Delta Passenger with NO Medallion Status on Basic Economy Ticket Upgraded to 1st class!

Had a similar thing happen to me once, although I am platinum and was not on a BE ticket. It was the lga-dca shuttle and I was the absolute last to board, was maybe 15th on the upgrade list, but when I scanned my ticket a receipt popped out and I had been upgraded. Guess it was easier than moving someone already on the plane. Surprised they did it on a longer flight like that though.

Never forget: Gate agents can make it rain.
I too am a common man. But when approaching gate agents, my smile, friendly disposition, and boxes of peanut M + M’s often set me apart from my fellow commoners giving me a leg up on a seat at the pointy end of the plane.
And when all else fails it’s #TeamBoardLast

I witnessed first hand a MCO gate agent tweak the upgrade list. I only wish I would have taken screen shots of the before/after. One minute there were 2 PAXs on the upgradelist, next, we were gone. I went up to ask, and then they updated the list and now there were 3. Funny, the person now at the top of the list was a friend of the gate agents. That pax got the one seat available. It’s amazing what you can observed the gate agents doing, who they are talking to, etc. I even heard the agent tell their friend not to worry, they would take care of them.

I wrote Delta and they called me to apologize.

I’m a lifetime gold medallion. On a recent international trip, I called reservations three days prior to departure since there were seats in first available (domestic leg), but I was still in coach (not BE). Was told they hadn’t released all the first class seats. That they hold some for departure gate release.

@The Common Man: I’ve never understood that argument that blog readers and/or frequent travelers are automatically grouped into the “well-heeled” socio-economic ranks. There are a lot of hard working, segment flyers here who might not wear alligator shoes LOL!

I usually get BE with Delta(no status), and I almost always get an econ plus seat. I know it’s not first, but it always seems weird.
I figure the upgrade comes out the same process which is the BE get assigned their seats last. If the rest of the seats are full/taken, the BE gets put wherever there is room. If that room is in first, then that is where they will go. Because Delta waits until the last minute to assign the BE seats, I would guess that the gate agents don’t want to go through the hassle of an upgrade and exchange of ticket, and preferred to just assign the first class seat to the BE guy.

I can’t address the situation of Delta giving out seats to non-status or basic economy, but I wrote a rant to them earlier this year about empty FC seats. I sent a screen shot of the app showing me first on the upgrade list, and of the empty FC seat in front of me (I could see plainly from my Comfort+ seat). To their credit, they sent back a very detailed response. On that flight, there was a checked-in no-show for that FC seat. They don’t know that until the entire plane has boarded and the door is closing. They did suggest, that if you are first on the list but did not get an upgrade, you verify before you board that all the FC have boarded. Or hang out until the end of the boarding process. So it is understandable how one seat could be occasionally empty. Similarly, I have been upgraded to the only open FC seat when I was #2 on the list, several times. I can only assume #1 didn’t want it or switched flights at the last minute.

If you want to get upgraded as an elite, you should fly Alaska! I’m a frequent flyer on Alaska, but not an elite. I likely fly 12 to 24 times a year, and used to be able to do a last-minute upgrade for a few extra dollars. But since Alaska bought out Virgin America, they’ve tended to give any first class seats available or any comfy chairs in premium class to the elite flyers. The gate agents seem to stick to their rules, and they’ve told me that those seats will always be given to the elites in the Alaska program. My observations bear this out. I have been able to upgrade one time since Alaska bought out Virgin America. Whether true or not, one of the gate agents told me that there were so many more Virgin America Elites, who became Alaska Elites automatically, that they have to accommodate them. Now, maybe it’s just a lot of bull, but that’s what I was told and that’s what I’ve observed. Having said that I do like Alaska Airlines, they do a much better job then United, American, Delta, or everyone’s darling Southwest Airlines.