If it's true that non-status passengers actually now bump up over status passengers in this, that is certainly a misfire. But there are plenty of legitimate reasons one companion may be a bona fide companion booked under each traveler is booked under a separate reservation.

The primary reason would be a business traveler who doesn't want to deal with expense report paperwork for their spouse's ticket when bringing them along. I suspect many companies with corporate travel contracts would take a dim view of Delta enacting rules that encourage those sorts of bookings; many large companies have specific policies requiring accommodations to be split when a spouse accompanies you, and the primary reason to keep the second person off the air reservations would be to hide the need to share those costs with the company.

I think the primary intent of the companion policy should be for occasional vacation travel, and in that scenario it's almost never a burden to book under the same reservation. For the limited times when that isn't possible, there's always the option of applying an RUC or gifting Gold status.

Another case can be colleagues or acquaintances that discover after purchasing tickets separately that they're on the same flight, perhaps to travel to the same meeting.

And I'd argue that in this case, neither Delta's interests nor the overall Medallion population's interests are served by prioritizing an unplanned companion's upgrade over the next person on the upgrade list. The upgrade benefit wasn't a factor in driving anyone's purchasing intent. And the non-status passenger loses part of their incentive to pursue status of their own, as well as any incentive to buy an FCM upgrade, so it isn't even good for Delta.

NO, you're giving the person a sample of FC and keeping the elite happy. Some people might prefer to sit with a colleague from work but not a spouse when traveling.

Personally, I've always felt that *ALL* companion upgrades should be prioritized below all elite upgrades, including elites on award tickets. There should also be an option for the elite to decline an upgrade unless the companion is upgraded also that doesn't require one to simply decline the upgrade.

High priority spouse upgrades provide an incentive for one spouse to pursue status on one carrier and the other to try to get status on a different carrier/alliance.

With some companies/organizations it’s not possible to do that. I work for the DOD. There’s no way I can book a flight for my spouse if I book through our travel system, which I’m (usually) required to do.

Another completely valid reason is splitting payment options between tickets. For example, using Pay with Miles. If I want to use PWM miles or miles in general for one ticket and use full cash payment for another, I have to book separate tickets. If I use PWM on tickets booked together, it applies the requested PWM miles amount to both tickets. Other reasons might be booking from different tools. Say I book a DL with Skymiles for me and use Flying Blue miles to book a ticket for my spouse on the same flight. Again, not possible to book the flights on the same reservation in this case.

My non-statused husband who travels with me 30 times a year likes this policy!

Isn't this how things currently work if you're on the same reservation?

The payment method bit may be part of their thinking here; this could be planning ahead to mitigate future customer service fiascos when the technical limitations of rebooking with COVID-19 vouchers result in passengers being on separate reservations. I still think it's an awful idea, but it at least would be a moderately rational explanation for why they're doing this now.

I think it’s geared to the business traveler on a revenue ticket and infrequent spouse on an award ticket traveling together. Impossible to be on the same PNR.

I learned a long time ago never to rely on upgrades. Went hand in hand with the decision to end being loyal to a single airline/alliance.

However on behalf of anyone who isn’t a DM, I’m outraged by this policy. Absolutely ridiculous to be upgrading non-status companions ahead of PM, GM, and FOs.

This is pretty bizarre. So if you are a companion with status on a separate ticket, you are stuck with your lower priority than a total no status kettle that happened to get 'linked' to higher status elite. Huh?!?!

This brings up another question. If I’m non-status and a friend or colleague is DM, can I slip him/her a hundred and have them link my reservation to theirs?

Apparently yes you can. Did Delta enter the twilight zone on this one?

Wow a complex discussion on a policy that is not in print from Delta