FWIW, checked our corporate concur system today for a flight in Jan and it shows Main Classic and Main Extra and 'ignores' the Main Basic option. YMMV...

It's actually the #4 tiebreaker now, higher than Reserve Card

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ac44a603b3.png

this is as nonsense as Dell's new computer naming:

• Dell Base
• Dell Plus
• Dell Premium
• Dell Pro Base
• Dell Pro Plus
• Dell Pro Premium
• Dell Pro Max Base
• Dell Pro Max Plus
• Dell Pro Max Premium

If I book main cabin today, can't I make same day changes without a fee, but still pay the fare difference? Are they adding a set fee on top of that?

Other than that, I feel this is just another attempt to cheat search sites. If I am searching on Google Flights I will be shown a standing room only Economy Basic Minus Minus fare, then get hit up with changes once I go to the Delta website.

For PM and above people who can book Main and get auto-upgraded to Comfort+.... does that apply to Main Classic and Main Extra? I'm sure Main Basic is excluded.

Change begins with D. If you don’t like something Delta does just wait 6 months and it will change yet again. Remember those dumb boarding dividers that lined everyone up in zones like WN prior to boarding? And 360s now board in zone 2. Nothing with Delta is ever status quo.

I mean, that sounds like a problem with Google.

AA has a similar issue, where I can't sort for which Economy fare I actually want when searching (and occasionally "the economy fare I would actually buy" is more expensive than just paying for F).

This whole thing feels like a pointless branding exercise at this stage (though to be clear, calling BE a "separate cabin" is a little weird since the seats in question are the same as MC), but I'm wondering if a tier of Domestic F will become available which comes with lounge access (not needing a CC) or bonus MQD earning down the line.

I get the sense that this is step 1 in terms of bringing good/better/best to Comfort / Premium Select / Delta One. The only material change so far is that refundable fares get 7x miles, upgrade priority, and zone 5 (for Main); all of the other properties the refundable fares already had. We haven't seen Basic fares for anything other than Main yet.

The needle that the marketing people have to thread is to differentiate each "sub-class" without undermining the basic Main < Comfort < First hierarchy. Will introducing Comfort Basic cause someone that normally buys Comfort fares to move up to Comfort Classic or down to Main Classic? Do you want to potentially turn customers buying up to Comfort / First into free agents by not giving them SkyMiles on Basic fares?

I think we might see entry level fares for the premium products get a change fee and lose seat selection and Sky Club access (for Comfort / First / Premium Select) at some point. I'm not so sure that they lose all mileage earning. But who knows.

At least when it comes to main cabin fares, DL is actually lagging AA here as AA started selling various Main Cabin options awhile back. However, AA does not yet do this for domestic F (just has regular F and then refundable F). Of course, AA being AA, they aren't actually very good at marketing the options through naming/branding. "Plus" vs "Select" doesn't really dilineate anything to me.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...caf3675af4.png

Delta has already said that it has been selling a record number of seats in F, albeit that number may have dipped with the current domestic travel downturn, but it seems like a total money grab and a fake marketing scheme to tout that Delta Main Extra bumps you further up the upgrade list. It is almost giving false hope to Silver/Gold Medallions who think purchasing Delta Main Extra will somehow miraculously boost their upgrade chances, leapfrogging over higher Medallion members, or those with multi-million miler status. Nothing but Delta wanting to take more money for a product that really isn’t all that much more special, or exclusive.

Yes- kind of like how it’s ridiculous that a “benefit” on the Plat and Reserve Amexes is being added to the upgrade lists even if you don’t have medallion status

So which experience includes getting Ed and selected members of the C suite in a UFC octagon? This is absolute absurd. Honestly, if they just raised prices and stuck to that, I would be fine. Totally understand. It's the gamesmanship that gets me however. Some MBA and a bunch of other goons like him or her seriously wheel out this rhetoric about "Experiences" and customization and choice, when it's so blatantly a cash grab. This time it's gotten to the point of being insulting. They are literally treating the flying public like a bunch of infant children. It's a borderline outright lie if not bordering on fraud.

We haven't even gotten through year 1 of the changes in Medallion qualification and how they are going to introduce 3 new levels within levels with increasing price points?????

Seriously, this is not acceptable. You give me a high bar to get back to status and then you want to take more money from me to get the benefits of that status level??

This is at least a botched announcement, and seems like another cash grab and pushdown on non-business-every-week flyers.

Boo!

This caught me offguard today as it was my first time seeing it.

I'm booking a flight HND-SEA with miles

What is the difference between booking Main Basic and Main? I tried checking but the web site doesn't show me any difference??!? Is there any benefit to spending more miles on Main instead of Main Basic?

Are both fully refundable back to miles? Please help me understand! TIA