The FAA issued a ground stop at the airport this morning. I saw one diversion to Augusta. An Airbus 321 from Orlando. Anyone else seeing any other diversions from ATL?

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/DAL ... /KAGS/KATL

https://flightaware.com/live/diversions.rvt

There you go.

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

Delta operations meltdown coming in 1, 2, 3....

stlgph wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

oh, the horrors. hopefully Netflix picks up on this story.

I know right? A platinum!? Meryl Streep needs to play this role!!!!

[twoid][/twoid]

stlgph wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

oh, the horrors. hopefully Netflix picks up on this story.

Context my passive aggressive co-poster, context. There are about 10-12 flights a day from RDU-ATL. the point was that something big is happening at ATL.

Do you mean to tell us, Evil Delta didn’t roll out a special flight for her. Oh, the humanity.

GF

ScrantonUSC wrote:

She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum.

Delta didn’t send a private jet the instant they realized a platinum was delayed?

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

The gall they have to make a Platinum wait until 1730. I can't believe it.

Remind her that shes one of thousands of Platinums, nothing special. Especially at ATL.

ScrantonUSC wrote:

[twoid][/twoid]

stlgph wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

oh, the horrors. hopefully Netflix picks up on this story.

Context my passive aggressive co-poster, context. There are about 10-12 flights a day from RDU-ATL. the point was that something big is happening at ATL.

Clearly she's at the bottom of the list. Time to defect to Southwest.

CCGPV wrote:

https://flightaware.com/live/diversions.rvt

There you go.

Thats a good link. Thanks for this.

If one considers the opposite scenario in which pilots and any airline take unnecessary risks with TS, the inconvenience factor should go out the window. It’s worth always remembering the thousands of professionals whose job it is to safely transport the flying public. It’s never taken lightly.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

We had at least three divert here (HSV).I have seen many more than that in the past.

berari wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

The gall they have to make a Platinum wait until 1730. I can't believe it.

Remind her that shes one of thousands of Platinums, nothing special. Especially at ATL.

Is that what you guys think of your most loyal customers? That is not a very good move in my opinion.

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

Based on the replies to your wife's issue and rebooking. I would hope you show her the way the Delta employees and supporters think of her loyalty. If you live in the SE you could probably get a matching AA status if she is willing to give it a try. Also if UAL works for you I suspect they would match her status also and perhaps her dedicated travel would be more greatly appreciated and not mocked as it has been here.

mcdu wrote:

berari wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

The gall they have to make a Platinum wait until 1730. I can't believe it.

Remind her that shes one of thousands of Platinums, nothing special. Especially at ATL.

Is that what you guys think of your most loyal customers? That is not a very good move in my opinion.

What makes you think these posters are actual DL employees? Reading is truly fundamental.

mcdu wrote:

berari wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

The gall they have to make a Platinum wait until 1730. I can't believe it.

Remind her that shes one of thousands of Platinums, nothing special. Especially at ATL.

Is that what you guys think of your most loyal customers? That is not a very good move in my opinion.

If they sent a Gulfstream to shuttle every elite around whenever delays happen, they'd be out of business yesterday.
The fact is, s*** happens. If a flight cannot fly safely, it should not and will not fly, even if it's full of Platinums.

mcdu wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

Based on the replies to your wife's issue and rebooking. I would hope you show her the way the Delta employees and supporters think of her loyalty. If you live in the SE you could probably get a matching AA status if she is willing to give it a try. Also if UAL works for you I suspect they would match her status also and perhaps her dedicated travel would be more greatly appreciated and not mocked as it has been here.

I'm sure they will. United is, after all, well-renowned for its operational reliability, on-time performance, and friendly staff.
As for AA, we all know that DFW is a friendly, non-crowded hub to connect through, and O'Hare is absolutely not delay-prone.
Sarcasm aside, all airlines have operational meltdowns now and then. All of them have thousands of elites, and none of them will furnish said elites with private jets every time a flight gets delayed or cancelled.

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

I'm surprised with her status and the AA agreement reinstated they didn't just rebook her on AA non-stop.

2Holer4Longhaul wrote:

mcdu wrote:

berari wrote:

The gall they have to make a Platinum wait until 1730. I can't believe it.

Remind her that shes one of thousands of Platinums, nothing special. Especially at ATL.

Is that what you guys think of your most loyal customers? That is not a very good move in my opinion.

If they sent a Gulfstream to shuttle every elite around whenever delays happen, they'd be out of business yesterday.
The fact is, s*** happens. If a flight cannot fly safely, it should not and will not fly, even if it's full of Platinums.

Given the situation, and the fact that ATL was not her final destination, she should have been rerouted through another hub, not told to go home and come back 13 hours later. She ended up being rebooked by Delta on American to PHX, which was a suitable option in case a reroute wasn't available. But not after the agents at RDU told her to go home and come back later.

And yes, what's the point of pumping $10,000 a year of business through 1 airline, if you can't at least get rerouting priority or decent bit of help out of it? I know it's not a lot compared to some flyers, but this is a fairly routine benefit to expect of any level of loyalty status.

Corpsnerd09 wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

I'm surprised with her status and the AA agreement reinstated they didn't just rebook her on AA non-stop.

AA does not fly RDU-PHX non-stop...

ScrantonUSC wrote:

2Holer4Longhaul wrote:

mcdu wrote:

Is that what you guys think of your most loyal customers? That is not a very good move in my opinion.

If they sent a Gulfstream to shuttle every elite around whenever delays happen, they'd be out of business yesterday.
The fact is, s*** happens. If a flight cannot fly safely, it should not and will not fly, even if it's full of Platinums.

Given the situation, and the fact that ATL was not her final destination, she should have been rerouted through another hub, not told to go home and come back 13 hours later. She ended up being rebooked by Delta on American to PHX, which was a suitable option in case a reroute wasn't available. But not after the agents at RDU told her to go home and come back later.

And yes, what's the point of pumping $10,000 a year of business through 1 airline, if you can't at least get rerouting priority or decent bit of help out of it? I know it's not a lot compared to some flyers, but this is a fairly routine benefit to expect of any level of loyalty status.

Oh honey, $10,000 per year is the reason why she was told to wait 13 hours. She's likely on the lower end of Platinums. Some passengers spend at least that much on a single round trip.

berari wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

Given the situation, and the fact that ATL was not her final destination, she should have been rerouted through another hub, not told to go home and come back 13 hours later. She ended up being rebooked by Delta on American to PHX, which was a suitable option in case a reroute wasn't available. But not after the agents at RDU told her to go home and come back later.

And yes, what's the point of pumping $10,000 a year of business through 1 airline, if you can't at least get rerouting priority or decent bit of help out of it? I know it's not a lot compared to some flyers, but this is a fairly routine benefit to expect of any level of loyalty status.

Oh honey, $10,000 per year is the reason why she was told to wait 13 hours. She's likely on the lower end of Platinums. Some passengers spend at least that much on a single round trip.

Are you saying Delta ranks their second highest status level based on how much money they spend per year?

afcjets wrote:

berari wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

Given the situation, and the fact that ATL was not her final destination, she should have been rerouted through another hub, not told to go home and come back 13 hours later. She ended up being rebooked by Delta on American to PHX, which was a suitable option in case a reroute wasn't available. But not after the agents at RDU told her to go home and come back later.

And yes, what's the point of pumping $10,000 a year of business through 1 airline, if you can't at least get rerouting priority or decent bit of help out of it? I know it's not a lot compared to some flyers, but this is a fairly routine benefit to expect of any level of loyalty status.

Oh honey, $10,000 per year is the reason why she was told to wait 13 hours. She's likely on the lower end of Platinums. Some passengers spend at least that much on a single round trip.

Are you saying Delta ranks their second highest status level based on how much money they spend per year?

He's saying that 10k a year does not make one the center of the world. While there may or may not be a straight-up list, I tend to expect that Diamond status, Premium pax, and pax on big premium contracts would get priority.

afcjets wrote:

berari wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

Given the situation, and the fact that ATL was not her final destination, she should have been rerouted through another hub, not told to go home and come back 13 hours later. She ended up being rebooked by Delta on American to PHX, which was a suitable option in case a reroute wasn't available. But not after the agents at RDU told her to go home and come back later.

And yes, what's the point of pumping $10,000 a year of business through 1 airline, if you can't at least get rerouting priority or decent bit of help out of it? I know it's not a lot compared to some flyers, but this is a fairly routine benefit to expect of any level of loyalty status.

Oh honey, $10,000 per year is the reason why she was told to wait 13 hours. She's likely on the lower end of Platinums. Some passengers spend at least that much on a single round trip.

Are you saying Delta ranks their second highest status level based on how much money they spend per year?

I'm saying the sense of entitlement should be in for a reality check.

What entitlement? She was given no options at RDU, when there were clear options available. Again, what's the point of status, if you can't even receive the minimal amount of help in rerouting?

berari wrote:

Oh honey, $10,000 per year is the reason why she was told to wait 13 hours. She's likely on the lower end of Platinums. Some passengers spend at least that much on a single round trip.

$10k? Someone who buys two first class US-Europe tickets a year will spend more than that. Definitely not enough to get priority over anyone except non-DL frequent flyers. But the story is pretty bizarre, regardless. DL's 7:30 RDU-ATL flight operated 3 1/2 hours late so there isn't any apparent reason for a passenger to be told to come back 13 hours later. Unless she was bumped to open a seat for a bigger spending platinum who missed the earlier flight.

2Holer4Longhaul wrote:

afcjets wrote:

berari wrote:

Oh honey, $10,000 per year is the reason why she was told to wait 13 hours. She's likely on the lower end of Platinums. Some passengers spend at least that much on a single round trip.

Are you saying Delta ranks their second highest status level based on how much money they spend per year?

He's saying that 10k a year does not make one the center of the world. While there may or may not be a straight-up list, I tend to expect that Diamond status, Premium pax, and pax on big premium contracts would get priority.

Of course F/J passengers and those with a higher Medallion status would get priority.

I was specifically asking him about his claim she might be being punished for being on the "lower end of Platinums."

berari wrote:

I'm saying the sense of entitlement should be in for a reality check.

Why would you say that? Clearly another DL agent and DL's policy allowed for her to rebooked on AA.

But I am sure you as an a.netter and/or nonrev would not look for an alternate flight if you did not get on the flight you planned to take and were initially told your only option is 13 hours later on a domestic route with tons of possible route combinations on a random mid-week day where most flights are operating.

IPFreely wrote:

berari wrote:

Oh honey, $10,000 per year is the reason why she was told to wait 13 hours. She's likely on the lower end of Platinums. Some passengers spend at least that much on a single round trip.

$10k? Someone who buys two first class US-Europe tickets a year will spend more than that. Definitely not enough to get priority over anyone except non-DL frequent flyers. But the story is pretty bizarre, regardless. DL's 7:30 RDU-ATL flight operated 3 1/2 hours late so there isn't any apparent reason for a passenger to be told to come back 13 hours later. Unless she was bumped to open a seat for a bigger spending platinum who missed the earlier flight.

I honestly fail to see how this juvenile ridicule is justified for me mentioning she had Platinum status, which is a advertised benefit during IRROPS. It's not entitlement, it's a matter of the agent being lazy or unprepared. When she told me, she was on the way home, I thought there was another armageddon on the way with Delta. But that wasn't the case.

IPFreely wrote:

But the story is pretty bizarre, regardless. DL's 7:30 RDU-ATL flight operated 3 1/2 hours late so there isn't any apparent reason for a passenger to be told to come back 13 hours later. Unless she was bumped to open a seat for a bigger spending platinum who missed the earlier flight.

Or more likely the long delay would have caused her to mis-connect and there were no seats available ATL-PHX until much later.

2Holer4Longhaul wrote:

afcjets wrote:

berari wrote:

Oh honey, $10,000 per year is the reason why she was told to wait 13 hours. She's likely on the lower end of Platinums. Some passengers spend at least that much on a single round trip.

Are you saying Delta ranks their second highest status level based on how much money they spend per year?

He's saying that 10k a year does not make one the center of the world. While there may or may not be a straight-up list, I tend to expect that Diamond status, Premium pax, and pax on big premium contracts would get priority.

Again, it wasn't about jumping anybody to get to Atlanta. I'm not sure how you automatically jump to that conclusion. It's about not offering her any alternative routes, or what was eventually done (rebooked on American) after I gave her the advice.

afcjets wrote:

Or more likely the long delay would have caused her to mis-connect and there were no seats available ATL-PHX until much later.

True, but why not get her to ATL on her original flight anyway? She could go standby on the next ATL-PHX flights and if there were a lot of delayed flights someone else's mis-connection would probably open up a seat. If not and she has to wait until much later for a PHX flight, at least she's already in ATL and not at the mercy of a later RDU-ATL flight being late or cancelled.

IPFreely wrote:

afcjets wrote:

Or more likely the long delay would have caused her to mis-connect and there were no seats available ATL-PHX until much later.

True, but why not get her to ATL on her original flight anyway? She could go standby on the next ATL-PHX flights and if there were a lot of delayed flights someone else's mis-connection would probably open up a seat. If not and she has to wait until much later for a PHX flight, at least she's already in ATL and not at the mercy of a later RDU-ATL flight being late or cancelled.

Since it was the start of her trip, most people would probably rather go home and come back 13 hours later (unless they live a long way from their home airport) than be on standby all day on fully booked flights with no guarantee.

Speaking as someone who has been displaced multiple times by these sorts of issues on Delta, agents are hilariously unprepared for these sorts of issues. Whether it’s poor training, or a company culture of being straight up unhelpful, I have no idea. The agents will only propose rebooking on another airline if the passenger says “hey I know there are a million AA flights to PHX via various hubs”. Getting someone from RDU to PHX should be a piece of cake. Regardless of entitlement or not, platinum status should still give you a better answer than “come back in 13 hours” it should get you an “ATL should be open in however long storms are supposed to last, or we can try to route you through SLC, or through CLT/DFW/ORD/LAX on AA.”

afcjets wrote:

IPFreely wrote:

afcjets wrote:

Or more likely the long delay would have caused her to mis-connect and there were no seats available ATL-PHX until much later.

True, but why not get her to ATL on her original flight anyway? She could go standby on the next ATL-PHX flights and if there were a lot of delayed flights someone else's mis-connection would probably open up a seat. If not and she has to wait until much later for a PHX flight, at least she's already in ATL and not at the mercy of a later RDU-ATL flight being late or cancelled.

Since it was the start of her trip, most people would probably rather go home and come back 13 hours later (unless they live a long way from their home airport) than be on standby all day on fully booked flights with no guarantee.

Actually looking at Flightaware, DL operated all 14 lights for the day - all with varying delays. Sounds as if that was an operational error, and DL planned a normal meltdown. Things didn't go as planned, and flight in question ended up just 3 hours late.
Telling someone to come back 12 hours later is strange in this case. Rebooking to next flight with open seats, without guarantee it would operate at all? Probably a good way to encourage people to cancel and free up seats.

QXAS wrote:

Speaking as someone who has been displaced multiple times by these sorts of issues on Delta, agents are hilariously unprepared for these sorts of issues. Whether it’s poor training, or a company culture of being straight up unhelpful, I have no idea. The agents will only propose rebooking on another airline if the passenger says “hey I know there are a million AA flights to PHX via various hubs”. Getting someone from RDU to PHX should be a piece of cake. Regardless of entitlement or not, platinum status should still give you a better answer than “come back in 13 hours” it should get you an “ATL should be open in however long storms are supposed to last, or we can try to route you through SLC, or through CLT/DFW/ORD/LAX on AA.”

Delta has no obligation to rebook passengers on other airlines. In fact their recent breakup and return to interlining with AA showed that DL prides itself on sending fewer passengers to other airlines than other airlines send to DL. One of the ways they do this is by telling passengers to go away for 13 hours instead of rebooking them on AA. So I would guess that agents are trained to never offer rebooking on other airlines unless the customer asks/demands, as you speculate.

As an experienced Gate Agent, who has also had experience with ramp and baggage service. I can tell you that most of these issues stem from simple experience at the customer service level. You can train an agent all day till their brains overload and explode but it will not mean a thing till they experience an event and can start to apply what they have learned and trained for.

With almost 10 years of experience in Delta (over 15 years in customer service) and working in 8 different stations, I have had the privilege and opportunity to develop my customer service skills and airline experience. Many agents are new, some are not all AV GEEKS like you and I. If you do not live and breath this stuff to the core, how is it rational to think that everyone does or that people know the in's and out's to this industry. The airline industry is highly complex and it takes a great deal of time for individuals to learn the craft. Do any of you expect to go into Nordstrom and ask workers there about policies or issues going on in Macy's?

Delta's policy is take care of the passenger as best as possible at the first point of contact. Now I am sorry to hear what has happened and I was not there in RDU or ATL. However I can say from many observations that the gate agent or counter agent was trying to help, but maybe lacked the experience to fully guide help the issue. Perhaps in our system it gave them no options or that there were no options OAL when the agents first looked. I am willing to bet that a Red Coat there in RDU might have said hey, we could taxi you to CLT and fly you out on an AA flight if there was no option else were on DL Metal.

I and other agents here in SEA often call AS, UA, or AC to check for seats and rebook passengers, and I have had experience and witnessed agents do this in other stations too.

Understand that we are humans, doing the best we can, with what we have, based on what we know, and have experienced.

2Holer4Longhaul wrote:

mcdu wrote:

ScrantonUSC wrote:

My wife's flight from RDU-ATL at 07:xx in the morning, boarded then deplaned. She is now scheduled to leave at 17:30, which is ridiculous for a Platinum. Her rescheduled flight from ATL-PHX at night is now delayed even further.

Based on the replies to your wife's issue and rebooking. I would hope you show her the way the Delta employees and supporters think of her loyalty. If you live in the SE you could probably get a matching AA status if she is willing to give it a try. Also if UAL works for you I suspect they would match her status also and perhaps her dedicated travel would be more greatly appreciated and not mocked as it has been here.

I'm sure they will. United is, after all, well-renowned for its operational reliability, on-time performance, and friendly staff.
As for AA, we all know that DFW is a friendly, non-crowded hub to connect through, and O'Hare is absolutely not delay-prone.
Sarcasm aside, all airlines have operational meltdowns now and then. All of them have thousands of elites, and none of them will furnish said elites with private jets every time a flight gets delayed or cancelled.

In case you missed this. UAL was actually best in ontime. That’s with hubs in EWR, SFO and ORD. Three of the most ATC delay impacted airports in the country. Well done by UAL

https://www.yahoo.com/news/united-leads-list-time-us-223428972.html

SEAxSANxBOS wrote:

I am willing to bet that a Red Coat there in RDU might have said hey, we could taxi you to CLT and fly you out on an AA flight if there was no option else were on DL Metal.

I'd take that bet in a second. Delta paying for a 160 mile taxi ride and a seat on another airline because of a weather event? That's the best laugh I've had today.

I wouldn't, he is a gate agent for DL and has likely done something like that. It would make more sense to fly AA RDU-CLT though if seats are open.

IPFreely wrote:

SEAxSANxBOS wrote:

I am willing to bet that a Red Coat there in RDU might have said hey, we could taxi you to CLT and fly you out on an AA flight if there was no option else were on DL Metal.

I'd take that bet in a second. Delta paying for a 160 mile taxi ride and a seat on another airline because of a weather event? That's the best laugh I've had today.

Yeah, sometimes OAL and taxi even for weather. I have taxied medallions from both IND, SDF and CVG for weather reasons. Thunderstorms roll through ATL in the afternoon and your Platinum or Diamond is looking at a few days lost. Yeah you do what you need to do to take care of the passenger. Is it the norm for weather or "acts of god"? Not always. Depends on the situation. Like I explained ealier.

Customer service from the Heart is drilled into us daily, and if you have management that backs you and knows that you are trying to do the right thing. Then you are doing the right thing. Sorry if you ever had a bad experience, just know that there are 80000~ Delta employees and we are all human.

The online redcoats are always virtual heroes after the fact. The problem is actions speak louder than words. And the actions of the real redcoats in RDU were to tell the passenger to go away and come back and try again 13 hours later. And we're not just talking about any old passenger here -- this was a Platinum, in case that was missed. The good news is the passenger can now print out this thread. And the next time she faces a 13 hour delay she can show the printout of this thread to the Delta agent as proof that they will do what they need to do to accommodate her without a 13 hour delay.

ScrantonUSC wrote:

2Holer4Longhaul wrote:

Given the situation, and the fact that ATL was not her final destination, she should have been rerouted through another hub, not told to go home and come back 13 hours later. She ended up being rebooked by Delta on American to PHX, which was a suitable option in case a reroute wasn't available. But not after the agents at RDU told her to go home and come back later.

And yes, what's the point of pumping $10,000 a year of business through 1 airline, if you can't at least get rerouting priority or decent bit of help out of it? I know it's not a lot compared to some flyers, but this is a fairly routine benefit to expect of any level of loyalty status.

It's unclear from your posts whether she rebooked herself on the app (recommended), called reservations (2nd choice for an FF) or actually waited to talk to an agent. Any FF would know that if you wait for an agent, you're: A) wasting a lot of time, and B) other pax are taking the seats on other flights while you waste time being a sheep.

Regardless of which rebooking scenario above, she must have agreed to it, otherwise she'd be an IDB since her orig flight operated (according to other posters)... You can't really blame DL for your wife's decision. I guess you can hate on them for having full flights, but that's certainly not unique to DL.

Your wife could have stayed on her flight and tried to standby for whichever was leaving first, if she was in a hurry to get to PHX. As a PM she'd have great prio. A PM should know how to navigate a little IROPS.

FWIW, as a RDU based DM, I probably would have taken the option for a later flight (not thru a hub that experienced the storm) and just gone home for a few hours. For me, it also would have depended on the seat available. I would not accept a middle for a flight that long. Usually as a PM/DM you have an even higher chance of upgrade during IROPS).