Flight numbers - weird!
 

Booked a ticket directly online with KL. 074-stock, 2 KL segements, 4 DL segments, KL flight numbers on all six.

Only minor issue with the reservation was that three of the four seatmaps for the DL segments were "view only" on delta.com (on the Delta app I couldn't even view the seatmaps, the screen froze). The fourth I could change as normal. I was happy with the automatic seat allocation on two of the other flights, called Delta about the last one. They changed it as per my request. Since the change did not show up online, I called the FB Plat line to get it fixed. That worked. Neither Delta nor the Plat line could tell my why I couldn't select seats myself. I still can't.

Then today I got an e-mail from something called KLM Sales & Service Center, asking me to call them within 24 hours about this reservation. Before doing so, I checked both the KL and DL sites. The only thing I could find was that on the DL site one of the DL segments was marked with "Schedule Change" and a green check mark, presumably meaning that the change did not affect onward connections. Strange thing was, I could not figure out what had changed: departure airport & time, arrival airport & time, aircraft type, seat number, everything exactly the same as in the original booking.

To be on the safe side, I gave the Plat line a call. The agent turned the booking inside out and upside down, but could not figure out what the issue was, if any. She finally decided that it was all because of an equipment change resulting in a seat change. But the seat change she saw was the one I had made over the phone some weeks ago, and there was no equipment change. Instead of disabusing her, I thanked her politely and ended the call.

I then went back and checked the booking again on both websites. What I finally found was that the "schedule change" DL segment had gone from a KL flight number to a DL flight number on Delta.com, whereas the same flight had changed from a KL flight number to an AF (!!!) flight number on KLM.com. All other five segments showed the original KL flight numbers on both sites.

Duh? Huh?

I assume the e-mail was auto-generated, and I really like getting those when there's an issue that has to be dealt with, e.g. a material schedule change that requires my approval, or a (partial) rebooking, etc. But when they have only changed the flight numbers (for reasons that are no doubt very valid, but a complete mystery to me) I would rather they left me alone instead of demanding I phone them within 24 hours.

Johan

Time and time again we see examples of the total lack of communication between KL and DL systems, possibly the root cause of these symptoms.

The green check mark IME indicates that the pax has been informed of (and agrees to) the schedule change. Until that point it is a pinkish red message which then changes to green.

Depending on how long it is until these flights take place you may well expect more schedule changes from DL. They do it regularly, sometimes just updating an ETA by 1 minute.

Well, that green check mark was there before I agreed to anything. Not that there was anything to agree too, but they have nevertheless now also sent me a "new" ticket. It's identical to the original one, except for that one flight number having changed from a KL to an AF one.

Yeah, tell me about all those schedule changes. Not only DL, it's a very American thing to do, for some reason.

And yes, KL/DL systems communication . . . Jeez! Just such a thing as seat selection, for example. So much for that "seamless" JV!

Johan

I suppose the agents changed your marketing carrier while attempting to change your seat.
I wonder why it isn't in sync a bit, but at the end of the day, it's a detail.

Also with any luck, you'll now get letter based miles credit.

Bolding is mine. It's not always a detail depending on your situation. Some examples where changing a marketing carrier is not a detail:
- for a FB Ultimate, a DL-coded flight is not eligible to UXP
- for a DL member US-based, I believe there could be some impact on passing from a DL-marketed flight to a AFKL one, but I have to say I am not familiar enough with SM rules to be 100% sure on this one
- if you have a corporate contract with AF, a DL-marketing may not be eligible to discount or annual rebate.

Just a few examples showing that a marketing carrier should never be changed without pax agreement IMHO.

Nope. I called the Plat line weeks ago about the seat, and after they changed it all flights still had KL flight numbers. Only after the "schedule change" two days ago did I end up with a DL flight number on the DL site, and an AF one on the KL site. All other legs still have the original KL flight numbers on both sites. The schedule as such did not change by even one minute.

In this particular instance the flight number change is immaterial from my perspective, so as the thread title says, it's just weird!

Johan

If you've been changed to a DL flight number do you then 'benefit' from the booking class earnings as far as milres go?

As far as KL is concerned I now have an AF flight number, at least as per their website.

As the segment in question happens to be a short domestic one, albeit booked in F, it won't make much of a difference earnings wise either way.

Johan

It's common that that there are changes in the DL network. Schedule changes, equipment changes and flight number changes are not uncommon. So the KLxxxx flight nr gets a DLxxxx flight number because you are technically moved to a new flight even though the STD, STA, equipment etc is the same. The system moves you then to a DL nr and not a KL number. For many flights, earnings on a DL number are higher in the FB scheme, so I didnt complain when I had the same situation last summer.