pulpfiction78

I'm flying DL 690 today JFK-SEA. I applied an RUC about a month ago. 4 days prior there remained 4 F seats. 2 days prior none left. After checking in today I noticed I was absent from the live/ordered wait-list, while still showing as waitlisted on Delta. After 10 minutes with an agent where they had to call tech support they were able to correct the mistake, something about the system not liking how the RUC was entered.

Is it possible I got the shaft on the 3 day diamond upgrade? I just find it too much of a coincidence the availability went from 4 to 0.

Now that issue is corrected I'm number 1 of 40..

Tmsmedic

xliioper

What 3 day Diamond Upgrade? Do you mean DM 5-day comp upgrade window? That is unrelated to instrument-based upgrades. These come from a separate bucket than the comp upgrade bucket. Further, DL does not release every available seat to these buckets, it holds back a number of seats for last minute sales. Also, still being listed for a comp upgrade on a flight can interfere with the application of a certificate.

LoganFlyer

It's possible but unlikely you got shafted. If the flight was down to F4 or lower, it's very unlikely DL opened up any F seats for upgrades, especially on a cross country route. That said, it still sucks you have to go through this with an RUC.

pulpfiction78

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​​​​​​Oops. My bad, I thought there was a 3 day upgrade event.

I realize this flight is difficult for upgrades, it just seemed a bit odd. One can only wish RUC had more power.

mnbp

Yes it is possible you could have gotten the upgrade.

When an agent adds an RUC request to a reservation, there are perhaps a half dozen manual steps the agent must complete perfectly. There is no validation on the agent's entries either.

It is only the automated upgrade process which will later run which can detect an error in the agent's original entry. If the agent did ANYTHING incorrectly, you are simply skipped and the upgrade doesn't happen.

Very frustrating in my opinion.

TheHorta

pulpfiction78

Lecture me all you want. I'll admit I'm still in the learning stages of all things Delta. This is my first year as DM.

By RUC power, I guess I'm referring to being in the complete control of the revenue department and their algorithm. I have experienced them releasing more certificate seats a few weeks prior. A cross country flight is one Delta of course wants cash for and frequently receive, not one they want to give away to a medallion member with a certificate.

Someone in this thread did suggest I in fact could have lost out on a prior certificate release as mine was not properly coded. If Delta were to make improvements to the power of an RUC, that would be something.

For me, this ended up being a moot point as my VS flight was delayed and I missed the connection. Currently #1 in line for D1 first flight out in the morning.

​​​​​​On a side note. My ticket was purchased via Delta but what I found strange was that the Delta agent at the JFK did not want to assist in booking a replacement Delta flight home only refer me to the Virgin Atlantic help desk.

apodo77

Boggles the mind that in 2018 a RUC/GUC can't be done online. Seems they get screwed up a lot in my anecdotal experience with them.

Add mileage upgrades to the list as well.

wxman22

Similar thing happened to me this past Saturday. But even though I was 1 of 20 a couple of days out, I've read enough of these RUC threads to know that it was still unlikely.

DL has made it clear to anyone who will listen that their first priority is to monetize those Delta One and FC seats.
Though I do find it fascinating that these legacy airlines built themselves on their loyalty programs and lucrative business flyers who were less price sensitive but more loyal because of the perks.
So, as you reduce the perks to monetize every seat, at a certain point, you reach the point of diminishing returns, once those most loyal, like myself, finally get it through our thick skulls, that that loyalty is a one way street.

I have my four RUC's that will probably expire before I can ever use them, as half my flights are TransPac, where in economy, I'm treated like the tourists.

I've been flying Delta since they took over Western and Pan Am. I've been a Silver for most of those years, but did get upgraded half the time flying domestically.
Before the computer took over, so unitl about 10 years ago, I got a OpUp at the gate about a third of the time flying TransAlt.

That's what kept me loyal. That's what keep me buying tickets on DL.com and not even looking elsewhere.
In recent years that's changed.

For the first time since forever, I bought a non-Sky team flight, SGN-MXP in business. It's only a couple of hundred dollars less than the ST competition in economy.

As DL devlaues loyalty, I wonder how they will like fighting over the premium cabins market with the LCCs.

Sorry for the extended response.