Equipment Change = Seat Change

[kristenrice]

We normally fly SWA so I have never worried about our seat selection. Now, we are flying out on Delta and I have a question. It’s just myself and my two daughters. The first leg of our flight is a puddle-jump from GR to Detroit and it is currently listed as an Airbus A320 with a 3/3 seating configuration. The flight from Detroit to Orlando is on a 757-300 which is also a 3/3 set up.

I’m not too worried about the second leg changing to a smaller plane, but if the first leg is changed to a smaller plane with a 3/2 set-up, we could lose our seats, right? How often should I check our seats? Will I receive any notice from Delta? I did NOT buy basic economy fares so we do get to pick our seats ahead of time, which I’ve already done.

 

[Missyrose]

I have gotten a notification of an equipment/seat change 0 percent of the time. If you're really worried about it, check your reservation every few days just to make sure the seats have stayed put

 

[sam_gordon]

We normally fly SWA so I have never worried about our seat selection. Now, we are flying out on Delta and I have a question. It’s just myself and my two daughters. The first leg of our flight is a puddle-jump from GR to Detroit and it is currently listed as an Airbus A320 with a 3/3 seating configuration. The flight from Detroit to Orlando is on a 757-300 which is also a 3/3 set up.

I’m not too worried about the second leg changing to a smaller plane, but if the first leg is changed to a smaller plane with a 3/2 set-up, we could lose our seats, right? How often should I check our seats? Will I receive any notice from Delta? I did NOT buy basic economy fares so we do get to pick our seats ahead of time, which I’ve already done.

They don't have reduce the layout (ie: go from 3/3 to 3/2) for your seats to get messed up. The can go to a 3/3 with one fewer row and it could be a problem. I suggest checking your reservation at least once every other week until you're about 3 months out, then once a week until 2 weeks out, then 3-4 times a week until your departure day.

Posters here have said Delta WILL notify you of a change, but it may be weeks or months after the change.

 

[writerguyfl]

Posters here have said Delta WILL notify you of a change, but it may be weeks or months after the change.

Flight changes trigger notification but seat assignment changes typically do not.

I’m not too worried about the second leg changing to a smaller plane, but if the first leg is changed to a smaller plane with a 3/2 set-up, we could lose our seats, right? How often should I check our seats? Will I receive any notice from Delta? I did NOT buy basic economy fares so we do get to pick our seats ahead of time, which I’ve already done.

There's a website called FlightAware.com that tracks flight information. If you sign up (it's free), you can see historical data for a specific flight number. For example, I pulled up Delta Flight 733 between Grand Rapids (GRR) and Detroit (DTW). Looking at two weeks of data, it looks like they used a Boeing 717-200 every day except one. On that day, the flight was on an Airbus A320. If that was your flight, I'd guess that the chance that you'd get changed to a different type of plane is certainly possible.

It's probably worth watching. I'd say that sam_gordon's monitoring schedule is pretty good.

That said, chances are decent that if the plane type is changed, you'll still end up seated all together. As long as you booked all three seats on the same reservation, Delta's system will attempt to keep you together. It's really in their best interest to keep you together, as doing that is one fewer task that a gate agent will have to complete.

 

[kristenrice]

Thanks for the info. My "kids" will be 13 and 15 so certainly old enough to be separated from me, if need be, but I purposefully did NOT buy the basic economy fare specifically so that I could select our seats. We are all on the same itinerary/ticket so that should help.

Question...when I look at my itinerary, it always asks me if I want to upgrade to Delta Comfort or First Class. My original budget was $200/ticket. If the Delta Comfort fare drops below that $200 threshold, I might be inclined to upgrade. Would that be considered a "change" and cause me to incur a change fee? Or would the upgrade fee be the only additional cost?

 

[goofy4tink]

They don't have reduce the layout (ie: go from 3/3 to 3/2) for your seats to get messed up. The can go to a 3/3 with one fewer row and it could be a problem. I suggest checking your reservation at least once every other week until you're about 3 months out, then once a week until 2 weeks out, then 3-4 times a week until your departure day.

Posters here have said Delta WILL notify you of a change, but it may be weeks or months after the change.

I agree 100%! This is what I do when flying Delta. I haven't had too many change notifications from them. Lots of changes, they just didn't alert me!

 

[bumbershoot]

My original budget was $200/ticket. If the Delta Comfort fare drops below that $200 threshold, I might be inclined to upgrade. Would that be considered a "change" and cause me to incur a change fee? Or would the upgrade fee be the only additional cost?

Upgrading does not incur a change fee.

Changing means changing flights or dates.