assignments). If better seats open up closer to departure, you could always switch.