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I am a non dependent of a Delta employee, my mother, and i would like to travel to Copenhagen, Denmark and Frankfurt, Germany from July 18th - July 27th 2003. One possibility I have seen to get to CPH is going through CGD. What I have heard about CDG and nonrev's makes me think that is a bad idea, besides I don't think I can travel on Air france. To get around this, I am thinking about going into Brussels, Belgium and getting a $99 ticket to CPH through europebyair.com. Can anyone tell me if this is a good idea and what the chances are to get a flight with a hire date of 120202 and S3 priority? Also, I would like to return from Frankfurt Germany on July 27th. Can anyone give me an suggestions there? Thanks!!
Chris
crt4946@yahoo.com
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Are you willing to spend a couple of days in Brussels? I'd consider trying to get to Brussels a day or two early and buying the confirmed ticket. OR, fly to Frankfurt or Amsterdam and take the train.
CDG isn;t *all* bad; usually the frustrations arise when you're trying to get back to North America. I've taken several connecting flights through CDG without incident, and a few that didn't go very well, but it wouldn't discourage me from doing it again--I *know* going in it is potentially a hassle.
Most importantly, understand that you won't be making a tight connection; if you check baggage, you will have to go through customs and reclaim it, and I've waited an hour for baggage there.
CPH is a wonderful city; have a ssafe, fun trip.
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Chris,
I believe that Delta are in an alliance with AF hence I assume that if you cannot fly subload on AF then you cannot fly subload on any other carrier. If this is not the case then which carriers can you fly with. Also S3 is a Delta category .. what is the IATA category i.e ID90 , ID100 etc as this will give a better idea of your chances. CDG is OK to transfer through except you have to walk a long long way and it takes time.
PJ
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Chris,
I too am a with Delta. You might want to check my novel length post to a simular question in the EUROPE index regarding Atlanta and CDG.
As far as DL pass benefits on AF, we have the ability to fly AF. We have an ID96 reciprocal agreement with AF for coach class travel only. While DL does not always enforce this 100% for AF nrsa's, AF DOES enforce it for DL and other airlines. NRSA (Non rev space available) travel at AF is a "culture" in which Business class is not a priviledge given to non-revs.
As far as the boarding priority goes, when you fly AF, all AF employees are boarded first and then all DL employees by employeement date. AF does not recognise our priority levels...so the S3 is the same as anything else.
One last note on your S3 status...when you are flying Delta flights as a non-dependant, your priority is S3B, not S3. If you are traveling with your mom, then you are allowed to fly S3. Now thats the policy...here is what really happens. There are so many non-rev flyers who can fly S3 but that also have to buy the yield fare tickets (i.e. Companion Cards), that most agents will not recognise you are a non-dependant. Since Deltamatic (computer system) will allow an agent to list you S3 if you are traveling with the employee, it will also not warn the agent they incorrectly list you S3 without the employee. Just be warned in case you get hassled or if the Pass Bureau comes after you. (Which will probably never happen, they have all those Buddy pass problems to deal with with are much more important in their eyes!) In the odd case they do say something, it is understandable that you plead ignorance, it is most agents who list without asking anyway.
Another note...Always make sure that when you fly DL as a non-dependant, that you ensure you do NOT get listed as an S4. Since you have that service charge pass, some agents confuse them with Buddy Passes and will list you S4. As I'm sure you know....that would put you at the very bottom of the list.
As for your hire date...you're right, its not so good. However, it is not as bad as you may think. The biggest hardship flying nonrev on Delta these days is being on a Buddy Pass. Since you are flying on an active priority, you're still not all that bad off. I have listed the Delta priorities below.
DL Non-Rev Boarding Priorities
-(Within each level, riders are ranked by employment date. In the case of a subload (OAL) pax, the day of travel is used.)
S1 - Emergency/Death Pass issued by company
S1R - Incentive passes given to some dept in 2001
S2 - Active Employees Vacation pass (3 pass/yr)
S3 - Active Employee Unlimited Normal Pass
S3B - Retired, Parents, and Non-dependants
S3C - Worldspan (non-grandfathered), DeltaTech, and other affiliate companies
S3D - ???? I just know it exists
S4 - Family and Friends Service Charge Passes. (Also called Buddy Passes). These take the DOE of the employee who gave you the pass.
S4B - SkyTeam Alliance airline using ID96. OAL (subload) pax on ID75/90/95/96 passes (DOE is day of travel)
S4C - AD75 and related fares for travel agencies
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I forgot one thing. Flying within Europe once you are there is very easy. Even as a non-dependant, you are eligible for SkyTeam ID96 fares. This means you pay 96% off of the full-fare Y class fare. This is still standby.
Another agreement to know about for DL nrsa's is with Swiss Airlines. You can get ID95 on Swiss flights. Swiss will, unlike Skyteam, allow you to book the ID95 on a C business class fare. In fact, for most inner-europe flights the C fare and the full Y fare are the same on Swiss. Cool heh?!
UPDATE: Apparently ID95 tickets on Swiss are supposed to be issued as Y. Y and C are the same fare inter-europe, but an ID95 in C internationally will cost more. Most Swiss agents will honor a ID95 in C for business standby, while others will not (which is the official line.) If you try for the C ticket, also buy a backup ticket issued in Y class so that if you get there and C is full or the agent will only let you standby for Y, you can refund the more expensive C ticket. Make sense?
As far as being a non-dependant goes, "technically" you are not eligible for ID90/95/75 fares outside of SkyTeam. Most US CTO (city ticket offices) are good and catching this and enforcing it. There are different rumors about non-dependants and travel companions be able to buy some ID9x tickets. I guess you can always see what happens.
To clear some confusion for other airline employees out there...at Delta we are allowed to do self-ticketing in the DL computer system for ID90 type tickets. As I understand it, this is not the case for most non-USA airlines. Apparently you must go through your Staff travel office. Can some of you with different airlines confirm this. I was always curious!
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Just got back from Trip to London and Copenhagen!!
I had an awesome trip and the flights worked out very well! I ended up going NRSA to london gatwick, then I bought confirmed round trip ticket on SAS to go from LGW to CPH. Even with 37 nonrevs for the 11AM flight on saturday the 26th out of Gatwick to CVG, I got Business Class. That was an experience!!
The trip overall was wonderful and I saw so many places. Even made it up to Malmo Sweden one day. If anyone is interested in making a trip to Copenhagen, I can tell you some very interesting and fun places to go. I'm going to try to make it back next summer, only the next time I'm going to take easyjet from STN to CPH. Tickets are about 6 pounds one way if you book in advance! Thanks for all the advice and hope to be posting about another trip soon!!
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Write up a detailed trip report with photos. Haven't made it to CPH yet but would love to see/hear about it.
http://www.nonrev.net/correspondents/images/randy.jpg
