Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

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sowhatsnext
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Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by sowhatsnext »

So I have a '"Main Cabin" seat on a Delta flight departing in a couple of days. Just checked seat selections as I was offered an upgrade to "Comfort" for $95 which I'm not buying by the way. While looking at the seat selection chart I couldn't help notice that there were many "Comfort" seats available as well as many empty seats in general totaling 72. Can anyone tell me what actually happens to the upgraded "Comfort" seats that go un-booked?
curmudgeon
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by curmudgeon »

sowhatsnext wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:57 am So I have a '"Main Cabin" seat on a Delta flight departing in a couple of days. Just checked seat selections as I was offered an upgrade to "Comfort" for $95 which I'm not buying by the way. While looking at the seat selection chart I couldn't help notice that there were many "Comfort" seats available as well as many empty seats in general totaling 72. Can anyone tell me what actually happens to the upgraded "Comfort" seats that go un-booked?
Some of them will go to people with frequent flyer "status" as free upgrades. Others may remain empty, or get reassigned at boarding time.
scophreak
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by scophreak »

Important to understand exactly which aircraft you'll be flying as well. For most domestic flights, including widebody jets, the C+ section is similar to any other domestic "enhanced main cabin" service (basically a few more inches of legroom and some other minor perks). On some priority routes (for example, my upcoming flight from SEA>JFK), Delta is operating Airbus A330neo jets where the equivalent C+ seats are actually a separate cabin and usually a different type of actual seat - sort of a hybrid between typical domestic FC and main cabin.
sailaway
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by sailaway »

Some if those seats will go to those if us who buy cheap tickets but have a high status with the airline. DH used to travel a lot for work out of Atlanta, so we get upgraded to whatever is available. As mentioned, C+ isn't always worth it, but on our last flight, it was labelled C+ on the ticket, but I think Premier once we were onboard. Fancy seats with a footrest, lots of room...it was nicer than the first class on a small commuter flight.
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sowhatsnext
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by sowhatsnext »

scophreak wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 10:17 am Important to understand exactly which aircraft you'll be flying as well. For most domestic flights, including widebody jets, the C+ section is similar to any other domestic "enhanced main cabin" service (basically a few more inches of legroom and some other minor perks). On some priority routes (for example, my upcoming flight from SEA>JFK), Delta is operating Airbus A330neo jets where the equivalent C+ seats are actually a separate cabin and usually a different type of actual seat - sort of a hybrid between typical domestic FC and main cabin.
Thank you and to @curmudgeon & @sailaway too for your responses. BTW.... the plane is a Boieng 757.
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Petrocelli
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by Petrocelli »

On long flights, I often upgrade to a "premium economy" seat which gives me more legroom. I am flying from NYC to LA in a couple weeks, and it cost $120 to upgrade. I think it is well worth it.
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dbr
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by dbr »

Delta Comfort+ essentially means getting a few (3"") more legroom. For some people this is a godsend. Some people couldn't care less. I don't hesitate to pay up for it if I am otherwise on an international flight in main cabin. Delta also tries to guard the overhead bin space for this part of the cabin. This is not to be confused with Premium Select on international flights, which is a whole different class of service booked as such. Airlines have a confusing array of "premium," "comfort" or "extra" options.

It is also worth, as mentioned, checking the seating chart for your flight and equipment to see what is involved.
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by sailaway »

dbr wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 3:09 pm Delta Comfort+ essentially means getting a few (3"") more legroom. For some people this is a godsend. Some people couldn't care less. I don't hesitate to pay up for it if I am otherwise on an international flight in main cabin. Delta also tries to guard the overhead bin space for this part of the cabin. This is not to be confused with Premium Select on international flights, which is a whole different class of service booked as such. Airlines have a confusing array of "premium," "comfort" or "extra" options.

It is also worth, as mentioned, checking the seating chart for your flight and equipment to see what is involved.
I believe all of my Comfort+ seats have also had an adjustable headrest, which is very nice, but not something I would probably pay for.

If I knew that I would be getting a Premium Select seat for comfort+ pricing, I might pay. But they change planes a lot lately, so I would only pay at check in, not when I bought the ticket. And I probably wouldn't pay then, because parsimonious is our family word.
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by dbr »

sailaway wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 3:28 pm
dbr wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 3:09 pm Delta Comfort+ essentially means getting a few (3"") more legroom. For some people this is a godsend. Some people couldn't care less. I don't hesitate to pay up for it if I am otherwise on an international flight in main cabin. Delta also tries to guard the overhead bin space for this part of the cabin. This is not to be confused with Premium Select on international flights, which is a whole different class of service booked as such. Airlines have a confusing array of "premium," "comfort" or "extra" options.

It is also worth, as mentioned, checking the seating chart for your flight and equipment to see what is involved.
I believe all of my Comfort+ seats have also had an adjustable headrest, which is very nice, but not something I would probably pay for.

If I knew that I would be getting a Premium Select seat for comfort+ pricing, I might pay. But they change planes a lot lately, so I would only pay at check in, not when I bought the ticket. And I probably wouldn't pay then, because parsimonious is our family word.
What service is configured depends on routes, equipment, and capacity. Premium Select on Delta is going to be far more expensive than Comfort + and is booked as a fare class and not as an upgrade. On different airlines what is a separate fare class and what is a buy-up can be very confusing. It is also a completely different issue for US domestic, International, and OUS domestic on different airlines. Sometimes US airlines use international configured aircraft on transcontinental US routes, creating an oddball combination.

An example is that DL134 Detroit to Amsterdam on 1/11/22 offers Basic, Main, Comfort+, Premium, and DeltaOne at $709, $859, $957, $1259, and $3309. The fare classes are E, V, S, G, and Z. I could not easily find a flight with all options bookable. The aircraft is an A350-900 which has 1-2-1 seating in DeltaOne, 2-4-2 seating in Premium, 3-3-3 seating in Comfort+, Main, and Basic. The seat pitch in Comfort+ would be more, and there are other conditions that separate Basic from Main. Note for such a short flight a really good seat for a couple would be a 2 person row at a window in Premium but not stuck in the middle of the row of 4. DeltaOne is silly for DTW to AMS overnight. You are talking maybe five hours of sleep, and even more silly AMS-DTW by day, though there are people who just book business because money doesn't mean much or they have a million frequent flyer miles lying around they can't use. That DeltaOne cabin is 210,000 miles per person RT while Comfort+ is 90,000 miles RT.
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by sailaway »

dbr wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 3:39 pm
sailaway wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 3:28 pm
dbr wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 3:09 pm Delta Comfort+ essentially means getting a few (3"") more legroom. For some people this is a godsend. Some people couldn't care less. I don't hesitate to pay up for it if I am otherwise on an international flight in main cabin. Delta also tries to guard the overhead bin space for this part of the cabin. This is not to be confused with Premium Select on international flights, which is a whole different class of service booked as such. Airlines have a confusing array of "premium," "comfort" or "extra" options.

It is also worth, as mentioned, checking the seating chart for your flight and equipment to see what is involved.
I believe all of my Comfort+ seats have also had an adjustable headrest, which is very nice, but not something I would probably pay for.

If I knew that I would be getting a Premium Select seat for comfort+ pricing, I might pay. But they change planes a lot lately, so I would only pay at check in, not when I bought the ticket. And I probably wouldn't pay then, because parsimonious is our family word.
What service is configured depends on routes, equipment, and capacity. Premium Select on Delta is going to be far more expensive than Comfort + and is booked as a fare class and not as an upgrade. On different airlines what is a separate fare class and what is a buy-up can be very confusing. It is also a completely different issue for US domestic, International, and OUS domestic on different airlines. Sometimes US airlines use international configured aircraft on transcontinental US routes, creating an oddball combination.
I only know that we were upgraded to Comfort+, Comfort+ was our boarding zone, but the seats themselves had Priority Select printed on them and were much nicer than the ones with Comfort+ printed on them. It was 2-2-2, and we were in the middle, which meant either of us could move without waking the other. But neither of us moved or slept, so a wasted opportunity. As you said, likely repurposing a plane configured for international travel. It was nice.

Doesn't really matter to us. We pay for main to use the companion passes, but have been known to risk basic when paying for both tickets.
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sowhatsnext
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by sowhatsnext »

sowhatsnext wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:57 am So I have a '"Main Cabin" seat on a Delta flight departing in a couple of days. Just checked seat selections as I was offered an upgrade to "Comfort" for $95 which I'm not buying by the way. While looking at the seat selection chart I couldn't help notice that there were many "Comfort" seats available as well as many empty seats in general totaling 72. Can anyone tell me what actually happens to the upgraded "Comfort" seats that go un-booked?
Update: as of this morning out of the 32 Comfort+ seats on this 757 only 10 have been filled. Wondering if its worth the trouble to check at the counter for complimentary Comfort+ upgrades for a "common passenger." Boarding is this afternoon. :wink:
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by chazas »

sowhatsnext wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 5:49 am
sowhatsnext wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:57 am So I have a '"Main Cabin" seat on a Delta flight departing in a couple of days. Just checked seat selections as I was offered an upgrade to "Comfort" for $95 which I'm not buying by the way. While looking at the seat selection chart I couldn't help notice that there were many "Comfort" seats available as well as many empty seats in general totaling 72. Can anyone tell me what actually happens to the upgraded "Comfort" seats that go un-booked?
Update: as of this morning out of the 32 Comfort+ seats on this 757 only 10 have been filled. Wondering if its worth the trouble to check at the counter for complimentary Comfort+ upgrades for a "common passenger." Boarding is this afternoon. :wink:
They likely won’t give it to you for free unless you have status and it’s a benefit. If they need more seats they’ll likely start with elites then move people by higher fare paid. You could luck out, but very unlikely.
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Nate79
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by Nate79 »

Commoners don't get upgrades.
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by lgs88 »

When I was flying during COVID and there were tons of empty seats, I'd wait for the final boarding call to board.

Then, I'd select an empty row of Comfort Plus seats, and make myself at home.

The one time a flight attendant said anything about it, it was to offer me the exit row in Comfort Plus, if I might prefer that.

I've since stopped doing that and am back to inhabiting the seat that I paid for, because flights are filling up to the point that there are fewer empty seats and I wouldn't want to delay take-off when I have to reseat myself when the actual holder of the seat comes along.

lgs88
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staustin
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by staustin »

lgs88 wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:53 am When I was flying during COVID and there were tons of empty seats, I'd wait for the final boarding call to board.

Then, I'd select an empty row of Comfort Plus seats, and make myself at home.

The one time a flight attendant said anything about it, it was to offer me the exit row in Comfort Plus, if I might prefer that.

I've since stopped doing that and am back to inhabiting the seat that I paid for, because flights are filling up to the point that there are fewer empty seats and I wouldn't want to delay take-off when I have to reseat myself when the actual holder of the seat comes along.

lgs88
smart.... although i have no idea why, these type things never occur to me. i pay for my seat, que when told, etc. too compliant and too much of a rule follower i suppose. :happy

as to the question posed, if my flight is more than 1.5 hours, i'm paying for the extra legroom and the charging capacity those seats have many times as well (united in my case, not delta). we tend to fly united if we can, southwest if we have to.
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Kagord
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by Kagord »

On Delta, Comfort+ means
3" Legroom
Free Cocktails/Beer/Wine (if you order doubles, on long flights this can be 8 cocktails, if you are so inclined)
Enhanced Snack Basket passed around (larger snacks, bananas..etc), on the smaller commuter flights and shorter legs they don't do this, as this is first class service.
Served Beverages First
The overhead bins above say for Comfort+ only
Seats are behind 1st Class, helps for tight connections, less bumpy at the front of the aircraft, less noisy as well
Headset is Free
More priority in the queue boarding
There's an extra phone pocket dedicated for your phone
More blankets/pillows handy
I think there's more head cushion at the top of the seat, can't remember for sure
You get to be the envy of other's going past you
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sowhatsnext
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by sowhatsnext »

All your responses confirm my what I expected. Thanks to all.
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by rockstar »

After any trip with a lot of walking, I'd opt for comfort. It's worth it. It matters less to me going than returning.
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Kenkat
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by Kenkat »

Often you can also purchase Comfort+ upgrades with Delta frequent flyer points for a pretty reasonable number of points depending on the flight.
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by THY4373 »

chazas wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:06 am They likely won’t give it to you for free unless you have status and it’s a benefit. If they need more seats they’ll likely start with elites then move people by higher fare paid. You could luck out, but very unlikely.
On a recent flight my son and I had with United we were flying basic economy. It was a short two hour flight where we had no luggage and only a small carry one (United's Basic Economy is the most punitive of the major carriers) so at two thirds the cost it made sense for ous. Anyway we both got auto assigned seats that were the United version of Comfort Plus. FlyerTalk seems to show this is often the case. So in some instances they seem to give it the cheapest fares if open at last minute vs going to the effort to move folks around.
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by Tucker50 »

I recently flew comfort plus on Delta from Alaska back to Atlanta with a stop in Seattle. I noticed a gentleman a couple of seats ahead of me was repeatedly told to put his mask on. I think they must have checked on him because of his behavior and discovered that he didn't belong in comfort class after all, because they returned to make him pay for his complimentary wine. They did not make him move which was good for him since he was very tall and perhaps because we were on the leg of the trip to Seattle. There were a few empty comfort seats which people could have been upgraded to but were left empty. I enjoyed the extra cost of comfort seats for such a long flight
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jabberwockOG
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by jabberwockOG »

Tucker50 wrote: Sun Aug 01, 2021 9:47 am I recently flew comfort plus on Delta from Alaska back to Atlanta with a stop in Seattle. I noticed a gentleman a couple of seats ahead of me was repeatedly told to put his mask on. I think they must have checked on him because of his behavior and discovered that he didn't belong in comfort class after all, because they returned to make him pay for his complimentary wine. They did not make him move which was good for him since he was very tall and perhaps because we were on the leg of the trip to Seattle. There were a few empty comfort seats which people could have been upgraded to but were left empty. I enjoyed the extra cost of comfort seats for such a long flight
Generally I'd pay extra to avoid sitting with the free drinks crowd, especially on a longish flight :-?
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sowhatsnext
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by sowhatsnext »

chazas wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:06 am
sowhatsnext wrote: Sat Jul 31, 2021 5:49 am
sowhatsnext wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:57 am So I have a '"Main Cabin" seat on a Delta flight departing in a couple of days. Just checked seat selections as I was offered an upgrade to "Comfort" for $95 which I'm not buying by the way. While looking at the seat selection chart I couldn't help notice that there were many "Comfort" seats available as well as many empty seats in general totaling 72. Can anyone tell me what actually happens to the upgraded "Comfort" seats that go un-booked?
Update: as of this morning out of the 32 Comfort+ seats on this 757 only 10 have been filled. Wondering if its worth the trouble to check at the counter for complimentary Comfort+ upgrades for a "common passenger." Boarding is this afternoon. :wink:
They likely won’t give it to you for free unless you have status and it’s a benefit. If they need more seats they’ll likely start with elites then move people by higher fare paid. You could luck out, but very unlikely.
Final update: The flight in my original post somehow became full by the time of departure. I didn't bother checking for any complimentary upgrade based on the feedback and the fact that the flight was full. Upon boarding and as the gate attendant scanned my boarding pass I heard a beep acknowledging my ticket followed by another beep which is when the attendant called me back asking for my ticket and exchanged it for an exit row aisle seat. No kidding! This seat ended up being a Comfort+ seat and was randomly assigned with all the benefits which included 3 Woodford Reserve bourbons. The End!
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Re: Delta "Comfort Seat" Selection

Post by WolfgangPauli »

sowhatsnext wrote: Thu Jul 29, 2021 9:57 am So I have a '"Main Cabin" seat on a Delta flight departing in a couple of days. Just checked seat selections as I was offered an upgrade to "Comfort" for $95 which I'm not buying by the way. While looking at the seat selection chart I couldn't help notice that there were many "Comfort" seats available as well as many empty seats in general totaling 72. Can anyone tell me what actually happens to the upgraded "Comfort" seats that go un-booked?
These are a very easy upgrade. I admit, I am platinum so I get them all the time. The funny thing is I will upgraded immediately. So, when I go to buy the ticket I buy in coach even though they offer me to buy a comfort +. Once I am done booking.. within minutes, they upgrade me to comfort +. I am already upgraded to comfort + on a trip to california in October!
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