Delta Basic Economy

[disneygirl1972]

A group of us currently have a flight booked with Delta with Basic Economy fare. I fully understand the parameters of the fare in regards to no advanced seat selection. I curiously looked at the "View Seats" this morning for our flight, & there are fewer seats available than number in our group.

 

My question is, are our seats being strategically marked as unavailable? Or will we end up "out of luck" & bumped?

[klfrodo]

None of you will be bumped.

Especially if you check in early

[waterbug123]

 

My question is, are our seats being strategically marked as unavailable? Or will we end up "out of luck" & bumped?

 

Little chance of being bumped, as they can usually find volunteers to be rebooked in an oversold situation. What IS likely is that since your seats will be assigned at the gate, you won't be together and you'll be in middle seats in the back of the plane.

[TruckerDave]

I LOVE the GA's making the announcement that they are overbooked and looking for folks to give up their seats. (assuming I have the time). I have scored quite a few vouchers over the years and made a few "free" trips with them as well. I used to pick the early 7-8 am ish flights out of IAH all the time those IAH-ORD or IAH-EWR morning flights were a free voucher waiting to happen some days. :D

[FlyerTalker]

This fear of being "bumped" is amazing. Let's go to the US DoT report for 2015, which can be found HERE. (see page 33 for bumping stats, other pages have lots of other goodies)

 

Industry wide, the number of involuntarily bumped was 46,496. Which sounds huge, but the total enplaned passenger total was 613,141,091. Which means that the bumping rate was 7.6 per 100,000 passengers. That's industry wide. Delta's rate was 1.6 per 100,000 passengers (1938 total). Now, that's still some number of bodies but the interesting number is how many VOLUNTARY bumps were taken. 145,046. That's a ratio of almost 75 to 1.

 

I'd bet you are more likely to forget your house keys or leave the car's lights on than get in IDB.

 

And, for the Canyon Blue fans, WN had an IDB rate of over 8 times that of DL.

[4774Papa]

We fly Delta all the time and always economy. We always pick our seats when we book the flight. I do have the AmEx Delta Skymiles credit card, if that makes a difference.

[slidergirl]

We fly Delta all the time and always economy. We always pick our seats when we book the flight. I do have the AmEx Delta Skymiles credit card, if that makes a difference.

 

Your card does not make a difference.

 

DL has a new class of fares, below the rest of the economy fares called "Basic Economy." One of it's "features" is that you do not get to pick a seat, but must wait for assignment. If I remember, they instituted the fare on some of the routes that the LCCs flew in order to entice those used to non-full-service to use DL. I'll call them "commodity" routes - where people are just looking for the cheapest price from A to B, not looking at services. The fare has been spreading to more routes lately.

Edited July 10, 2016 by slidergirl

[4774Papa]

Your card does not make a difference.

 

DL has a new class of fares, below the rest of the economy fares called "Basic Economy." One of it's "features" is that you do not get to pick a seat, but must wait for assignment. If I remember, they instituted the fare on some of the routes that the LCCs flew in order to entice those used to non-full-service to use DL. I'll call them "commodity" routes - where people are just looking for the cheapest price from A to B, not looking at services. The fare has been spreading to more routes lately.

 

Guaranteed for a middle seat.

[ducklite]

This fear of being "bumped" is amazing. Let's go to the US DoT report for 2015, which can be found HERE. (see page 33 for bumping stats, other pages have lots of other goodies)

 

Industry wide, the number of involuntarily bumped was 46,496. Which sounds huge, but the total enplaned passenger total was 613,141,091. Which means that the bumping rate was 7.6 per 100,000 passengers. That's industry wide. Delta's rate was 1.6 per 100,000 passengers (1938 total). Now, that's still some number of bodies but the interesting number is how many VOLUNTARY bumps were taken. 145,046. That's a ratio of almost 75 to 1.

 

I'd bet you are more likely to forget your house keys or leave the car's lights on than get in IDB.

 

And, for the Canyon Blue fans, WN had an IDB rate of over 8 times that of DL.

 

 

 

Since I've been "on strike" from AA I have been flying WN. They are efficient and have non-stops to the places I need to go the most often. Early Bird is a reimbursable expense with my company. I have been able to take a VDB about 20% of the time, and am currently sitting on over $2K in flight $$ since February. Now I just need to figure out where to go with it and actually take some time off to use it.

 

At any rate, I have noticed that they seem to oversell more than the other domestic majors, and are also more generous with their compensation.

[FlyerTalker]

At any rate, I have noticed that they seem to oversell more than the other domestic majors, and are also more generous with their compensation.

Lots of good data in the DOT reports. I've used them to know what flights to avoid, who gives VDBs and more.

[purduemom1]

Lots of good data in the DOT reports. I've used them to know what flights to avoid, who gives VDBs and more.

 

Great info-thanks for posting the link.

[waterbug123]

We fly Delta all the time and always economy. We always pick our seats when we book the flight. I do have the AmEx Delta Skymiles credit card, if that makes a difference.

 

Your card does not make a difference.

 

DL has a new class of fares, below the rest of the economy fares called "Basic Economy."

 

Correct, and just to elaborate on Slidergirl's response, not only does having a DL Amex not matter, medallion status also does not matter when purchasing a basic economy (E fare) seat. NO ONE choosing that fare class can choose seats early.

[judycruiser]

I booked this class of tickets and did not realize it until more than 24 hours later which meant I could not change.

 

My husband will be using a portable oxygen concentrator for the first time on this trip and we both use wheelchairs to get to and from flights. I intended to book Delta comfort to have a little more room because of the concentrator.

 

Does anyone know if there is any way I can change these tickets (I know that I would have to pay change fees and any increases in fares).

 

Thanks

 

Judy

Little Rock

[Free2bMeForever]

I would call Delta (or your travel agent), explain circumstances, and what you would like to change. Sometimes the agent to whom you speak can help (especially if you are a medalion member). It never hurts to ask.

[FlyerTalker]

You don't have the easy path to the change. DL may or may not be sympathetic - especially since they now clearly differentiate with four different buttons whether you are choosing Basic Economy, Main Cabin, Comfort+ or First. Further, the tickets in Basic are supposedly non-changeable, even for a fee. That's one of the trade offs you get for the cheapest pricing.

 

In looking, I see that there is a pop-up box that states the restrictions:

Basic Economy comes with these restrictions:

• No seat assignment is available until after check-in
  
• Refunds and any ticket changes, including same-day changes, are not permitted
  
• No paid or complimentary access or upgrades to premium seats or products, including Delta Comfort+™ or Preferred Seats, and no paid access to Priority Boarding
  

 

You had to explicitly click a check-box accepting this before you could proceed. So you knew what you were getting. And from reports I have read, DL is enforcing the Basic rules pretty firmly - to make sure people know they bought the "cheap seats" and that they should consider paying more in the future.

 

Sorry to be the bearer of these harsh words, but I wish you luck.

 

Caveat Emptor.

Edited July 11, 2016 by FlyerTalker

[waterbug123]

 

Does anyone know if there is any way I can change these tickets (I know that I would have to pay change fees and any increases in fares).

 

 

From the Delta website on Basic Economy fares:

 

"Basic Economy (E booking class) is a value-fare option for price-driven customers. When you purchase Basic Economy, you will typically enjoy our lowest fare, but seats will be assigned after check-in and you will not be able to change or refund your ticket after the Risk Free Cancellation period. Additionally, you will not be eligible for: paid or complimentary upgrades; paid, complimentary or discounted Delta Comfort+™; paid or complimentary Preferred Seats; or same-day confirmed or same-day standby travel changes, regardless of Medallion or other elite status."

 

Sounds to me like no changes, even if you are willing to pay the change fee and fare difference. You can certainly call and ask, but I would be prepared to be told no.

[purduemom1]

I booked this class of tickets and did not realize it until more than 24 hours later which meant I could not change.

 

My husband will be using a portable oxygen concentrator for the first time on this trip and we both use wheelchairs to get to and from flights. I intended to book Delta comfort to have a little more room because of the concentrator.

 

Does anyone know if there is any way I can change these tickets (I know that I would have to pay change fees and any increases in fares).

 

Thanks

 

Judy

Little Rock

 

While I have no idea what kind of plane you are booked on, my experience with comfort seats is that there is very little difference in space. Perhaps just a few inches in pitch.

[zdcatc12]

my experience with comfort seats is that there is very little difference in space. Perhaps just a few inches in pitch.

 

Which is exactly what is promoted with these seats!!! A few inches means a lot to some people.