Last edit by: RatherBeOnATrain
General information on buddy passes: Delta Air Lines Employee & Guest Travel Guide
Buddy Passes: The Definitive Thread
#47
Guest
Posts: n/a
I'm busted. I apologize. Do not know what came over me.
Clearly, at some moments one needs to be either better informed & not have ones head stuck up ones..well you get it. Actually, I had forgotten the Buddy Passes NEVER take precedent over a fare paying customer. Ergo, presumably it would never affect DL customers. I am very loyal to DL and will continue to be so. Had I been thinking clearly I would have not said a word.
Let the Buddy Passes Roll. Especially, if they are done with the spirit and intent that they were designed for and that intent is not abrogated or compromised.
Clearly, at some moments one needs to be either better informed & not have ones head stuck up ones..well you get it. Actually, I had forgotten the Buddy Passes NEVER take precedent over a fare paying customer. Ergo, presumably it would never affect DL customers. I am very loyal to DL and will continue to be so. Had I been thinking clearly I would have not said a word.
Let the Buddy Passes Roll. Especially, if they are done with the spirit and intent that they were designed for and that intent is not abrogated or compromised.
#48
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 252
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by rcs85551:
That is a Delta problem though, as the gate agents do make an exception to the rules in that case. AF NRSAs are supposed to ride in Y only based on DL policies.</font>
That is a Delta problem though, as the gate agents do make an exception to the rules in that case. AF NRSAs are supposed to ride in Y only based on DL policies.</font>
This really annoys me because I was once on a CDG-JFK DL flight and a non-DL NRSA seated in front of me in BE got drunk and started disturbing ("hitting on") the FAs and talking loudly. At one point the FA gave me a "that guy is so annoying" look and I mentionned it to her that the guy was NRSA -- which I knew because he had stood out at the NRSA checkin since he was wearing jeans. The FA checked the pax list and said she couldn't determine what his status was, but that for me that seemed to further that he was a non-DL NRSA (because a DL NRSA should have definitely been indicated on her list) -- also, I had earlier seen that he had a French passport.
AF, on the other hand, doesn't care in the slightest bit about DL employees. The do not match priority and once when on a intra-European flight stuck in Y, the AF FA told us we would have to wait until the end of the meal service to get any leftover snacks -- I know this can happen with a
Being a FO and having had the opportunity to fly as an S4 a few times, I have seen how the system works from both sides and I think this a benefit that DL employees are duly entitled and work hard for. The only times a paying pax could feel slighted is with the "meal excuse" prohibiting same-day intl upgrades and how with standbys a NRSA can clear directly to F but medallions with upgradeable fares must first clear into Y. Finally, a couple points of clarifications for those not in the know: those travelling on Buddy Passes and non-dependent pass holders do still pay the "yield fare and all taxes" -- which while a lot cheaper than any fare that might otherwise get you a set up front is sometimes nearly as expensive an onsale LUSer fare -- and since a seat is never guaranteed, it often means anxiously waiting until the very last moment to find out whether you'll make a flight.
[This message has been edited by MRW (edited 11-26-2002).]
#49
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Exile
Posts: 15,656
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by vetteset:
I have never heard about the fraud with the Buddy Passes. I hear just about everything and have never heard how rampant the fraud is. A few bad apples spoil it for everyone. </font>
I have never heard about the fraud with the Buddy Passes. I hear just about everything and have never heard how rampant the fraud is. A few bad apples spoil it for everyone. </font>
#50
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Woodstock, GA USA
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Delta DM & 1MM, Hertz and Avis President's Circle
Posts: 906
I do believe the last poster hit the nail on the head...
There were a few very visible incidents in the past year of Delta Buddy Passes being auctioned on eBay. From what we've been told, it appears that Delta is trying to implement tighter controls on how these passes are used. I would imagine that with more impending layoffs, they are expecting a lot of passes to hit the streets.
And to those of you who are concerned about non-rev privileges...an S4 pass is the bottom of the pecking order...and they do pay.
There were a few very visible incidents in the past year of Delta Buddy Passes being auctioned on eBay. From what we've been told, it appears that Delta is trying to implement tighter controls on how these passes are used. I would imagine that with more impending layoffs, they are expecting a lot of passes to hit the streets.
And to those of you who are concerned about non-rev privileges...an S4 pass is the bottom of the pecking order...and they do pay.
#51
Join Date: May 2001
Location: ATL
Posts: 716
They are serious about this - I have a friend who tried to use a buddy pass on Monday (given to her by a Delta employee). When she arrived at the ticket counter the agent took a red grease pen and marked "void" or something to that effect on it because the employee hadn't filled in her name and told her she couldn't use it. Luckily, she was able to get in touch with the friend who had given her the buddy pass, who (luckily) was on his way to the airport to leave on a trip. He went by the counter (in his uniform) and was able to get her activated on the list.
p.s. she got on the flight.
p.s. she got on the flight.
#52
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: NC, USA
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AA Exec Plat, Marriott Lifetime Plat, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 1,012
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ATLpax:
When she arrived at the ticket counter the agent took a red grease pen and marked "void" or something to that effect on it because the employee hadn't filled in her name and told her she couldn't use it.</font>
When she arrived at the ticket counter the agent took a red grease pen and marked "void" or something to that effect on it because the employee hadn't filled in her name and told her she couldn't use it.</font>
[This message has been edited by scotty00 (edited 11-27-2002).]
#54
Join Date: Jan 2001
Posts: 518
Out at the airport tonight to convert buddy pass certificates to actual tickets, I was told by the agent that effective in February, 2003, there will be a $25 charge to change destinations once a buddy pass/ticket has been issued.
This will make them much less desirable. Generally, I get them issued for the cheapest routing from my city when I the pass and then sometime before it expires, I would change it to the city I really want to go to and pay the difference in yield fare. If $25 is going to be added, it will take the cost pretty close in some cases to a U or T fare without any of the FF benefits that come with such fares.
This will make them much less desirable. Generally, I get them issued for the cheapest routing from my city when I the pass and then sometime before it expires, I would change it to the city I really want to go to and pay the difference in yield fare. If $25 is going to be added, it will take the cost pretty close in some cases to a U or T fare without any of the FF benefits that come with such fares.
#55
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Woodstock, GA USA
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Delta DM & 1MM, Hertz and Avis President's Circle
Posts: 906
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by ATLpax:
When she arrived at the ticket counter the agent took a red grease pen and marked "void" or something to that effect on it because the employee hadn't filled in her name and told her she couldn't use it.</font>
When she arrived at the ticket counter the agent took a red grease pen and marked "void" or something to that effect on it because the employee hadn't filled in her name and told her she couldn't use it.</font>
#56
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Atlanta, GA
Programs: DL DM & 5MM, WN
Posts: 1,451
My wife flew on a buddy pass with a Delta employee friend to NYC earlier this year. I can assure FF's reading here that this is no picnic. A long weekend of anxiety about the standby game, both coming and going.
I did take the time to study the buddy pass paperwork after she got home; having learned that on Delta, the fine print is the bible of SGB. Was amazed to see a set of rules quite different from FF rules, but just as complicated and bureaucratic.
I did take the time to study the buddy pass paperwork after she got home; having learned that on Delta, the fine print is the bible of SGB. Was amazed to see a set of rules quite different from FF rules, but just as complicated and bureaucratic.
#57
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: DTW
Programs: BW Diamond, Choice Plat, National Exec Elite
Posts: 3,120
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by hackensacknj:
Out at the airport tonight to convert buddy pass certificates to actual tickets, I was told by the agent that effective in February, 2003, there will be a $25 charge to change destinations once a buddy pass/ticket has been issued.</font>
Out at the airport tonight to convert buddy pass certificates to actual tickets, I was told by the agent that effective in February, 2003, there will be a $25 charge to change destinations once a buddy pass/ticket has been issued.</font>
#58
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Washington DC
Programs: UA Plat, Delta Plat, Hyatt Diamond, Four Seasons By Invitation, SPG Gold, #1 Club Gold, AmEx Plat
Posts: 127
Ease of using Buddy Passes
How easy/successful is it to use a buddy pass for a round trip ATL-LGW outbound on a thurs and inbound on Sunday?
a nonholiday thursday/sunday, so say, in two weeks...
[This message has been edited by Deltspygt (edited 01-21-2003).]
a nonholiday thursday/sunday, so say, in two weeks...
[This message has been edited by Deltspygt (edited 01-21-2003).]
#60
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: New York, NY
Posts: 252
Call the Non-Rev Flight Listing line to find out the Space Available status for the flights you're planning on taking. Even though you need an employee # and date of hire to access the voice system, I'm not going to post the number here -- get it from the employee who gave you the pass.
Besides of course checking the actual flights you're hoping to take, I would also check the flights for this week just prior to departure to see how full they typically get at the last minute. Suggest you go for the first flight of the day in each direction so you have a back-up and take only a carry-on.
Besides of course checking the actual flights you're hoping to take, I would also check the flights for this week just prior to departure to see how full they typically get at the last minute. Suggest you go for the first flight of the day in each direction so you have a back-up and take only a carry-on.