rsqrott

I have a couple of business trips coming up next month and booked main cabin fares (K, Q). When I went to select seats for my flights I noticed that many seats were marked "preferred" and had additional charges. Among the reasons for the upcharge were things like "closer to the front" or "aisle seat". This isn't me trying to nab a seat in W or J, this is within the main cabin seating.
So now I can pay for main cabin so that I can select my seat in advance but as a bonus I can pay even more for "preferred" seats in the main cabin.
These will be my first flights on Delta since the new boarding process as well so I can't wit to see what happens. Thankfully I pack light.
If it matters I am Skymiles gold through my status with VS.

ijgordon

I don't think it's that new, and I don't think they sent a memo out. I believe DL offers some (but not all) of the preferred seats for payment to non-elites. That said, Skymiles Gold Medallion entitles you to any and all preferred seats for free (even Silver), but I'm not aware of exactly how VS status confers Gold Medallion onto you.

Just be glad you're not on AA where the vast majority of non-middle seats are preferred (paid or elite-only), and those that aren't are booked up 6 months in advance.

rsqrott

When I flew Delta in November I could book exit row, aisle directly behind W, etc with no additional charges, hence my wondering if something had changed. Due to the VS/Delta partnership VS gold gets me a sort of watered down gold medallion status with Delta but those benefits are enough for me.

There are times I'm happy just to get a seat inside of the plane.
Thanks!

xliioper

DL has been charging for these seats for some time. What is your VS status and do you have your VS account on the reservation? VS status doesn't transfer to Skymiles status and if you a separate Skymiles account tied to the reservation you won't get free access to preferred seats.

tearex

For non-status travelers, some corporate contracts allow the free selection of "preferred" seats when traveling specifically on business. It also includes Zone 1 boarding.

If the preferred seats are still open when OLCI starts, they open up and you can select them without payment IIRC.

FlyerWx

I really hate how AA does this, they basically scare people into buying a seat.

Preferred seating has been a thing on Delta for many years now and includes aisle or window seats and/or seats toward the front of the cabin.

rsqrott

VS status is gold and yes, I have my VS account on the reservation. I always use my VS account when flying Delta as the Delta flights help me maintain my VS status. I don't fly enough miles.segments on Delta to make a medallion difference but those bits of tier points earned on Delta flights really help.

And this may be why I never noticed it before, since I always use my VS gold # on my Delta reservations. I did the same thing this time but am still seeing charges for the "preferred" seats. Basically I did the same thing that I always did but the outcome was different, that;s why I thought that there had been a change.

MSPeconomist

gitismatt

but it also allows for the great AA trick of not picking a seat at all and hoping that all the 'free' seats will be taken at check in

ijgordon

What I find particularly offensive is they hoodwink you into paying $30 extra for main cabin each way to be able to select a seat, and then THERE ARE NO SEATS, because they’re all elite-only, or there are seats but they want ANOTHER $30 each way for a run-of the-mill seat.

rsqrott

I did. Once I realized that this wasn't a Delta change I phoned and was able to get my seats moved. They couldn't give me a reason as to why I wasn't able to do this when I booked or any time afterwards on delta.com (citing the ever popular "system glitch") but they were able to assist me via phone. What's interesting is when I go back into my reservations now I see that the main cabin is my oyster as far as seats go, no additional charges even pop up if I look at another seat. But in the longer legs, outbound (ATL-SEA) my only choices are middle seats with everything else blocked out (Delta booked me into an aisle and there were plenty of "preferred" aisles and windows available 20 minutes earlier) and on the return (SEA to ATL) anything "preferred" had charges. I'm going to leave it alone but it will be interesting to see what happens the next time I book a flight.
Thanks, everyone, for your help with this.

ATLflyer2017

Towards the front of the cabin and the exit rows, etc are Preferred Seats. Delta has been charging for these as long as I can remember...at LEAST 3 years. I believe you get extra MQMs by purchasing a preferred seat. Honestly I rarely feel the need to pay extra but when I'm traveling to the west coast, sitting in an exit row with no seat in front of me is well worth $75.

woodenshoe101

MQD yes, but no extra MQM. Not that either of those matter anyway to the typical few-times-a-year flyer as they never come even close to qualifying for status.

The BE vs Main Cabin question upthread is kind of interesting. If i paid $30 more to go main cabin for an advance seat assignment, I'd be pretty peeved if I then needed to plunk down another $30 for any half-decent seat. A non-status co-worker flew with me a few weeks ago, and had a main cabin fare, and the seat choices were something like this: crappy free seat>$20 preferred seat>$40 exit row>$60C+>$100 F (the dollar amounts are approximate, but close). I remember thinking I was shocked that DL had this many layers in their pricing especially for non-elites, and made me appreciate my newly found FO status (down from PM) - exit rows FTW!