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Getting Bumped From Bulkhead Seat on Delta


pickypicky
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My travel agent told me years ago that Delta could bump me from my bulkhead seat for certain reasons. I was feeling lucky and ignored her. Because I am willing to book and pay for my seats months in advance, we have chosen those seats many times and have flown comfortably and happily in them, throwing caution to the wind.

Now, I guess I'm feeling a little unlucky in flying, due to some recent experiences, and am reconsidering choosing the bulkhead seats (usually in Comfort class). Has anyone had their bulkhead seats changed for any reason? If so, have you been compensated for the discomfort/inconvenience? Just wondering if there's a likelihood of an "upgraded" seat or am I going to be stuck in row 44 center for a transatlantic flight? Also, is this usually a last minute thing, or would I be informed in advance?

There was a time when I would have protested loudly against this, but nowadays we have to put up or shut up. We fly out of ATL, so no choice but Delta on most routes. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated!

This from Delta's website: "Delta accommodates the seating requirements of customers with certain types of disabilities. This could result in the occasional need to change another individual's pre-assigned seat, with bulkhead seats being particularly subject to reassignment. We appreciate your cooperation in these special circumstances."

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No air fare guarantees you a certain seat. It only guarantees a seat in the class of service you paid for. And, in the event of downsizing aircraft for a given flight, you could lose that seat (with compensation).

 

As commonly recommended in the flying world, the best you can do is monitor your flights, and hopefully catch any seat assignment changes, and possibly deal with them as soon as possible.

 

DL is not the only airline that has this issue. In fact, just about all airlines do.

 

All of this being said, we have had a couple of changes, usually due to plane changes, not to any other reason. Bulkheads are not our desired seat, but we have other preferences that we occasionally have to "fight" for.

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Check the aircraft you are flying on seatguru. Bulkhead row is not always the best choice for several reasons. Reduced legroom, lack of underseat storage, little or no overhead bin space (due to equipment), tray is often in the armrest which also reduces seat width.

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We fly out of ATL, so no choice but Delta on most routes.

 

I think you meant to say "We have no choice but Delta for a NONSTOP on most routes."

 

Unless you are talking about the handful of stations where Delta is the only carrier, you have other options. They may include one or two connections, but you do have a choice.

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If you paid an additional amount to get a C+ or preferred seat and you got moved out of that by the airline, you're entitled to a refund of that amount. When we've had a problem with that, the first customer service person had to transfer us to another department that had the computer permissions to see the full record of the ticket and that there was a difference between what we paid for and what we actually flew.

 

Having said that, I noticed that you're posting on a Saturday, and Delta is well known for 'schedule change Saturday' where they're not only changing schedules, they also often change planes (equipment swap) and when they're working on those the airline tends to block anything for seat assignment other than bog standard coach tickets. So if you noticed a change over the weekend and C+ or Delta One is currently showing no seats are available, I'd have another look at the seat map on Monday or Tuesday and see if you can find another C+ seating option even if it's not bulkhead.

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Especially for long haul aircraft, the bulkhead seats are where families with infant will be sat so the crew can put up a bassinet after take off.

Yes, you could be moved prior to boarding if they need the seat for this purpose.

SeatGuru will note if your seat is for this purpose.

Yes, you would get a refund.

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I think you meant to say "We have no choice but Delta for a NONSTOP on most routes."

 

Unless you are talking about the handful of stations where Delta is the only carrier, you have other options. They may include one or two connections, but you do have a choice.

FWIW, if you take into account where you're likely to go, things may not even be all that bad. Many of the Delta-only direct routes are very thin and therefore unlikely to be of practical importance to most people.

 

Using Wikipedia's current listing, DL is the only airline on 170 direct (I use that word deliberately) routes:-

Akron/Canton, Albany (GA), Albany (NY), Albuquerque, Alexandria, Allentown, Anchorage, Antigua, Appleton, Aruba, Asheville, Aspen, Augusta (GA), Barcelona, Baton Rouge, Belize City, Bermuda, Birmingham (AL), Bloomington/Normal, Bogotá, Bonaire, Bozeman, Brunswick, Brussels, Buenos Aires–Ezeiza, Buffalo, Burlington (VT), Cartagena, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Charleston (SC), Charleston (WV), Charlottesville, Chattanooga, Columbia (SC), Columbus (GA), Columbus (MS), Cozumel, Dayton, Daytona Beach, Des Moines, Dothan, Dublin, Düsseldorf, Eagle/Vail, El Paso, Elmira (NY), Evansville, Fargo (ND), Fayetteville (NC), Fayetteville/Bentonville, Flint, Fort Smith, Fort Walton Beach, Fort Wayne, Freeport, Gainesville, George Town/Great Exuma Island, Grand Cayman, Grand Rapids, Green Bay, Greensboro, Grenada, Guatemala City, Gulfport/Biloxi, Harrisburg, Hartford, Havana, Hayden/Steamboat Springs, Honolulu, Huntsville, Jackson (MS), Jackson Hole, Jacksonville (NC), Johannesburg–O. R. Tambo, Kalispell, Key West, Kingston–Norman Manley, Knoxville, Lafayette (LA), Lagos, Lexington, Liberia (CR), Lima, Lincoln, Lisbon, Little Rock, Louisville, Madison, Madrid, Managua, Manchester (NH), Marsh Harbour, Melbourne (FL), Memphis, Mexico City, Milan–Malpensa, Missoula, Mobile, Moline/Quad Cities, Monroe, Monterrey, Montgomery, Montréal–Trudeau, Montrose, Munich, Myrtle Beach, Nassau, New Bern, Newport News, Norfolk, North Eleuthera, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orange County, Palm Springs, Panama City (FL), Panama City–Tocumen, Pensacola, Peoria, Port-au-Prince, Portland (ME), Providence, Providenciales, Puerto Vallarta, Quito, Rapid City, Reno/Tahoe, Rio de Janeiro–Galeão, Roanoke, Roatán, Rochester (MN), Rochester (NY), Rome–Fiumicino, Sacramento, San José (Costa Rica), San José del Cabo, San Pedro Sula, San Salvador, Santiago de Chile, Santiago de los Caballeros, Santo Domingo–Las Américas, São Paulo–Guarulhos, Savannah, Shanghai–Pudong, Shreveport, Sioux Falls, South Bend, Springfield/Branson, St. Croix, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, Stuttgart, Syracuse, Tallahassee, Tegucigalpa, Tokyo–Narita, Traverse City, Tri-Cities (TN), Tucson, Tulsa, Valdosta, Vancouver, Venice–Marco Polo, White Plains, Wichita, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Wilmington (NC), Zürich

 

Another airline is the only one on a further 11 direct routes:-

Atlantic City, Doha, Istanbul–Atatürk, Jackson (TN), León/Del Bajío, Long Island/Islip, Manchester (UK), Muscle Shoals, Pointe-à-Pitre, Querétaro, Trenton

 

And on the following 63 direct routes, there is more than one airline:-

Amsterdam (2), Austin (3), Baltimore (3), Boston (4), Cancún (3), Charlotte (2), Chicago–Midway (2), Chicago–O'Hare (4), Cincinnati (2), Cleveland (3), Colorado Springs (2), Columbus–Glenn (2), Dallas/Fort Worth (3), Dallas–Love (2), Denver (4), Detroit (3), Fort Lauderdale (4), Fort Myers (2), Frankfurt (2), Greenville/Spartanburg (2), Guadalajara (2), Houston–Hobby (2), Houston–Intercontinental (3), Indianapolis (2), Jacksonville (FL) (2), Kansas City (2), Las Vegas (4), London–Heathrow (3), Los Angeles (5), Miami (3), Milwaukee (2), Minneapolis/St. Paul (3), Montego Bay (2), Nashville (2), New Orleans (3), New York–JFK (2), New York–LaGuardia (4), Newark (3), Oakland (2), Orlando (5), Paris–Charles de Gaulle (2), Philadelphia (4), Phoenix–Sky Harbor (3), Pittsburgh (2), Portland (OR) (2), Punta Cana (3), Raleigh/Durham (2), Richmond (2), Salt Lake City (2), San Antonio (3), San Diego (2), San Francisco (2), San Jose (CA) (2), San Juan (2), Sarasota (2), Seattle/Tacoma (2), Seoul–Incheon (2), St. Louis (2), Tampa (3), Toronto–Pearson (2), Washington–Dulles (3), Washington–National (3), West Palm Beach (2)

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An upgrade to business or first would be highly, highly unlikely. By booking far in advance you are increasing the likelihood of a seat switch due to aircraft changes as schedules are firmed up. Even if the aircraft type remains the same, you may be switched to a different version with a different seating configuration. I wouldn't expect any notification for the change either. And as already mentioned...bulkhead seats can have less legroom, narrower seats, no under-seat storage and have you directly in front of a bathroom or galley too. I typically avoid them myself.

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No air fare guarantees you a certain seat. It only guarantees a seat in the class of service you paid for. And, in the event of downsizing aircraft for a given flight, you could lose that seat (with compensation).

 

As commonly recommended in the flying world, the best you can do is monitor your flights, and hopefully catch any seat assignment changes, and possibly deal with them as soon as possible.

 

DL is not the only airline that has this issue. In fact, just about all airlines do.

 

All of this being said, we have had a couple of changes, usually due to plane changes, not to any other reason. Bulkheads are not our desired seat, but we have other preferences that we occasionally have to "fight" for.

 

May I ask what your preferences are? I have been so miserable on the last few flights! Thanks

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May I ask what your preferences are? I have been so miserable on the last few flights! Thanks

 

Depends on the flight type and time, as well as plane. If an International red eye, true lie flat seats are #1 priority, then staying away from the galleys and restrooms is important. But learning the aircraft ( I use FlyerTalk) is key. For example, in May/June flew SFO-MUC and MUC-SFO on United's 787-900. In 2D/E going over. No issues, seats were fine. Had read 1D/E had much bigger foot space, and was not impacted by galley (1E a little by restroom). Managed to get those seats coming home...great seats!! And in that configuration, the middle seats both have aisle access, another desirable feature, so as not not be disturbed when sleeping.

 

For Domestic First, we tend to take Row 2, as those are not impacted by Air Marshall assignments (which are frequently Row 3, and can and do split people traveling together), and seem more likely to get meal choice than further back. Bulkhead is our last choice, and rear of the front cabin is usually our second to last choice.

 

It is always a bit of a learning experience, but these are our priorities.

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Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtful replies. My question was hypothetical. I am a bit of a fanatic about my seat choice, and use all resources available to me to select the best for us. I don't always choose the bulkhead for obvious reasons, which many of you have stated...proximity to restrooms, lights from galley, etc., etc., so it's not my go-to seat, by any means. It just seems the likeliest seat from which I might be asked to move, thus my question. I wasn't really asking if it's a desirable seat in general.

Also the stats from ATL to far flung places were very useful and fun...we have benefited many times from those direct routes. I counted at least 10% which we have flown, some more than once. I wasn't really complaining about Delta (although I could). I simply wanted to convey that I had no experience with any other lines, thus having no idea how they handle the "bumping" from one seat to another situation.

We cannot always afford to travel first or business, but thanks for those tips. I have never considred that there were "bulkhead" seats in First/Business.

We are fortunate to have never been asked to change seats on a long overseas flight when our comfort really mattered. I know that the possibility exists and that I don't "own" a seat. I guess I wanted to know when that might happen...at boarding? Or would my seats be changed and I would just discover such by daily/weekly monitoring? If it's at the last moment, my experience recently has been that all flights are full, and that we might be relegated to extremely undesirable seats. So what happens then? That is the experience I was hoping to gather from this forum. Maybe it's an unanswerable question, but: Thanks again.

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I guess a rant is probably the not best way to research things. Maybe a well thought out question with a few parts or sub sections?

 

As mentioned, regular monitoring is a good thing. There are a few discussions here about it. I check our flights once a week. Twice a week 2 or 3 months out, when changes typically happen, at least on United. Every other day the last 2 or 3 weeks.

 

Also, as mentioned, you will get seats in the level of service you booked. That will only change if a smaller plane with fewer business or first class seats is substituted. And then only if you were a last minute booking, a very low fare, or have no status. Otherwise, in the vast majority of situations, you will be fine.

Edited by CruiserBruce
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We are fortunate to have never been asked to change seats on a long overseas flight when our comfort really mattered. I know that the possibility exists and that I don't "own" a seat. I guess I wanted to know when that might happen...at boarding? Or would my seats be changed and I would just discover such by daily/weekly monitoring? If it's at the last moment, my experience recently has been that all flights are full, and that we might be relegated to extremely undesirable seats. So what happens then?
The most important answer is the one to the last question: That's just tough luck. It happens, and there's often nothing you can do about it.

 

If you have paid to pre-allocate seats, then I think most airlines will give you a refund of the fee - but that's it. It's unlikely that you will get any compensation. After all, even if you are sitting in the most undesirable seats on the aircraft, you are still getting what you have paid for (so long as you are refunded any seating fee that you have paid). As you were never guaranteed the seats that you had pre-allocated and you were warned that you could lose them, you have suffered no inconvenience or distress by a seat change. It's always possible that the airline may give you some gesture like a voucher against future travel as a matter of goodwill, but that's never guaranteed.

 

If you are travelling with a family member and the change means that you have been split up, then cabin crew will sometimes make some effort to see what can be done by asking other passengers. But don't count on it.

 

Your seats may be changed at any time from the moment you book until the cabin is secured for takeoff. If it happens before you check-in, you may or may not see this reflected in your booking when you access it online, because on some airlines, changes made in the departure control system (whatever that airline calls it) may not be driven back into the main booking held in the reservation system.

 

Or you may discover a seat change at check-in, or at the gate. You may even discover this after you have boarded and settled in to your seats, as seat changes can be made during the boarding process so that someone who boards after you is moved into your seat and you are moved out of it even though you have already passed the boarding point and actually physically got into the seat.

 

In other words, it can happen at any time and there may be no way of you knowing or detecting it until the airline tells you.

 

I booked a flight two days ago and paid for seat pre-allocations. My seats have already been changed twice by the airline even though the flight is not until summer 2019. I'm watching this as much for the entertainment value as anything else.

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Only two ways to TRULY guarantee your seat:

 

1) Buy up all the seats on the flight, so you can choose any seat you wish.

 

2) Charter your own private jet and again, choose any seat.

 

Remember that aircraft swaps can sometimes work in your favor. I remember when my 757 got changed to an international configuration 767 that needed to be ferried in for maintenance. It was nice having a lie-flat bed in first rather than just a bigger chair.

 

You takes your chances, as they might say.

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Has anyone had their bulkhead seats changed for any reason? If so, have you been compensated for the discomfort/inconvenience? Just wondering if there's a likelihood of an "upgraded" seat or am I going to be stuck in row 44 center for a transatlantic flight?

 

If you choose the bulkhead and get bumped for someone who has a true need for it, then no, you are not going to get a free upgrade to business class. You will get another seat in the class of service you booked, either comfort+ or regular economy. If you paid for comfort+ and there are no other seats available in that class, you'll be in economy but should be able to get the $ refunded that you paid for C+.

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