DL Buddy Pass to CDG

I am a non-rev with Delta. I live in Switzerland and have been forced to figure out most of the "tricks" for getting to/from Europe from Atlanta and the east coast.

RULE 1: Obey rules 7 and higher expicitly!

RULE 2: DON'T FLY INTO CDG!!

Reason: Most non-revs think that bce CDG is the Delta/AF hub and that there are 4 flights from ATL and another dozen from other east coast cities, that they have a good chance. Most of the time it doesn't go so easy.
First, both DL and AF book the st*t out of those flights very reliably. Second, the NRSA list is crazy. And if you do get on, BusinessElite is almost never an option. One bad idea is for DL non-revs trying for the AF flights and vice versa. This is because out of ATL, preference is given to the airline employees of the operating airline first. I think this is fair. So if you are a DL nrsa trying for the AF flight, an S1R or S2, probably will do NOTHING for you. An even worst wrap is any S4 buddy passes. They are the bottom of both operations.
Another note...Air France does not allow ANY non-revs from either airline to ride in Business Class. I have heard rumors that from ATL-CDG non-revs on the 2 AF flights using S1R or S2 sometimes get seated up front bce of DL staff working the flight. But this is just a rumor, and is rare. The sad thing is that because AF has enforced this so staunchly, DL now will not allow AF employees to board BusinessElite.
The last reason to stay away from the last 2 flights is that DL generally does NOT hold international departures for mis-connects. Even if a weather system is producing a large number of misconnects, they do all they can to get the flights out on time. This is important bce of the incredibly short turn arounds in Europe. If they run late out of ATL, it impacts the next several days of flights and becomes a domino effect that is hard to correct. Because of this, all the afternoon misconnects get routed on the last 2 ATL-CDG flights bce they leave so late and pax can connect on the AF route system to their final destination. It is not rare for DL 8251 (operated by AF) which leaves at 935p to have 60 seats open the morning of departure, and go out without clearing any non-revs.

RULE 3: Have optimism on the earlier non-stop flights to other cities.

Because of what I mentioned above (the fact that DL does not hold flights for misconnects), other European flights that leave late afternoon generally are not as badly oversold as Deltamatic shows. I imagine everyone knows this, but I'll say it anyway...Look at the "Authorized Seat Inventory." This number is a tale tale sign of typical no-show rate. DL has invested in very fancy and complex forcasting software to handle the issue of overbooking that the airline was so bad at in the late 90s. While the AU inventory is not so reliable on the domestic market, it is quite a good indicator on the international side. For example...if "Actual Avail" in Coach is -11 and "Authorized Avail (AU)" is still +39, then the flight is not so bad. This indicates that the airline is expecting at least 50 no-shows or misconnects.

RULE 4: Don't be fooled by day of departure BusinnessElite inventory.

In some markets, in certain times of the year, coach will oversell, but J class will be wide open. See example below. You will be able to see the actual inventory the last few days of sell. Here's the catch...If J class is open and Y class is overbooked, on the morning of departure or day before, DL Inventory Control will block out J class inventory in case of an oversell checkin. If you pull a basic schedule list inventory (F9 A9 Y9 B9....) in Deltamatic or call the voice response Traveline, it will indicate -0- seats for Actual and Authorized Availability. DON'T sweat it! If you have access to DeltaNET or DeltaMatic, pull up the actual flight inventory, and you will still see that all those wonderful, expensive BusinessElite seats are still open. And most of the time, most of the non-revs get them with very little overflow into coach!

Example: DL116 Atlanta to Stuttgart on a Friday
Traveline VRU Inventory on Monday:
J = Actual +29 // Authorised +32
Y = Actual -19 // Authorised +11

Traveline VRU Inventory on Friday AM early:
J = Actual 0 // Authorised 0
Y = Actual -29 // Authorised 0
The truth in Deltamatic for J is: Actual = 29 and Authorised is 0.

They do this to ensure they get everone on, and to keep nonrevs from flocking to the flight the last 1 hr of checkin. Like I said, a bunch of the brave non-revs who stuck it out get rewarded with BusinessElite. I cannot tell you how often this has been the case with a crazy oversell in coach and I have gotten on Business using only a S3 with like 15 S1R and S2 above me! What a waste of a S1R when S3's still get business. (Granted, my DOE is 1968 which does change the equation I guess).

RULE 5: Know where our light loads are!...

And where the good conx cities are in Europe. Here's a hint...with the SkyTeam alliance (ID96) of AF, Alitalia, and Czech, you are pretty much covered wherever you end up.
As for the best bets to try for historically...that's a hard secret to give up. Who knows how many of you are reading this?! I could be stabbing myself for giving this opinion! Oh well...I'm a nice guy. I'll give you my top 3 cities that I think historically give us non-revs the best chance. Granted, these flights sometimes leave us stranded too, its part of the game we play. I think Brussels, Zurich, and Stuttgart are on the top of the list. (Not neccesarily in that order though!)

RULE 6: Be flexible, if possible, and aim for TUES and WED evening flights.

They have the least revenue bookings and the least non-revs. Especially 9 months out of the year! (Guess which three aren't good ever...hint they are HOT.) Flexibility the last few days can generally increase your odds for Business Class.

RULE 7, 8, 9, & 10 - 100: HAVE BACKUP ID90/95's

I can't even begin to express to you how important this is. You can only get ID90/95/96 Passes at Delta mainline cities in Europe that operate Delta aircraft. If you end up traveling around and flying out of a city that has no Delta service but has a SkyTeam carrier, you MUST already have the ID9x passes. Neither SkyTeam carriers or GSA offices have the ability to issue needed tickets. You will be up a creek. Paper carbon tickets will NOT work like they used to with Air France/Sabena/Swiss/Austrian. Remember, the ones you don't use are 100% refundable.

One more note: I recommend waiting to buy your passes when you are in Europe. Europe based DL staff are much more familiar with ID90 pass tkt procedures than are US staff. They can both competently do it, however US staff generally have to research the tkt designators, procedures and all while a line of 50 revenue pax queue up behind you.

In conclusion...
I will say this (knock on wood) in over 50 segments across the atlantic both directions, I have NEVER flown coach. I'm not bragging...I will gladly accept seat 55E when my day comes...I'm sure it will. I have been left standing on several occasions. Do your homework and use the network SkyTeam has built in Europe.

One last thing that I have not mentioned here is that it will be interesting to see how helpful the new NW/CO alliance will be for non-revs. Effective July 1, 2003, DL/NW/CO pass riders are eligible for ID95 passes system wide. Unlike SkyTeam alliance, you can even fly business class on NW/CO as long as the ID95 is issued on a C or J class fare code! And as of late spring 2003, DL and LX (Swiss Airlines) also have ID95 agreement which also allows Business class if issued on C/J fare. COOL BEANS!

See...why do DL non-revs need Air France and CDG?!!

To French_Pilot...I know this info is a little out of date for you by a few days, but hopefully it will help others and you on future trips!