Interesting experience with Delta

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

I have a confrmed itinerary with Delta for our trip to Hawaii. We got FF seats, first class, all legs of the flight. However, when I booked the flights way back, I was put on a waitlist for a better connection coming home. Instead of 4 1/2 hours in Atlanta, I was on the waitlist for the flights that would be 3 1/2 and 2 1/2 hour overlay. The 3 1/2 hour one was confirmed several months ago. Flight 508. However, nothing on flight 506 which would have been a better connection. Today, I went online, and No One was booked in first class for flight 506, and there is also a flight 504 with a better connection that was never available when I originally booked. So, I called Delta, and there were FF seats on both flights. Even though I was waitlisted, they never put me on that flight. So, I went from a 4 1/2 hour overlay to a 1 1/2 hour overlay. Persistance pays off!!

[katiemack Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close katiemack]

That is great news! I do think Delta tries very hard to help keep their customers, and waitlisting is definitely a plus!

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

I have always Put Delta on the top when is comes to Service. I have not had much luck with wait lists with Delta. But when there is a Schedule change that is when I do even better using Delta. They tend to accommodate with any open flights.

[grest Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close grest]

My experience with customer service at Delta has also been excellent every time.
Connie

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

I'm just a little miffed as to why they did not call to tell me it was available.

[dougp26364 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close dougp26364]

Personally, I've always felt Delta's CS before a flight was a cut below most of their competitors. My biggest complaint is the frequent minor (1 to 5 minute) flight time changes that always seem to bump me out of my prefered front of the plane seats all the way to the back row. Normally it wouldn't be an issue but my wife is slightly claustrophobic and sitting in the back of the plane really bothers her a lot. On our current flight booked with Delta we've gone from seats in row 16 all the way to the back numerous times. Each time I reclect seats it gets pushed further back. At this point we're in row 29 which, for the plane is just past the wings. This kind of pre-flight service has me booking other carriers will all other things are reasonably equal.

[falmouth3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close falmouth3]

Also good luck with United

I just checked on seats on United to Heathrow this summer. My husband was flying with ff ticket and I had a bought business class ticket. We're supposed to fly first class on the US legs. I had a first class ticket on the outbound trip and he didn't. He was wait-listed.

Then they changed our outbound flight. I called United to try to get him back on the wait list and the agent was able to book him into first class. However, she noticed that we'd been separated on all legs. She very nicely put us together again and said that if they change flights on us again, to call and they would rearrange the seats again.

I was very impressed with her helpfulness and her proactive efforts. What I wasn't pleased about was the computer scrambling the seating assignments, even those on the legs that weren't changed in any way. Whatever - we're together again and DH is in first class with me the whole way.

Sue

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

Our 4 flights have been changed about 10 times since I booked them 11 months ago. The only thing that annoys me is that everytine there is a schedule change, even if the flight times change by 5 minutes, my online itinerary does not have seat assignments. And, the website will not let me choose them again until I call Delta to confirm the schedule change. I have not had a problem with them changing my seats because we are in first class, and most of the flights have first class empty. However, I have noticed that the First class seats are filling up. I guess I better check my reservations every day.

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

For the OP, it's possible that, once the waitlist cleared for the first option, your requests were expunged from the system. Did you re-list once that first option cleared?

Schedule changes are the scourge of the traveler who plans far in advance, IMO. OTOH, I like schedule changes because they let me angle for more circuitous routings which garner more EQM's/RDM's. Exactly the opposite of the typical leisure pax

I usually have between 3-10 intineraries running at any time (revenue and award) and check each one weekly. Since most have upgrades waitlisted, I like to keep an eye on that, as well as watch for schedule changes. BTW, most major schedule changes are announced in the requisite airline forums on Flyertalk, which helps keep us on top of things.

Pat

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

For the OP, it's possible that, once the waitlist cleared for the first option, your requests were expunged from the system. Did you re-list once that first option cleared?

The waitlisted flights were still in the system after each schedule change. Even the Delta rep. mentioned that it was still on my request.

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

Interesting....multiple waitlisting

BTW, you should see some action in the last couple weeks before flight, due to elites (PM's primarily) reshuffling their award seats.

Good luck!

Pat

[Ann-Marie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Ann-Marie]

Pat, are you saying that they would change my seat assignment to give it to an elite member?

[camachinist Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close camachinist]

High level DL elites, like similar elites with other airlines, have certain perks as well as large mileage balances. What I do, when anticipating travel to a location is to book award flights immediately. As a high level elite, I can change or cancel such flights without cost. So, the strategy is to secure some seats, then watch for revenue opportunities. If they materialize, or if I decide not to go, I cancel the awards and get the miles back. Also, high level UA elites pull from special award inventory that others can't access (for domestic saver economy awards) but our bookings can affect the overall availability of such awards. Hence my statement. It's really not complex; just sounds that way

You may get exactly the seat you wish at a late date due to elite activities affecting yield management award inventory. That's a good thing

Such changes often make no sense. As an example, we cleared Y>C SYD-SFO nearly a week ago for our return flight at the end of May, but didn't clear the outbound until yesterday, only 6 days prior to departure. Looking at the loads and seat maps, the return flight was substantially more full than the outbound, in both Y and C. The vagaries of yield management defy logic sometimes

Good luck!

Pat

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Ann Marie, could you pm or email me thru the link on this page? I tried to pm you but you don't have it enabled.
Thanks!