Buying first class is great until something goes wrong...
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fort Lauderdale
Programs: UA: 1K 1.5MM, DL: LTDM 3.5MM, JB: Mosaic4, LH: exSEN 1MM, Bonvoy LT Titanium Elite, Hertz PresC
Posts: 266
Buying first class is great until something goes wrong...
Buying first class tickets on Delta is great and has some advantages when trying to go SDC until something goes wrong during your travel like it happened to me today. I was on a my way from Chicago via Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. The first flight had a mechanical delay which caused me to misconnect in Atlanta. All later flights (I was on the 11am ATL-FLL) were sold out. My options were to take a standby downgrade or to stay the night (paid for by Delta - Hotel, Food, etc). I picked the first option and was listed as standby on the next flight. While first class had checked in full, shortly after I was cleared into coach, the agent upgraded 2 confirmed passengers from coach to first class which was in accordance with their policies. Delta would rather upgrade a coach passenger from the upgrade list, than honor a first class ticket and confirm me as seats became available. Now they had to refund the fare difference and also issued me a travel voucher. If I would have chosen the first class seat on the next day, Delta would have rather paid for hotel & meals than accommodating me in the ticketed class of service. Bottom line: First class tickets are great until something goes wrong. So why should I pay the premium, only to end up in coach.....?
#2
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 20
Do you have an elite status with Delta? My previous two experience of misconnection due to DL’s fault, DL app suggested next route with rest of flights were all automatically upgraded to first class as I purchased them (my original tickets were not first class).
#3
Join Date: Aug 2007
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 1,079
Buying first class tickets on Delta is great and has some advantages when trying to go SDC until something goes wrong during your travel like it happened to me today. I was on a my way from Chicago via Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. The first flight had a mechanical delay which caused me to misconnect in Atlanta. All later flights (I was on the 11am ATL-FLL) were sold out. My options were to take a standby downgrade or to stay the night (paid for by Delta - Hotel, Food, etc). I picked the first option and was listed as standby on the next flight. While first class had checked in full, shortly after I was cleared into coach, the agent upgraded 2 confirmed passengers from coach to first class which was in accordance with their policies. Delta would rather upgrade a coach passenger from the upgrade list, than honor a first class ticket and confirm me as seats became available. Now they had to refund the fare difference and also issued me a travel voucher. If I would have chosen the first class seat on the next day, Delta would have rather paid for hotel & meals than accommodating me in the ticketed class of service. Bottom line: First class tickets are great until something goes wrong. So why should I pay the premium, only to end up in coach.....?
Seriously, though, when something goes wrong, it’s hard for everything to work out smoothly since by definition you got there because something went wrong. I know it’s hard but you’ve got to go with the flow and make the best of it at that point.
#4
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,374
I think this is just one of those nuisances of commercial airline travel. Most people don't ever realize it because they don't buy F outright. (I didn't until late last year.)
I've been having basically the same experience as you but on AA. Twice this calendar year (note it's only February 13) I've been DG'd on paid first class tickets. Both downgrades were to Main Cabin not even Main Cabin Extra since I don't have AA status.
I've been having basically the same experience as you but on AA. Twice this calendar year (note it's only February 13) I've been DG'd on paid first class tickets. Both downgrades were to Main Cabin not even Main Cabin Extra since I don't have AA status.
#5
Join Date: Jun 2011
Posts: 378
Buying first class tickets on Delta is great and has some advantages when trying to go SDC until something goes wrong during your travel like it happened to me today. I was on a my way from Chicago via Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. The first flight had a mechanical delay which caused me to misconnect in Atlanta. All later flights (I was on the 11am ATL-FLL) were sold out. My options were to take a standby downgrade or to stay the night (paid for by Delta - Hotel, Food, etc). I picked the first option and was listed as standby on the next flight. While first class had checked in full, shortly after I was cleared into coach, the agent upgraded 2 confirmed passengers from coach to first class which was in accordance with their policies. Delta would rather upgrade a coach passenger from the upgrade list, than honor a first class ticket and confirm me as seats became available. Now they had to refund the fare difference and also issued me a travel voucher. If I would have chosen the first class seat on the next day, Delta would have rather paid for hotel & meals than accommodating me in the ticketed class of service. Bottom line: First class tickets are great until something goes wrong. So why should I pay the premium, only to end up in coach.....?
My travel companion also received the same treatment, so we received a bunch of Delta dollars to use. And CSR covered all of the additional costs via the Trip Delay Reimbursement benefit (although they tried really hard to avoid processing my claim), so it ended up working out really well.
All depends on your outlook, similar to an IDB situation. Would I have preferred not to be delayed and to fly on my original flights in First Class? Yes. Was I happy that Delta paid me to take a trip with them? Yes. With the money I saved, I can now use FCM on my next flight to try again.
#6
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: HNL
Programs: DL PM/1MM, BW DE (lifetime), HH DE, Marriott PE (lifetime), National Emerald Executive
Posts: 7,204
I think this is just one of those nuisances of commercial airline travel. Most people don't ever realize it because they don't buy F outright. (I didn't until late last year.)
I've been having basically the same experience as you but on AA. Twice this calendar year (note it's only February 13) I've been DG'd on paid first class tickets. Both downgrades were to Main Cabin not even Main Cabin Extra since I don't have AA status.
I've been having basically the same experience as you but on AA. Twice this calendar year (note it's only February 13) I've been DG'd on paid first class tickets. Both downgrades were to Main Cabin not even Main Cabin Extra since I don't have AA status.
Solution to this would be to leave more upgrades to be processed just at time of boarding, thus leaving more FC seats open for irrops, mis-connects, last minute full F/J purchase, etc. That should keep the higher paying customers happy and bring more revenue, so frankly I am not sure why DL (and others) don't do that.
#7
Join Date: Jun 2018
Programs: DL DM
Posts: 20
Buying first class tickets on Delta is great and has some advantages when trying to go SDC until something goes wrong during your travel like it happened to me today. I was on a my way from Chicago via Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. The first flight had a mechanical delay which caused me to misconnect in Atlanta. All later flights (I was on the 11am ATL-FLL) were sold out. My options were to take a standby downgrade or to stay the night (paid for by Delta - Hotel, Food, etc). I picked the first option and was listed as standby on the next flight. While first class had checked in full, shortly after I was cleared into coach, the agent upgraded 2 confirmed passengers from coach to first class which was in accordance with their policies. Delta would rather upgrade a coach passenger from the upgrade list, than honor a first class ticket and confirm me as seats became available. Now they had to refund the fare difference and also issued me a travel voucher. If I would have chosen the first class seat on the next day, Delta would have rather paid for hotel & meals than accommodating me in the ticketed class of service. Bottom line: First class tickets are great until something goes wrong. So why should I pay the premium, only to end up in coach.....?
#8
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
That is not the problem here. OP expressly stated that two passengers were upgraded ahead of him from the Y cabin. This is not the situation where the F cabin is full of freebies and a paying passenger sits in the back.
UA does it correctly. AA should do it correctly, but GA's louse it up routinely because they process it incorrectly. DL does it plain and simply wrong.
As an F pax seated in Y due to space constraints, you should immediately come ahead of any form of UG. If that is properly dealt with at the time the standby is processed, this should not be an issue. But, DL's algorithm doesn't process it that way.
Doubly stupid because DL chooses to do more than it is required. The COC only require a refund of the fare difference. The voucher is a CS gesture.
UA does it correctly. AA should do it correctly, but GA's louse it up routinely because they process it incorrectly. DL does it plain and simply wrong.
As an F pax seated in Y due to space constraints, you should immediately come ahead of any form of UG. If that is properly dealt with at the time the standby is processed, this should not be an issue. But, DL's algorithm doesn't process it that way.
Doubly stupid because DL chooses to do more than it is required. The COC only require a refund of the fare difference. The voucher is a CS gesture.
#9
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Motown
Programs: DL, WN, AA, IHG Diamond, Hertz 5*
Posts: 3,408
My understanding is that in an IROP situation, a paid F ticket gets highest priority ahead of everyone else on the standby list. Has that changed recently?
Last edited by DavidDTW; Feb 13, 2019 at 5:52 pm Reason: spelling
#10
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: DTW
Programs: DL - PM, (NW - Plat), AA - Gold, Marriott - Plat, Avis - First
Posts: 955
In this day and age, of so many Elite-heavy routes and FCM I have no idea why they process upgrades more than 3-6 hours ahead of departures.
I agree that Paid F should always get priority of the DMs who got upgrades 5 days out or whatever.
Does it really make you sleep better at night that you know you got the upgrade 1-3-5 days in advance versus a few hours prior?
Since I find myself buying more paid F and/or buy-ups I'd rather be able to get accommodated than the GMs who got upgraded far in advance on el-cheapo fares so I can stand-by to a middle seat in row 39 in front of the lav.
I agree that Paid F should always get priority of the DMs who got upgrades 5 days out or whatever.
Does it really make you sleep better at night that you know you got the upgrade 1-3-5 days in advance versus a few hours prior?
Since I find myself buying more paid F and/or buy-ups I'd rather be able to get accommodated than the GMs who got upgraded far in advance on el-cheapo fares so I can stand-by to a middle seat in row 39 in front of the lav.
#11
Join Date: Feb 2016
Programs: DL DM, SPG Plat 100/LT Gold, Marriott Plat, National Executive Elite
Posts: 2,988
If they left 5-10+ empties then many people would buy the cheapest, thinking it's an easy UG at the gate only to find out all DMs are still on the gate list.
Plus, it raises the price for last minute tickets because the UGs eat up lower discount F availability
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NYC
Posts: 27,222
Yeah, I don't think the problems is TOO MANY upgrades being processed in advance. I mean, how many complaints are there here about too many upgrades?!?
I do think it's FCM / selling FC seats too inexpensively. They're priced to fill as much of the cabin as they can; I think their target from a few years ago was to sell 80% of the seats.
I do think it's FCM / selling FC seats too inexpensively. They're priced to fill as much of the cabin as they can; I think their target from a few years ago was to sell 80% of the seats.
#14
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: NYC/PHX
Programs: IATA, Sabre, AvgeekAgent
Posts: 1,958
#15
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL PM, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 8,414
I believe that one purpose of the advanced upgrade program is so that DL can open up more coach inventory to sell, especially when Y tickets are the most expensive. I actually think that this is probably their #1 reason for offering advanced upgrades. I don't think they care where you sit as long as you buy a ticket.