dlflyer00

Had an interesting situation recently and was wondering if I was actually IDB'd or not. I was flying YVR/SEA/SFO and did a same-day change to a later departure a few hours later. The app rebooked me on new flights for both segments; however, for some reason, it also kept me on standby for my original SEA/SFO flight. I figured this would work out well as it could be possible to meet the original flight.

I flew YVR/SEA normally and then my original SEA/SFO flight ended up delayed a bit, so I had plenty of time to catch it. I went to the SEA service desk to make sure I was actually on standby for it, and after some changes they said I had been confirmed on the (original) flight. At this point I had a boarding pass for the flight and was showing as confirmed in the app; I was never shown on the standby list. I also never had a seat assignment ("At Gate").

When I went to the gate, I checked with the gate agent, who said they were overweight and I would not clear for the flight as they had to leave with empty seats, and said I should not wait around the gate area. I was a bit confused but figured I could not really argue with that. Once I went back to the SC, I asked the SC agent if I was confirmed on the flight, and they said I was and showed me the segment as HK on my PNR in DLterm. The flight departed at this point and the GA was gone.

I am a little annoyed that they bumped me off a flight even though I was confirmed on it, since I had to wait several hours for the next flight. (It was fine, of course, but seems like the GA was just trying to work around their problem.) I wrote to Delta saying I was IDB'd, who responded:

Given it showed as HK and confirmed in the app, I don't really believe this. Did I get IDB'd, or am I crazy?

Cory6188

Officially, weight & balance is considered to be one of the exceptions to IDB where you're not actually due any compensation. Probably was in somewhat poor form on the GA's part to clear you and then have to revoke the seat assignment, but in the flurry of activity that happens at the last minute, you probably got cleared and then shortly removed thereafter when the GA learned they were weight restricted.

It's also possible that the service desk cleared you on to the flight prematurely, when the GA might not have cleared you at all - it's not super clear what happened (and perhaps it wasn't even clear to you at the time exactly who gave you a seat assignment, depending on what happened when).

Also, on the point about weight and balance, if you have a confirmed seat (unrelated to any last minute standby, etc.), DL still manages oversells due to W&B in the same way as any other normal oversale situation. I was on a flight EYW-LGA last year that was weight restricted, and the GA offered vouchers as would be the case on any other flight. I think you unfortunately fell between the cracks on this one with a last minute clearance into a seat that probably wasn't otherwise supposed to be available.

It's a drag, but DL is technically in the right here, even if they probably could've been a bit more considerate in their response.

dlflyer00

Yeah, the service desk in SEA called someone, and I ended up cleared after that, so I suspect that is where it started to go wrong. I don't think weight & balance is exempt from IDB on larger planes though... DOT mentions <60 seats.

xliioper

It still has to involve an oversale situation. Yes, you could claim DL screwed up here, but it doesn't mean this falls under IDB regs which only involve denied boarding due to oversales (not weather, not IRROPs, and not general airline screw-ups -- that's why it's in section with the heading "Oversales"). You can bet DL will quote the letter of the law if you demand IDB compensation and they determine flight was not actually oversold.

flyerCO

It's oversold it more people have confirmed reservations than there are seats. (And in the end not enough seats for passengers)

It sounds like passenger was, actually confirmed on flight, not just standby. If that is truly the case, theyre entitled. It doesn't matter if they shouldn't have been, if they were actually confirmed is what matters.

OP, when you go into My Wallet and recipets, is there one that shows for the flight you were supposed to be on? If so, this means you were indeed confirmed.

Cory6188

Oh, good call on the <60 seats part. I'd forgotten about that stipulation.

I'll defer to the other posters on the thread for their input on what to do here.

dlflyer00

No, there is no receipt for the change. I don't believe a change like this after check-in has to result in a ticket re-issue, so it might not show up there. Interestingly, my SDC did not even modify the ticket correctly and it says I flew the wrong flight.

I checked before and after the flight with a very helpful SC agent though, and DLTerm showed me as HK for both flights in my PNR. I'd imagine this should be considered as "confirmed". The SC agent let me take a photo of the DLterm screen after the flight departed, but at this point it was only of my PNR's history as the segment had been deleted (presumably since I did not board).

I am not that passionate over this, mostly just annoyed that the GA told me I was still on standby when that clearly wasn't the case. I replied to the Delta email arguing that I wasn't a standby passenger at that point (was not on SB list or "cleared" off of it), so we'll see what happens. Surprised they didn't offer any compensation at all, I guess because I am alleging that I was IDB'd.

flyerCO

If you do SDC in app, no reissue. However if agent does it, there should be.

diburning

I thought I’d post here since this is very related. I was on a Republic flight (E175) where the doors had just closed, and there was a deadheading captain hanging around in the front galley. The captain said that he had a seat assignment but someone was in it and asked if he could take the flight deck jumpseat. The FA said what the heck? and went to go check as this was a full flight and every seat was taken. It turned out that the captain’s seat was taken by the person in the next seat over, and the person in the next seat over had a duplicated seat assignment due to the GA clearing a standby he shouldn’t have.

The GA boarded and took the cleared standby pax off. Would this pax be now eligible for IDB compensation? Does clearing the standby list count as having a “confirmed” ticket?

sydneyracquelle

DL mixes different groups of people on the standby list. A passenger on the standby list with a BE ticket has a confirmed seat (somewhere) and would be eligible for IDB. A passenger doing SDS would only be entitled to a seat if one was empty so he would not be entitled to IDB. And obviously DL employee travel/buddy pass on the standby list would also not be eligible for IDB.