Second Trip Added to Itinerary
 

Flying SMF -> LAX -> MSP today and about an hour ago Delta added the red eye as a second trip to my itinerary for the LAX -> MSP leg. I’ve never seen anything like this before on a connection so I went up to the checkin counter and asked what happened. She said that they were “planning ahead” and added the second trip just in case I missed my 1h 34m connection at LAX but she then told me that the plane was slightly late leaving LAX to come here because of the storm out east but that I should be fine. I found her reassurances unconvincing so asked to be put on another flight through SLC but they were all sold out.

Has anyone seen this before or is this new? I’ve had plenty of really close connections with delayed inbound flights so it struck me as very strange especially because I didn’t get any communication from Delta about what happened.

Sounds like a proactive GA. Yes, protective segments show up in your DL.com itinerary as you described .If you make your connection it will drop off.

One of the nice things that DL first line folks do for us.

^

Yup, agents in the Skyclub have "protected" me a few times like this, and I am always appreciative of it.

Things are a bit messy at LAX today. Nevertheless, looks like your inbound is on final descent at SMF, a few mins ahead of schedule. You should be fine. Kudos to DL for having your back just in case. Welcome to FlyerTalk

OP, I think the problem is that you viewed this as some sort of error, when in fact it was someone being incredibly thoughtful for you. If your flight and fully cancelled or been severely delayed, you may not have had that flight available for re-booking and it could have been overnight or longer until they can find space for you depending on the size of the system disruption

This is why Delta rocks! They are so good with their customer service especially the SLC agents are amazing! I love flying on Delta as they know how to take care of their customers.

How can one ever get 'protected' on a flight? Every time I've asked I've been flat out told that DL doesn't do "protect" and that if I want to change to the later flight due to a likely mis-connection that they first have to take the original flight completely out of the record, i.e. that a pax can't hold a reserved seat on two flights same day, same O&D, at the same time. It used to be done so until a few years ago I recall, and so I was told, but absolutely no more (again, that is what I've been told by several DM line phone res agents, and same at the airport).

I don't think they are supposed to do it anymore - but some agents either know how to, have the authorization, or the willingness too.

I have gotten the same answer from some agents, while others have proactively protected me without me even bringing it up. It's literally why the acronym HUCA exists.

I have had no trouble getting "protected"... even recently.

IIRC, there have been times when I was "double protected."

You're right. I had an agent pull the floor supervisor and they managed to do it at the airport (on standby basis only) once over the last few years, but other than that, esp. on the phone, it's been always a solid "no" or "we don't do that anymore, not for anyone, no matter what." (Sadly looks like overselling flights to the max is Dullta's #1 priority, while taking care of it customers is a distant second. That is one of the two main reasons why I fly UA more nowadays, where irrops handling for a nobody is far superior to DL for its DMs.)

What's your secret? Seriously. I'd like to know. :)

It's a small data sample, only like some three times I've asked for it the last two years, but it's been always a solid no.

I too have been protected all the time on alternate flights without any controversy. Make sure you’re asking for Delta-operated flights, of course, and that the alternatives are rational for your situation. You do typically need some sort of justification for why you want the protection, but legitimate delays are a perfectly good reason.

May be you're onto something. May be DL won't do it as F/J is so often greatly oversold...and the only time they did it (from HNL-MSP to HNL-ATL or vice versa, I forgot) was on a standby, and I was told that the other flight is oversold by 3 seats in the F/J cabin, so there is practically no chance that 3 pax won't show up and I can get on it (in the end 2 didn't show up, but as #3 on the "seat request" list I didn't get on). So may be it only works if you are flying in Y that usually flies at least some empty seats, and it probably helps if you're a lower status customer (DL seems to value occasional flier business much more than that of frequent travelers who spend more).