Anyone else have this happen with Delta?

[bubbles1209]

We got our docs in the mail yesterday, and when I called to get the confirmation # and seat assignments today, I was able to get seat assignments for all flights except the inital outbound flight.:confused: She told me we would get our seat assignments when we checked into the airport that morning for the initial flight, (I already have the seat assignments for the flight we connect to, and both flights on the way home.) I asked her was she sure, because we don't want to get there and them tell us we can't get on that flight. She guaranteed me they wouldn't do that. Anyone else have this happen with Delta? Should I worry? Our flight is the day of the cruise, and I have planned this trip beyond belief, don't need anything to go wrong now.

[rkacruiser]

I would be concerned. Try pulling up your reservation online on Delta's web site and see if you can make your seat assignment for that flight online. If not, I would be worried that the flight was oversold.

 

I had this happen one time with a reservation on Continental. Made the reservation online, but could not get a seat assignment. The only seats left were for their elite mileage customers. I did call Continental and the agent did put me into one of those available seats, even though I was not an elite member. On the day of the flight, it turned out that the flight was oversold and people were being asked to give up their seats (for compensation, of course).

 

Good luck!

[pms4104]

Suggest you check in online 24 hours before scheduled departure of the first flight ... if you can't get a seat assignment at that time, get to the airport as early as possible, maybe even 3 or 4 hours before your scheduled departure time to secure an assigned seat.

[billybob123]

Should I worry? Our flight is the day of the cruise, and I have planned this trip beyond belief, don't need anything to go wrong now.

 

All airlines hold back approximately 30% of the seats on every plane (which explains one reason why it looks like seatmaps are full but the airline still sells seats on the plane) for what they call "airport control". It is for reasons EXACTLY like yours that they do this.

 

So the advice:

1) Check in online at 24 hours before your flight, that way you guarantee yourself the earliest available access to the "airport control" seats

 

2) If this fails to get you seats, ask at the check-in counter and/or at the gate. Get there early - 2 hours should do it.

 

3) The airline won't bump you just because you don't have a seat - they have strict rules they must follow before choosing who to bump, which includes asking for volunteers to give up a seat. If you do get bumped, make sure that you have planned out alternative ways of getting to your destination, just in case.

 

4) Enjoy the cruise, and relax. You will have seats. There are a ton of seats left to assign on the plane, you will just have to wait to get assigned one.

 

Forgot to mention you can also check your reservation regularly on the airline's website, and you might be able to assign yourself seats one day. Good luck!

[FlyerTalker]

One more thing....all airlines will tell you if your flight is overbooked -- IF you ask! They will not volunteer the info, but they will give you the honest answer.

 

Now, for some of us, being in an oversold situation is gravy. We volunteer to stay behind, get a nice compensation, and take a later flight. One trip, I took three successive bumps - a nice day! (Another reason to fly in early - you get these kind of options). Coming back from a South American cruise, I knew that the AA flight from Santiago to MIA was overbooked, so I told some fellow cruisers to inquire about a bump at check-in. They did and got $600 vouchers per person, plus a hotel for the 24 hours till the next flight.

 

Remember that the airline will first try to get volunteers to give up their seats. If they get enough, away goes the flight. If not, they will usually up the ante with a larger offer. Only if they don't get enough volunteers will they do involuntary denied boarding. This follows specific airline parameters (and each has their own).

 

Follow the advice in above post and you should be in good shape.

[Pam in CA]

To answer your question, yes, I have had this happen on Delta (and it wasn't a cruiseline booking). It happened when they weren't 100% sure which plane type would be used. It makes for quite a bit of anxiety but it did work out OK for us. We made sure we were at the airport at least two hours before departure.

[billybob123]

Flyertalker has it down - if you have any flexibility (e.g. flying in the day before the cruise), you can make some pretty good 'coin' from overbookings; often they can fit you on the next flight out on other airlines (good if you're flying somewhere domestic like Miami or Houston where there are lots of flights) and with a smile and some kind words, you might even get a free upgrade to first class on the next flight.

 

However, if you're heading in on the day of your cruise, I wouldn't risk it - imagine if the later flight was delayed, etc. Then you're up $200-400 for two days missed on the cruise!

[cusyl]

I made reservations a few months ahead of my flight and kept checking every few weeks. Several times they had dropped one of my reserved flights and I had to call and change to a different flight and select another seat. I would check the Delta website and make sure the flight is still there.

[cruisingwiththegang]

I had the same thing with Delta. I was able to get seats assigned on the second flight of my trip but not the first. I checked online and saw that only two seats were left on that flight, not anywhere near each other.

As we were also flying in the same day as we cruised, I caled Delta and asked if we could be assigned those seats as we had to be in Miami on time.

That lady told me that those seats just opened up and assigned them to me. At that point I thought that the flight was overbooked and was greatful to have seats.

A few days later my flight going home was changed. I called to get my seats assigned again.

That person I spoke with noticed ath my seats on the way to Maimi were not together and changed them. iT worked out great.

All seats were totally full on all four flights.

When we got home, I met a man at the airport that was not assigned his seat on an earlier flight out and ended up not getting a flight until teh next day. He had to meet the cruise in Mexico.

My advise is to keep calling Delta to get your seats assigned.

[Fatfish]

Don't worry...be happy...follow all the above!!

[mrsfunfamily]

:cool: Our August Boston to Orland flights on Delta have changed 3 times pushing our arrival back to Boston four hrs. later than the original booking.Each time we lose our assigned seats. Last week I called to confirm the flight changes and to get our assigned seats and was told to call Monday for our return flight because they didn't know what type of plane they would be using. Last night I went on-line to try and secure our seats from Orlando and their was only one seat available. I was able to get through to Delta today and discovered the only non-stop seats available could only be made at check-in. I explained that since this was the last flight leaving Orlando to Boston I was not comfortable with that answer and since this leg of my flight has changed 3 x and Delta assigned me to this flight I was very unhappy. I was then connected with Customer care and I was able to get 3 seats together in an exit row ( 3 adults all meet exit row criteria/ requirements). I just can't believe they would move us to a flight and then not have seats available without getting the run around. Believe me I will take my business elsewhere from now on

[bubbles1209]

I checked the Delta website last night by chance to see if any seats had opened up for our initial flight out that we could not get seat assignments for and 4 seats had come open. 2 together, and 2 seperate seats (1 on 1 side of the plane, & 1 on the other). I called Delta, gave them the confirmation # and was able to get the 2 seats together assigned to us.:D None of our other seats have changed, and all flight info is still the same. Now I can breathe easier knowing that we have all of our flight information & seat assignments. Thanks for everyone's help.:)