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Basic Economy as Platinum = stand by list?

Basic Economy as Platinum = stand by list?

Old Mar 21, 2018, 7:37 am
  #1  
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Basic Economy as Platinum = stand by list?

I purchased two basic economy tickets dca-jfk for tomorrow’s flight. It was advertised as seats will be assigned at check in, however I checked in and it now says “seats will be assigned at the gate” and me and my wife are showing up on the standby list, is that normal? Looking at expertflyer, it’s showing only 1 seat available. I’m also DL platinum.

We can afford to miss this flight as we connect to an international itinerary booked directly with KE.

What does that mean now?
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 7:44 am
  #2  
 
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Originally Posted by justsawaufo
I purchased two basic economy tickets dca-jfk for tomorrow’s flight. It was advertised as seats will be assigned at check in, however I checked in and it now says “seats will be assigned at the gate” and me and my wife are showing up on the standby list, is that normal? Looking at expertflyer, it’s showing only 1 seat available. I’m also DL platinum.

We can afford to miss this flight as we connect to an international itinerary booked directly with KE.

What does that mean now?
You CAN or CAN'T afford to miss the flight?

If you have confirmed seats they will be assigned at the gate. First, seats for sale (what you see as inventory on EF) are different than seats for assignment - a bunch of seats for assignment are held back and only the gate agent or other airport agent can override to assign (phone supervisors sometimes can, too). If you really want a Y- seat, call the PM line and they'll try to assign one of these hidden seats to you.

But better to stay standby...you could get F (slim chance) or C+ (more likely) for free. How many seats are showing available in F, C+, and total on the Delta app?
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 7:46 am
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Originally Posted by justsawaufo
I purchased two basic economy tickets dca-jfk for tomorrow’s flight. It was advertised as seats will be assigned at check in, however I checked in and it now says “seats will be assigned at the gate” and me and my wife are showing up on the standby list, is that normal? Looking at expertflyer, it’s showing only 1 seat available. I’m also DL platinum.

We can afford to miss this flight as we connect to an international itinerary booked directly with KE.

What does that mean now?

I assume you mean you CAN'T afford to miss this flight?
I've never flown BE, and no doubt someone who knows what they're talking about will be along shortly, but if you're a PM you should immediately call the Platinum Desk and get clarification straight from them and see what they can do for you. To my understanding, E-Fares are a bit like Russian Roulette, with little margin for error.
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 7:46 am
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It means your seats will be assigned after the FC and C+ upgrades are processed. As those passengers move up, seats will become available. The seat assignment will show up on the standby list along with the GIDS monitors. A cheap coach ticket would have netted you an assigned seat in C+ as a platinum on both the domestic and international legs.
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 7:54 am
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Originally Posted by puddinhead
A cheap coach ticket would have netted you an assigned seat in C+ as a platinum on both the domestic and international legs.
It sounds like he's playing two ticket roulette with another ticket booked with KE directly so it wouldn't have given him C+. With that said, unless you book out way in advance, I'm not sure how you're expecting C+ seats on international flights. They are often sold out at least 60-90+ days in advance on the majority of routes. And C+ on many domestic routes (especially ex Atlanta) are by no means a guarantee for a platinum or diamond, especially booking only a week or two in advance (much less the day before).

To OP: It's fine. You'll get a seat.
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 7:56 am
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I think he's concerned about both he AND his wife getting seats. Is that a guarantee in BE?
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 7:57 am
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Originally Posted by TheHorta
I think he's concerned about both he AND his wife getting seats. Is that a guarantee in BE?
Not next to each other, no, but they will both get seats.

The "standby list" thing causes a lot of confusion. The standby list includes people with confirmed seats but have not yet been assigned a seat.
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 8:10 am
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OP is "confirmed awaiting seat assignment", not standby. A few threads about this confuse system display.

Flying Blue platinum: bumped to stand-by on a confirmed DL ticket
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 8:16 am
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Thanks all. I called the Plat line and they assigned us seats. I thought there’s 0 chance to get upgrades as BE. Is that not the case? Anyway, thanks again and travel safe
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 8:19 am
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The flights tomorrow from DCA to JFK are completely sold out first and coach. As is the Korean flight (coach and business). BE fares are not eligible for
complimentary upgrades anyway (first class or C+ or preferred seats, although they may have to assign you one if that is all that's available).

How much did you save doing BE as opposed to main cabin fare? I hope it was a lot. Otherwise not worth the hassle.
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 8:25 am
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Originally Posted by Mr. Tickets
The flights tomorrow from DCA to JFK are completely sold out first and coach. As is the Korean flight (coach and business). BE fares are not eligible for
complimentary upgrades anyway (first class or C+ or preferred seats, although they may have to assign you one if that is all that's available).

How much did you save doing BE as opposed to main cabin fare? I hope it was a lot. Otherwise not worth the hassle.
Delta is charging (usually) a $30 BE to Main Cabin premium for JFK->DCA. Each route has its own separate premium that is generally consistent. All have gone up in the past 2-3 months. Some routes I see now have a $100+ difference in fare. I refuse to pay that difference in fare just to be able to use my medallion benefits. So I tend to just fly someone else, or fly BE (since I end up in Y middles regularly when buying M and B fares, so it doesn't seem like Delta cares much about folks buying high fares anyways).

Not sure what the hassle is in this situation.
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 8:41 am
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Originally Posted by Mr. Tickets
The flights tomorrow from DCA to JFK are completely sold out first and coach. As is the Korean flight (coach and business). BE fares are not eligible for
complimentary upgrades anyway (first class or C+ or preferred seats, although they may have to assign you one if that is all that's available).

How much did you save doing BE as opposed to main cabin fare? I hope it was a lot. Otherwise not worth the hassle.

BE was ~$80 pp. regular Y was approx 50% more for each ticket. I can still use my benefits of plat (boarding + baggage) just not seating assignment. I don’t see the reason to pay that for 50m flight. I am also connecting to KE F JFK-ICN.
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 9:07 am
  #13  
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DL's use of "SB" for BE without an assigned seat is confusing, but not a real issue. There really ought to be a separate categroy such as "confirmed space" or the like to make it clear that the passenger is confirmed on the flight and simply awaiting a seat assignment.

In the case of an overbooking becoming an oversell and nobody taking the VDB bait, passengers would be IDB in the pre-established order which starts with status.

I would worry much more about no show on KE on separate tickets, than IDB on a DL micro-hop.
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 9:16 am
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I was shopping for fares yesterday, and I found a real odd ball situation where BE was $70 more than main cabin. It was on a real oddball itinerary, the kind I thrive on: DCA-JFK-SLC-CPR (my destination is Thermopolis, WY). Needless to say I grabbed the main cabin fare (which was a bargain for this route, $470 RT, bought 30 days out).
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Old Mar 21, 2018, 9:16 am
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Originally Posted by justsawaufo



BE was ~$80 pp. regular Y was approx 50% more for each ticket. I can still use my benefits of plat (boarding + baggage) just not seating assignment. I don’t see the reason to pay that for 50m flight. I am also connecting to KE F JFK-ICN.
A lot depends upon availability when you purchase your tickets, since BE fares are based on the lowest available coach fare. Buying at the last minute, I can see your point. If you were to purchase quite fare in advance, the fare difference is likely about $15.00. I would pay $15.00 for a pre-assigned seat. But then, you paid for a KE F fare and you are worried about $40?
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