Not very pleased with DELTA on seating

I just received a generic email for passengers flying Delta our of the country. We leave this Friday.

In this email, I notice they have changed the seating for the return flight, for our party of 6. Instead of the 2 seat configuration of window and isle, one behind each other (like a roller coaster ride), we have been placed in the middle seats 3 and 3, and are in two separate areas of the airplane. :mad:

Luckily, I am seated with my parents. :) However, my sister, brother and SIL are next to each other. My brother and SIL do not get along with my sister. :eek:

We booked our flight and seating before Christmas. With the plane showing full, is there anything that can be done? We'd like our window and isle seats back. :(

It's possible they have changed the type of plane since you booked it.

Have you checked it out on seatgru.com? You could always ask for different seats if they are available. I read somewhere that you paid extra on some lines for aisle or window seats.

Sounds like they changed to a different kind of plane - so, just put your sister with your parents (assuming THEY can stand her) and you take her seat - not a huge problem IMO.

Having a reserved seat is no guaranty that you will get that seat on the plane. The best you can do now is arrive at your airport very early and request seating changes when you check in.

Even that is no promise from the airline. I've had my seat assignment changed while I waited at the gate to board the flight.

The 2 side seating is often saved for people who buy more expensive tickets and/or have status with the airline. In today's airline situation anything can change.

Nope, the plane is the same as the flight over to Rome. ;) We have had this happen - last minute, when there was a plane change, but got the seats straightened out at the counter.

I didn't know that once you book a seat, it could be changed. We paid more for our tickets, when it was less full, then those that booked recently. I watch the pricing on YAPTA and the seats had gone down as much as $200 pp before filling up.

Yes, I could change seats with my sister (and will probably have to do so once my brother finds out the arrangement :D ), but it still doesn't change the fact that we are now in the middle seats, instead of the window/isle and away from each other. 11 hours is a long time to be squished between someone. :(

I guess we will have to see what happenes at the airport.

No! Don't wait until you get to the airport. Call Delta now and ask for your seats to be changed.

I would call, but don't they now they charge $25 for a call to Delta.

Anyway, I went online and found a seat next to mine (across the isle) and have changed my sister to that seat. Now, my brother and SIL are alone 7 rows behind us. They will owe me big time. :)

The one good thing about the arrangement is that currently, there is no one sitting in front of me, or my mother. That's a big deal to me, as I have long legs. Of course, that could all change once we are onboard.:rolleyes: Our seats are 18.5" wide and very adequate. I have never had a probelm with the width of the seat, but the distance between the seat back and the next seat can be excruciating to me if the person puts their seat back. :eek:

One suggestion, when you check in for your flight there, see if you can get it changed then. Some people on our roll call last week were able to get assigned to the exit row (or bulkheads) for their return flight when they checked in for their flights to the states.

I would call, but don't they now they charge $25 for a call to Delta.

 

Anyway, I went online and found a seat next to mine (across the isle) and have changed my sister to that seat. Now, my brother and SIL are alone 7 rows behind us. They will owe me big time. :)

 

The one good thing about the arrangement is that currently, there is no one sitting in front of me, or my mother. That's a big deal to me, as I have long legs. Of course, that could all change once we are onboard.:rolleyes: Our seats are 18.5" wide and very adequate. I have never had a probelm with the width of the seat, but the distance between the seat back and the next seat can be excruciating to me if the person puts their seat back. :eek:

They charge to make a reservation, not for you to change your seats after they changed them.

One suggestion, when you check in for your flight there, see if you can get it changed then. Some people on our roll call last week were able to get assigned to the exit row (or bulkheads) for their return flight when they checked in for their flights to the states.

They charge to make a reservation, not for you to change your seats after they changed them.

I am going to check with the rest of the family and see what they want to do. I have been the designated TA (outside of my wonderful TA that booked the cruise for us) and I guess I am just disappointed that you think all is well and taken care of, and then BAM, you notice a switch has been made.

Now, if HAL would surprise me with a switch to a suite, I wouldn't be upset. :D

Sea Island Lady,

Just be happy they still have you on the flight. I had booked directly with Delta from LAX to JFK at the 330 day mark. After about 6 months I received an email that our flight time had changed. After another 3 months, I got another email that our flight was cancelled and we had been put on another flight. I immediately called to get our seat assignments. I checked the day before we were to leave, and everything looked okay. Upon arrival at the airport, the check-in rep had a hard time even finding us, said we may have been bumped from the flight. She finally put us in the middle in the last row. I was not a happy camper at all.

So bottom line, is they can do what they want. Just because you have purchased a ticket doesn't guarantee you are on that flight at all.

GOOD LUCK!

I didn't know that once you book a seat, it could be changed.

And there are pros and cons to every seat pre-allocation system, whether the airline in question makes no, few, many or most seats available for pre-allocation.

be glad you got email notices...i have delta flights booked and never receive ANY notices about the time changes, or most recently our seat changes due to change of type of aircraft...

this is why i check at least twice a week online to make sure everything stays the same....if not, i then call a representative to get things straightened out, but it can be very annoying...

hope you get the seats you want....

Marsha

No airline will ever guarantee you the allocation of any particular seat, even after you have checked in. Some airlines are more explicit than others about making this clear.

I just realized why this misconception (that a specific airline seat is guaranteed once initially assigned) is so wide spread. If I buy a ticket to see a production of Hamlet and my ticket is for seat M19, then seat M19 will be there waiting for me. (Unless there are irregular ops, such as a strike by stage hands.) Same for a ticket to a baseball game or the opera. The ticket-buying public (who doesn't fly much) assumes that the airline guarantees your "seat" on the plane in the same way the theater guarantees your "seat".

To quote Sportin' Life, "It ain't necessarily so."

Nope, the plane is the same as the flight over to Rome. ;) We have had this happen - last minute, when there was a plane change, but got the seats straightened out at the counter.

 

I didn't know that once you book a seat, it could be changed. We paid more for our tickets, when it was less full, then those that booked recently. I watch the pricing on YAPTA and the seats had gone down as much as $200 pp before filling up.

 

Yes, I could change seats with my sister (and will probably have to do so once my brother finds out the arrangement :D ), but it still doesn't change the fact that we are now in the middle seats, instead of the window/isle and away from each other. 11 hours is a long time to be squished between someone. :(

 

I guess we will have to see what happenes at the airport.

You might want to check with Delta if the price of your flight went down. I received an email from Delta a couple of months ago saying that if I found the same exact flight at a lower price (that I booked at Delta..com) they would refund me the difference. I didn't read the fine print but if I did I would bet it said that the refund would be in e-cerficates-but that would be ok with me. Of course with my luck the flights I choose always seem to go up instead of down so I have not been able to get a refund difference.

You might want to check with Delta if the price of your flight went down. I received an email from Delta a couple of months ago saying that if I found the same exact flight at a lower price (that I booked at Delta..com) they would refund me the difference. I didn't read the fine print but if I did I would bet it said that the refund would be in e-cerficates-but that would be ok with me. Of course with my luck the flights I choose always seem to go up instead of down so I have not been able to get a refund difference.

Not the same thing. If you purchase a fare directly from Delta and the price of that flight goes down, for an international flight, you must pay a $200 change fee to get any credit. Usually, the price does not go down enough to make this worthwhile. OP states the price went down $200 per person, so of course, after paying the change fee, she would be right back where she started.

I believe what you are referring to is Delta making a guarantee that you will find the lowest price if you book directly with them. If you can find a lower price somewhere else, then they will refund the difference.

Thanks-I really should learn to read the fine print. 99% of the time I do book directly with Delta so I guess I won't be getting any refunds cause it is hard to beat the price on their website. I have found it a couple of bucks cheaper but that not enough to jump thru hoops for.

I just realized why this misconception (that a specific airline seat is guaranteed once initially assigned) is so wide spread. If I buy a ticket to see a production of Hamlet and my ticket is for seat M19, then seat M19 will be there waiting for me. (Unless there are irregular ops, such as a strike by stage hands.) Same for a ticket to a baseball game or the opera. The ticket-buying public (who doesn't fly much) assumes that the airline guarantees your "seat" on the plane in the same way the theater guarantees your "seat".

Well I'm one of those people who had that same misconception. I just booked 6 seats with Delta for Feb, and selected our seats for myself, hubby, and 4 children. I was thinking...great, we all get great seats, all together, everyone taking turns with a window seat on the different legs, etc.....Good thing I read these boards!!! My rose coloured glasses just fell off and broke!!

I've got to say I learn a lot from reading these...but some of it, perhaps I wish I didn't know!! I never thought that we wouldn't get the seats we chose...same kind of idea about the theater tickets. I guess what I need to do...along with all of the checking, calling, etc...is be prepared for the worst...may not be seated together, flights may be changed, etc....and that way I don't get too frustrated with the process. Take the attitude of ..as long as we get there...it's a good flight.

If I hadn't of read these posts, I would have been very sour to find all these changes once we got to the terminal...as I wouldn't have been expecting it.

Thank you, thank you to all for the insight you provide!!

Between now and Feb 2009, your flights probably would change at least 3 times if it were with other airlines, with DL, it may be 6 or more times... :D although sometimes the changes are just 10-15 minutes on the departure...

Good thing you have visited these boards, so you would not get all worked up when you see your flights changed, seats reassigned, etc etc

Now you know you just need to periodically check your reservation, and check it more frequently as you are closer to departure time, say come Nov/Dec... so you wouldn't pick up the phone to call DL on the first time you see flight change. :)

Well I'm one of those people who had that same misconception. I just booked 6 seats with Delta for Feb, and selected our seats for myself, hubby, and 4 children. I was thinking...great, we all get great seats, all together, everyone taking turns with a window seat on the different legs, etc.....Good thing I read these boards!!! My rose coloured glasses just fell off and broke!!

 

I've got to say I learn a lot from reading these...but some of it, perhaps I wish I didn't know!! I never thought that we wouldn't get the seats we chose...same kind of idea about the theater tickets. I guess what I need to do...along with all of the checking, calling, etc...is be prepared for the worst...may not be seated together, flights may be changed, etc....and that way I don't get too frustrated with the process. Take the attitude of ..as long as we get there...it's a good flight.

 

If I hadn't of read these posts, I would have been very sour to find all these changes once we got to the terminal...as I wouldn't have been expecting it.

 

Thank you, thank you to all for the insight you provide!!

With Dela become a Skymiles member and you can change your seats online if there are empty seats available