Erasmus

True, but I wonder how 'loyal' DL elites really are. For instance, the majority of my MQMs were not earned on DL metal this year. I could just have easily been an Alaska MVP Gold or CO/NW elite. I credited to DL based on their (old) award redemption policies. In fact, I likely would have been upgraded on more flights if I were, as I only received two complimentary DL medallion upgrades, and instead sat in the back on several AS and CO flights.

IsleOfMan

Well I'm DL GM after a status match. I'm now living in Atlanta and fly DL exclusively (except for a couple of MCO trips on Spirit because the prices were ridiculous). I'm 100% on upgrades on 14 mainline flights since October.

sommpa

The reference to 2008 Elite upgrades on any Skyteam airlines comes from Business Traveller Magazine (www.btusonline.com).Page 58, Dec / Jan issue

Quote is ....starting in 2008 enabling elite members to upgrade on any Skyteam airline. For heavy business travelers its all about status recognitiion said David Bishko, Managing Director of Alliances for Delta..

I was also excited and try to find a reference to this on the DL website but no mention has been made. I am Platinum and Executive Partner and no mention has been made to me. I was on a flight yesterday and asked one of the flight attendants and she said she hadn't heard about it but she did say that in 2008 DL was looking at alot of changes including expanding their route network in Asia....

najay

You don't think it would be worth it to be able to get a Gold elite upgrade on a CO or NW flight if you had to? Wouldn't that open up your options a bit? With CO (and NW, I believe), the 'native' elites get preference over 'guest' elites at the save level.

fabsco

I believe there should be no difference in getting upgrades assuming that the current number of elites on CO/NW currently flying on delta is not that high. This of course would assume that all three airlines have an equivalent proportion of elites. You should have an equal number of delta elites in the future choosing a CO/NW flight as opposed to a Delta flight and vice versa. For the consumer it will allow them a greater choice of flights assuming that they are currently choosing one airline because of upgrades, this should result in a lower cost to the consumer.

For the airline, it will probably lead to a loss of some dedicated upgraders to their partners airlines but they should receive additional revenue because of both an influx of upgraders on other airlines. These airlines will most likely also receive additional revenue because they are more likely to sell tickets to elites within skyteam when that passenger's airline does not fly a convenient route.

Some people will likely see decreases in benefits. these would include people that are elites in 2 or 3 of the airlines CO/NW/DL as may FOs on certain routes.

I do think this should be an enhancement for both the airline and most elites however.

IsleOfMan

I'm all for the reciprocal upgrades as long as ALL "native" elites are given preference over ALL "guest" elites. If it is ranked by elite level first, then I'll be upset. On a DL Metal flight it should go:

DL Plat
DL Gold
DL Silver
NW/CO Plat
NW/CO Gold
NW/CO Silver

and NOT:

DL/NW/CO Plat
DL/NW/CO Gold
DL/NW/CO Silver

Global_Hi_Flyer

On the other hand, a DL PM/GM that needs or wants to fly on CO/NW would rather it be:

rather than

Half full or half empty?

IsleOfMan

I would much rather protect the upgrades I'm receiving on DL flights on DL planes as they are right now. Reciprocal upgrades aren't worth it if I lose a large number of the upgrades I'm getting on DL metal now. I've seen plenty of flights where F/BE isn't filled, even after medallions are accomodated. These are the seats that should be made available to NW/CO elites. DL needs to take care of its own Elite members of any level first.

DanTravels

I had more flights on KLM than any US carrier this year, but my status lives in the US with me...

As far as the upgrade order, well, there seem to be two camps. One is "All platinums, then all golds, then all silvers," and I have to agree with MikeMpls that's almost the way it's likely to be implemented. The other is "All our own elites, then partner platinums, then partner golds, then partner silvers."

There is, though, another option entirely: everyone could treat partner elites as one tier lower than their own. Witness, if you will, Air France/KLM's Europe-based Gold elites being given SkyTeam Elite Plus perks, while US-based SkyTeam elites only get them at the Platinum level.

So everyone could agree to upgrade their own platinums, then their own golds and partner platinums, then their own silvers and partner golds, then partner silvers.

Oh, and I said "almost the way it's likely to be implemented" above because I think there's a nuance to it. I think that on CO metal, all CO plats are upgraded before all NW plats. So on DL metal, the order would actually be DL plat, CO/NW plat, DL gold, CO/NW gold, DL silver, CO/NW silver. Yes, you might lose an upgrade to someone with higher status on a partner than you have on DL - but you should never lose one to someone with the same status on a partner that you have on DL.

GoCanes

The reality of the NOT option is that it would make Silver completely worthless. The chances of getting upgrade on Silver on any of the three carriers would be slim to none. I would be extremely upset with this decision. I agree with those who believe it should go all elites on one carrier and then any elites from partners left over.

MikeyZBT

I am also a DL FO and I don't believe it would be completely worthless. I am sure there are CO and NW flights that go out that don't have the first class cabin completely full and that means DL PM/GM/FO would have the option to move up if open.

I, for one, like the idea, but I also think that an Elite of that particular airline should get preference over Alliance Elites.

MikeyZBT

Totally agree.

MikeMpls

Why would they ever waste resources implementing a sytem that would result in few upgrades to NW/CO?

Why would NW/CO waste resources implementing a totally different scheme for DL elites than what is now used between NW & CO?

DanTravels

Mike has a point here, folks. If you want all DL elites to be given upgrades on DL before CO/NW elites, and all CO/NW elites to be given upgrades on CO/NW before DL elites... isn't that what we already have, with no effort at all required on anyone's part?

IsleOfMan

And I'd much rather keep it that way than have NW/CO Platinums getting upgraded on DL flights ahead of myself, a DL GM. The approach of knocking partner elites down one level would work for me from a self-serving standpoint, but I still think FOs should get upgraded before NW/CO Platinums. Otherwise FO would become nearly useless in terms of upgrades. If you're an NW/CO elite and what increased chances of an upgrade, stick to NW/CO respectively... any reciprocal upgrade on DL should be a bonus that should not take away from ANY DL elite.