AGENCY FAQs for BOOKING CLASS REALIGNMENT

Q: Why is Delta going through booking class realignment?

A: Delta is realigning Domestic and Latin premium cabin booking classes as part of its ongoing effort to more consistently and transparently display fare choices, while better aligning with our joint venture partners.

Q: What is changing with the Booking Class Alignment?

A: Delta will simplify its front cabin configurations across the Online Network to C-W-Y, where “C” cabin will be used for Delta One & Domestic First.  New booking class codes will be JCDIZO for Domestic First class.

Q: When is this going into effect?

A: Effective October 20, 2018, for passengers booked to/from/through SEA, for travel on or after November 1, 2018.

Q: What happens to bookings that were made before October 20^th schedule change?

A: PNRs created before the October 20 schedule change in the impacted markets will be rebooked into J, C, D, I, Z or O Class, and no action is required.

• Travel agency PNRs will be updated with the new booking class and tickets should be re-validated automatically. 
• Delta will add special PNR documentation (OSI remarks) to itineraries to indicate that a revalidation has occurred (e.g.  OSI 1P REVAL COMPLETE).
• If the ticket is not automatically revalidated, travel agencies must reissue the ticket using normal schedule change guidelines. 

Q: When can I make a new booking with the new fares?

A: New bookings can be created any time after our new flight schedules and fares are available in the GDS.

Q: What if I have an existing booking that is not yet ticketed, will these price correctly after the schedule change occurs?

A: GDS bookings that are not yet ticketed at time of schedule change will remain valid as long as the ticket is booked in the new booking class and issued within the ticketing time limit.

Q: Which booking classes will I see if I make a SEA booking after October 20 for travel departing between October 20 and 31?

A: For travel departing between October 20 and 31, all flights and booking classes will remain under the old structure (F, P, A, G and R).

Q: What will my PNR look like after the booking class realignment and how do I process the schedule change?

A: Delta will perform a schedule change that will update the class of service, replacing the old class of service with the new class of service for the PNRs impacted.

• Travel agency PNRs will be updated with the new booking class and tickets should be re-validated automatically. 
• Delta will add special PNR documentation (OSI remarks) to itineraries to indicate that a revalidation has occurred (e.g.  OSI 1P REVAL COMPLETE).
• If the ticket is not automatically revalidated, travel agencies must reissue the ticket using normal schedule change guidelines. 

Q: What does this mean for Delta Premium Select?

A: Delta Premium Select is not impacted and still utilizes booking classes P, A and G.

Q: What will happen to any special service request codes (SSR) I have previously added to bookings? For example, a pet SSR or a wheelchair SSR?

A: All SSR codes that have been previously added to your bookings will carry over during the schedule change.

Q: If I have an EMD associated to a GDS issued ticket, do I need to contact Delta to have this re-associated to the PNR?

A: No.  Since the ticket will be re-validated, the EMD will remain associated to the PNR and no changes are required. 

Q: What will happen to the pre-reserved seat I selected for my client?

A: All previously selected seats should be re-accommodated into the same seat during the schedule change.

PARTNER IMPACTS

Q: What is the impact on existing partner bookings?

A: All existing partner bookings will be handled through the normal reaccommodation process with no action required by travel agencies.

Q: Will this process affect any partners for future bookings?

A: Korean Air has a fare class mapping limitation that does not allow for different mappings by date range. Beginning October 20th, DL will zero out KE* mapping into the Domestic F cabin on DL in SEA market for flights on or after November 1st to avoid denied sales. Bookings made under DL* or interline bookings will not be impacted. Sales will resume for First class on KE* when booking class alignment expands to all markets in November. Other partners do not have the same limitation and should see no impact. 

 AGENCY IMPACTS

Q: How will my accounts be impacted by this?

A: Accounts with a front-end PoS program (e.g., AC787, AC404, etc.) will not see a change in their eligible commission, as rates are consistent across First and Business Classes for the impacted markets.  Sales Development has updated all program documents and uploaded new versions to each account’s agreement section in Salesforce.

Q: What does this mean for GAIN earnings?

A: Sales Development analyzed the impact to GAIN earnings for all of our accounts and for the vast majority, there is no impact as pay rates / commissions are consistent between Domestic First Class and Business Class.  For accounts that are materially impacted, your Sales Development analyst will reach out to discuss next steps.