Curious if either of you has data about your claims?

Here is the UA thread describing what is happening on UA

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unit...happens-7.html

Basically, UA is being forced to block J seats when O is oversold. Even when oversold, they keep selling additional O seats then blocking additional J seats.

This is onny one airline, of course

Seems pretty clear that UA revenue management thinks they can sell additional O tickets but not fill up J on the same route. All they're doing is maximizing projected revenue, so this makes perfect sense. That potentially empty J seat will fly the trip no matter what, so why not fill it with a paid "oversell" O op-up?

Also UA historically is a lot less protective of their J cabin than DL, and their J cabins are much larger than DL's, so they have the flex to do this (DL doesn't and they will fly an empty D1 seat if there is no reason for op-ups).

significantly overselling O also acts to block Y-J upgrades (even though those will quickly burn through your plus points) due to the op ups that are required.

It also shows how popular an O cabin is, however. Similar to the J cabins of the 1990s

and it completely undermines your argument that this is a battlefield. if you're consistently overselling your cabin to the point where people on flyertalk are complaining about it (while the fares remain sky high), there's no battle.

airlines in general have too few pilots to meet the demand and travelers across cabins have consistently shown they are basically price insensitive. until at least one of those conditions changes there will be no battles.

At the moment, there indeed isn't a battle. Anecdotally it appears based on my own booking history that the cabin that fills up first is PE (maybe a tie with C+) - even at 60 days out the seats that are left are the dregs (middles only). It will be interesting if and how long this price insensitivity sustains. There still seems to be a lot of post-covid travel hanger (DL has already said that summer 2023 will be a record breaker TATL for them), but somewhere there has to be a breaking point in the appetite for $2.5-3.5k RTs in PE/O to Europe.

KLM seems to do the same. I recently received an op-up from Premium Economy to Business on SFO-AMS. Guessing it was a similar oversell situation. I’m DL Diamond, maybe that’s why I got lucky; no complaints here.

I'm deciding between taking a middle PS seat (middles in the center section of 4 seats across are all that's left!) or an aisle C+ seat on an A359 transcon daytime flight - any thoughts between the two choices? Also I'm wondering:

1. Is there storage directly under the seat in front of you in PS (or are they misaligned like some domestic F seats)?
2. Is there enough legroom to get out without the aisle person getting up?

1. Yes
2. No

Right now I'm on an A350-900 from DTW > HND, in bulkhead 20B. I'm considering 20A for my return flight, I'd love to be able to look out the window overnight, however I get up a good amount. Is it easy enough to get out without making 20B get up if I switch into 20A, or am I going to be annoying? I'm also hoping 20A will slightly shield me from the bathroom vs 20B. Also - what are the odds of seeing an aurora out the window at night on that route?

If this question has been answered previously then I apologize, but, in Premium Select on a flight returning from Europe, if I want an extra cocktail or glass of wine mid-flight, not part of a meal, do they provide it like they do in first class? If not, is there an option to pay for it? I don't want to mistreat the flight attendants and make unreasonable requests, but sometimes, when watching a movie in the middle of a long flight, it's nice to sip on a favorite drink. Thanks in advance.

They should provide extra drinks on request in Y and W, no need to pay. If they do not do a mid-flight drink service (which I think is route-dependent), go to the back galley and ask.

Delta Select
 

I am flying DTW ro AMS soon in select right behind 1st class. I assume no, but should I expect a pre-flight drink? Just not sure how long to wait to board Thabks

​​​​​​You are flying Premium Select, which is behind Business (Delta One). You should not expect a predeparture beverage. You can read all about Premium Select in the master thread: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta-air-lines-skymiles/2077052-delta-premium-select.html

​​​​​​

If you want to have something to drink in PS before takeoff, you'll need to bring it onboard yourself. After takeoff the FAs will pass around some kind of cheap sparkling wine product in plastic cups in PS, followed by international coach food and beverage service. The seat and the AVOD system are better than in C+ or regular coach, and you get a small amenity kit in a cute fabric pouch (as opposed to a plastic bag).

If you are hungry after you get to AMS, there is a small Albert-Heijn supermarket in the shopping mall portion of Schiphol which you will access upon exiting customs. (Albert-Heijn's parent company Ahold Delhaize is a leading owner/operator of supermarkets between Maine and North Carolina with stores such as Hannaford, Stop & Shop, Giant, Giant Food, Super G, Martin's and Food Lion).