jdrtravel

Even if that were the case, there is also a process for this and no need to do it early.

woodford02A

Suggest you send an email to Mr. West: https://www.elliott.org/company-cont...elta-airlines/

Worth mentioning the rudeness

jdrtravel

Eh, this seems a bit extreme for this. I'd start with the regular website form for complaints and save emailing the c-suite for really serious issues.

NHFL9

This happened to my folks as well ex-ATL a few weeks ago. #3 & 4 for 4 in F. GA cleared #1 , 2 & 5 on the UG list and then dispatched the flight with one empty seat in F. Was incredibly rude to my folks and refused to offer any explanation, denying that there was a 4th seat available. Moral of story may be to avoid ATL when possible!

DiverDave

Lots of RUCs are used on the routes from Atlanta to the West Coast. I travel to LAX a lot and when using an RUC there are routinely several folks above me on the upgrade list. An RUC upgrade can clear any time the inventory gets released. I've had them clear an hour or two before departure. One cleared after I was already on the aircraft.

Take a breath and think about how big a stink you want to make about this. I expect Delta keeps track of complaints, and do you really want to make a fuss over this relatively minor incident?

At the end of the day, you bought a last minute ticket and you flew in the seat you booked. The gate agents weren't all that nice to you, and after all this is Atlanta so that's not beyond the norm. And as you admit, you weren't at your best either.

I would not have tried to take a photo of the employee's badge without his permission.

My betting is you got trumped by an RUC. That would explain the timing, and would explain:

Me, I'd let this one go. Though I might first write up a lengthy complaint, print it out, and feed to the shredder.

David

FlyBitcoin

Am I missing something here?
Couldn't you have just bought the F seat instead of the Y seat? At that late hour, isn't the MQM bonus worth the slight increase in fare?

Fly_Delta_Jets

What was the flight number?

readywhenyouare

ethernal

I'm a little surprised (okay, perhaps not surprised) by all of the Delta apologists here. Let's be clear: without a doubt, these were upgrades, not FCM, not standbys clearing into F, not last minute purchases. These were upgrades - end of story. The redcoat admitted as much, it showed on the app as an upgrade, and this is not in question. It is obvious that they cleared upgrades earlier than T-80 (I did a little digging and it appears I was checked in at T-82).

First and foremost, my starting point when I went up to the gate agent was that I wanted the C+ aisle (admittedly it's a bad one - 11D on a 739 - but it's better than a middle in Y which is where I was). That one is demonstrably provable - there is no scenario in which the person that got the upgrade would be ahead of me. For C+, whether or not the person was on a RUC is not consequential (and to be clear, I'm pretty sure they weren't as this is a route that few Diamonds would burn a RUC on - this is one of the few easy ATL-West Coast upgrades assuming you don't book T-3 hours). I even told the gate agent this - I said "While it is likely I would have been, I can't prove that I'd have been #1 on the F upgrade list - I just want my C+ seat." The gate agents seem strangely focused on the F upgrade (which I wasn't even asking for) and consistently ignored my comments on C+ (other than one comment saying I couldn't prove I'd be #1 on that list).

As far as "taking a breath" and not complaining - why do I care what Delta thinks about me? If I have a justified issue with them, I am going to complain. What are they going to do? Ban me from flying the airline? Delta is not a friend that I need to worry about my relationship with. In addition, had their front line customer service not been so atrocious (and as I already admitted, I got a little haughty, so I take some responsibility for the exchange - but when I say "haughty" I mean pointed questions and not expressing tons of deference to the gate agent), I probably would have been much more amenable to "letting this go."

First and foremost - this "advice" or line of inquiry is not relevant to my concern about when upgrades are clearing and whether or not there is a firm policy on when upgrades should happen. And to answer the question, the F fare was something like $450 more than the $1400 Y fare, and I'm not paying that out of pocket. I don't care that I didn't get the F upgrade (would have been nice, but I wasn't asking for it). I cared about not getting the C+ upgrade. I spend a lot of time in regular Y - I suffer through it - but usually I am at least in an aisle seat. Because I booked T-180, I could not get my "usual" seat assigned on the Diamond line (36C) as the plane had already moved to gate control so I was in a regular Y middle seat. Not pleasant.

ethernal

DL781 ATL to SMF

SDQBound

I had an irrops with a paid F ticket once and was moved to a flight with no availability in F although the seatmap showed an empty seat. The upgrade list showed me #3 and I was never on the standby list. At the airport, the ticket agent printed my BP with the seat that showed empty earlier, and the UG list showed me as upgraded.

ethernal

Interesting and fair counterpoint - it does not match what I've seen (I regularly see people clear from standby into C+/First but not once have I seen a "line jumper" like you've described) but interesting first hand data.

I don't think this applies in this case since (a) there was availability in the cabin - from early afternoon to time of departure - meaning they could have been booked into it in the case of IRROPS - and (b) the red coat confirmed that it was an upgrade (both the F and C+ seats). I asked if they were ticketed in their cabins and they said no, they were upgrades. Of course it is possible that the redcoat was misinformed (wouldn't be the first time) but given all the circumstances it seems clear they were upgrades. Doubly so for the C+ upgrade (which is the one I cared most about).

FlyBitcoin

Fair enough. MQM bonus probably not worth $450.

Seems like an RUC, IRROPS F, or D1 connecting international pax jumped ahead of you. My bet is on a late RUC.

Wonder if you called the DM line and booked that Y fare if they might have upgraded you at booking if you pushed them about that empty seat?

ethernal

MQM bonus is worthless to me. I have more MQMs than I know what to do with.

And you're worse than the gate agent. For the last time, I don't care about the F seat (even though I bet I would have gotten it). I've acknowledged that, while unlikely, theoretically a RUC would have outdone me. I cared most about the C+ seat. There is no fathomable situation where I would not have cleared the C+ seat if they had processed the upgrades at T-45 or T-60.

Also - Y upgrades at booking died back in 2017.

MarkCron

I'd say it is bad luck. They cleared upgrades before you checked in.
I'd be pissed too, but I would not expect a GA to de-upgrade the person who was upgraded to C+ - that is not a valid request.
Would love to hear if DL gives you a definitive statement on gate upgrade windows.