Delta Rolls Out A La Carte Upgrade Pricing, Fixes Comfort+ Upgrade Issue

One major gripe with Delta's complimentary upgrade system was that once Medallion members received an upgrade to a Comfort+ seat, they couldn't select a seat or choose to downgrade back to regular economy if they landed in a middle seat in Comfort+. The airline has now issued a fix for that problem, allowing passengers to select a seat when an upgrade clears, as well as giving them the option to reject an upgrade if the only available upgraded seat is less than desirable. This should be welcome news for those who value exact seat location over the additional perks you'd receive from sitting in Comfort+.

Delta's also providing some more options for customers to customize trips with the ability to purchase upgrades to Comfort+ or premium cabin seats on each segment of a trip rather than per direction only. In the past, if you were flying from Philadelphia (PHL) to Los Angeles (LAX) via Detroit (DTW) and wanted to upgrade your seat, it was an 'all or nothing' approach, meaning if you chose to do so, it'd apply for both segments of the trip. Now, however, you could choose to remain in economy for the shorter PHL-DTW leg, and upgrade your seat to Comfort+ or first class on the significantly longer DTW-LAX flight.

The changes to upgrade pricing are already live, as you can see from the screenshot above. I have an upcoming Delta flight in coach (sad!) from Newark (EWR) to Sao Paulo (GRU) via Atlanta (ATL). The airline's site is breaking down the upgrade possibilities and costs associated with doing so by segment. In this example it's asking $39 for a Comfort+ seat on the EWR - ATL flight, while a paid upgrade to Comfort+ (and business class) isn't available — if it were, it'd display a different price for that leg as well.

H/T: Delta News Hub