Buddy pass trumps a PM or companion on w/l?
 

Was flying out of ATL late on Sun night. PM across the aisle from me got cleared last-minute at the gate due to a F no-show. Guy's wife was waiting to clear as his u/g companion. Guy said GA noted that F was full, and that she'd be sitting in Y. Right as he's speaking, on pops a non-rev wearing ID (he later claimed to be an ATL local and that he'd been stand-by all day for a trip out to the west coast to see the sights - definitely not heading to/from DL work business.) PM asks if he's flying for work and receives a reply of"nope, just catching some air time on my way for some beach time." And to top it off, the lady next to me got cleared 20 min out on a buddy pass she received from a friend who works the gates in ATL. All in all, there were still 6 pass who didn't clear an u/g to F when the door closed.

So my question ... do employees and/or their friends now clear before PM/GM/FO when they're not flying for work purposes? Does a buddy pass trump a waitlisted PM/GM/FO? Since there were open seats in Y, is it practice to leave paying customers in steerage so that 'club DL' members can rise in the big seats?

GMF

It's my understanding that those traveling on buddy passes get S4 boarding priority which means they'll be cleared after revenues, active employees, spouses, dependents, pass card companions, parents, retired employees and furloughed employees. I just traveled on one and I was the last cleared after silvers on T and U tickets.

Upgrade companions cannot standby for their upgrade. That's why the gate agent had to place her in Y. Waitlist clearance stops 3 hours prior to flight departure.

The NRSA rightfully got his/her seat based on all DL rules. Had any other Medallion been on standby for the upgrade, it would have gone to the Medallion - but not to an upgrade companion.

Thanks for clearing this up rcs! I thought it was strange at the time, but if this is the rule then what happened makes sense. Wish I'd have known this so I could have passed it along.

GMF

What is a "Buddy Pass?"
 

I'm curious... I mentioned in an earlier thread that I will be going to Kenya in the summer. I have a good friend who called me out of the blue and told me he wanted to come, and it just so happens his father is a retired DL pilot. He said that he could go NRSA, and I could use a "Buddy Pass." I just have several q's about this...


1. What carriers is this valid on? Only DL, or Skyteam, any?

2. Although I'm not sure, After looking at the codes in the thread below, I seems that he would be an "S3B." Please correct me if I'm wrong on that and, what stand-by priority does the buddy pass get? jabez says S4 in this thread can anyone confirm? (I was referencing : this thread )

3. Is this something that could get me in BizE???? ( http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif)

Thanks!!


editted for UBB

[This message has been edited by jjglaze77 (edited Mar 07, 2004).]

I ,and my wife, both were placed up front on our flight. The key is to pick one that has few sold seats and likely to not have many elites with upgradable tickets.

i used to fly DL non-rev. they are very good about putting their employees (my mom works for a delta subsidiary) up front. bizelite for less than $200 aint to shabby, Barcelona to atlanta.

I could go on and on about them...but then again why not ask your friend who is offering it to you?



[This message has been edited by DrivingRain (edited Mar 08, 2004).]

Because my friend is completely clueless about the whole process. He said he has never non-reved alone... and has no clue about the process because when he has, daddy was with him. lol, hard for me to imagine that someone who had access to free flying didn't take advantage of it, but I guess they are out there. If they weren't, I guess NONE of us would get an upgrade! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

I have also heard this term used...I always assumed it was a free ticket for industry employees. Anyone care to answer the topic of the thread for the clueless (me)?!

I actually did a web search and found a good article over on airliners.net:

http://www.airliners.net/discussions...ad.main/877674

It is very good... seems to indicate what I needed to know, but I am curious... there is a quote of 3.6 c/mile, is this accurate?

It may be closer to 4.3 - when my friend from college comes to see me it costs around $65 RT BOS/CVG, about 1500 miles.

Thanks! I wonder... do you know if this pass is valid on Skyteam, or just DL metal?

I think you can use the pass on code share flights, but call Delta to be sure.

The employee should give you a sheet with information about using a Buddy Pass - it includes a toll-free number, as well as a local ATL number. Call it, and it will allow you to check availability, as well as give you an estimate on what your ticket will cost between city pairs. It also provides dress code - very important, especially if you are trying to ride up front.

I've used a Buddy Pass on Air France before (CDG-IST). At the time (might have changed since then) AF would not allow Buddy Pass pax in First. Consequently, I didn't return from IST on AF, even though there were seats available in First - the plane left without me. I ended up taking the IST-JFK Delta flight, which I was trying to avoid because JFK (or any NY airport) to ATL on a Buddy Pass is insane - lots of DL employees flying back and forth - and a Buddy Pass puts you at the bottom of the list after all employee non-revs clear.