DL Standby List Not What It Seems?

I have in the past commented favorably on the Delta system of displaying standby status, and upgrade status, on large flat screens at the gate. This tells you whether you have a chance of making the flight, as it shows your position on the list, as well as the number of seats available.

Recently though ,I discovered that things are not quite what they seem. Due to delays at PHL (again), I was lucky to be able to get on an earlier flight, and also arrived in time for an earlier connection. Of course, without a reservation I was placed on the standby list, but I was glad to see that I was number one on the list. Once the flight had been boarded I felt that my chances were good, until the gate agent called up four passengers, with names that did not appear on the standby list and proceeded to board them. I also noticed that these passengers were indeed holding seat request cards and not full boarding passes.

So why were these names not the standby list? Were these some kind of special passengers, or were they friends of the gate agent?

P.S. The good news is that after allowing these other passengers on, we were lined up in order of the standby list, and allowed to board and take any seat, one by one. So I did make it onto the flight. I would have been a very unhappy camper though, if I had not made it.

Delta, it is not much good providing information, if the information that you provide is flawed!

A new income stream....

...but more inconvenience for frequent travelers.

I took a week off from flying last week, and worked from home. When I wnet to check my seats this week for my return I noticed that DL has a new "feature", Coach Choice seats. These are seats which are held open until 24 hours before the flight departs, and then can be purchased 'for a token fee'. The good news is that Elite level members do not need to pay, the bad news is that they are using half the exit row seats for this money spinner.

This means I have to set an alarm to remind me to log on exactly 24 hours before deaprtue, so I can get these special seats. Just an extra hassle that I could do without.