Using Regional Upgrades on Delta (RUC) post 2/1/2022
 

Folks,
As he upgrade rules have changed in the post 2/1/2022 era, we will start a new thread for these discussions.

Cheers
Ryandc99
Moderator Delta Air Lines

I'm confused about Wiki entries which lists Premium Select as eligible for RUC upgrades. Maybe I missed it, but I have seen nothing from DL about RUCs being valid for upgrades into Premium Select (website still only lists FC and Domestic D1).

I've found that the website now shows a lot more RUC availability and it does seem to correlate to Z or I fare class availability. However, I've now called in to apply RUCs to two flights only to be told that there is no availability for these flights, despite the website showing there is. So frustrating.

For RUCs, it must say "First Available with Upgrade Certificate". If it says "First available with Global Upgrade Certificate", RUCs won't clear. If it says the first statement, try calling again. I believe some agents only look at the OY availability field (as that is the way it has been for years), and if it is 0, they say its not available, but now Z will work too.

I had the same issue with website showing RUCs available and agent saying it wasn't. Haven't had a chance to HUCA yet.

It does make me wonder though ... the agent offered to waitlist me, but does that mean they would not have waitlisted me correctly? Or maybe that if I had accepted the offer that the waitlist would have cleared immediately?

I have yet to see an instance where it says "First Available with Upgrade Certificate" with only I open and not Z. Note that the fare showing on delta.com is not a reliable indicator of bucket availability. There can be Z open, but no Z fares available for purchase due to various fare rules. You need to check on EF to see actual bucket availability. Also, I noticed that varying the number of passengers doesn't seem to tell you how many seats are actually available for upgrade certs. It says the same thing with 1 to 9 passengers selected even when there are only 1 or 2 seats in Z open.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...6267d42bb6.jpg
If it has OY it will still show without Z, here is one with I showing availability.

What is the date for this example? As the previous poster noted, just because Delta.com only shows I for sale doesn't mean Z is 0.

2/14

So Z is indeed open for that flight.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...50172ba88a.jpg

Basically, the Z fares on this route have either a 14-day or 21-day advance purchase requirement and 2/14 is less than 14 days out. So the only fares available for purchase this close in are going to be I or higher even if there is Z bucket availability open. Domestic Z fares also have an underlying coach fare class, so there can be Z open and you can meet the advance purchase requirement for a Z fare, but the Z fare still can't be purchased because there is no inventory in the underlying coach bucket for the Z fare.

I definitely have seen it -- although DL was selling I on the flights, EF showed Z space so wondered if it was advance purchase requirement or something.

EDIT: bleh, should've read the rest of the responses first :o :p

So if EF shows Z availability we should be able to apply an RUC? Is that correct?

It seems to correlate with the "First Available with Upgrade Certificate" message being shown on website. Whether or not that reflects reality and agents are actually able to see availability and process an RUC on flight is another issue.

Applied a RUC only to inbound of ATL/LAX because it has lie flats. The outbound doesn't have lie flats and I needed to SDS/SDC. Called to check on the RUC being applied correctly. It was. Checked in to the oubound and I was #1 on the upgrade list. Someone had applied the RUC to the outbound. WTH! Why does this have to be so difficult? Went from #1 to #10 on the upgrade list. I'll be happy with C+ when I clear. Oh btw, I like the new app. I SDC'd on the app and it was a breeze.