Temporary Changes Coming To Delta’s Complimentary Comfort+ Upgrades (Select Routes Only)

a large white airplane at an airport

TravelingForMiles.com may receive commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on TravelingForMiles.com are from advertisers and may impact how and where card products appear on the site. TravelingForMiles.com does not include all card companies or all available card offers.

Some links to products and travel providers on this website will earn Traveling For Miles a commission which helps contribute to the running of the site – I’m very grateful to anyone who uses these links but their use is entirely optional. The compensation does not impact how and where products appear on this site and does not impact reviews that are published. For more details please see the advertising disclosure found at the bottom of every page.


Delta has posted a Medallion Member update in which it has announced that automatic upgrades from its Main Cabin to Delta Comfort+ will not be available on select routes from later this year.

The airline is citing “technology updates that will temporarily impact specific Delta aircraft” as the reason why automatic upgrades to Delta Comfort+ will not process on select routes and the airline is urging Medallion Members to manually select their complimentary upgrades in the seat map during the normal clearance window.

The routes affected are as follows:

  • ATL-NRT, MSP-HND, ATL-CDG & MSP-CDG beginning March 1, 2019
  • MSP-ICN beginning April 1, 2019
  • LAX-SYD beginning April 5, 2019
  • CDG-LAX beginning May 24, 2019 (LAX-CDG beginning May 25, 2019)

Here’s how Delta defines the “normal clearance window” for Delta Comfort+ upgrades:

Diamond and Platinum Medallion Members will be upgraded to Delta Comfort+® immediately after booking, if available. Gold Medallion Members will clear beginning 72 hours (3 days) prior to departure and Silver Medallion Members will clear beginning 24 hours (1 day) prior to departure, subject to upgrade availability.

Delta Upgrade Changes
Image courtesy of Delta

Based on the above it would appear as if….

  • Diamond and Platinum members who don’t clear at the time of booking will have to check Delta.com on a frequent basis to see if they can upgrade to Delta Comfort+
  • Gold members should start checking the seat map for Comfort+ availability once they are 72 hours away from departure
  • Silver members should start checking the seat map for Comfort+ availability once they are 24 hours away from departure

Delta has not offered a specific date by which it expects to have the technology updates complete but the airline has moved to reassure flyers that upgrade availability will not be changing:

This temporary change will not impact Complimentary Upgrade availability; Complimentary Upgrades to Delta Comfort+ for these flights are expected to once again be automatic in 2019.

I suspect that the word “later” is missing from between “automatic” and “in” towards the end of that sentence otherwise the update makes little sense.

Bottom Line

If you’re booked to fly any of the routes mentioned above and if you’re hoping to upgrade from a Main Cabin seat to a less cramped Delta Comfort+ seat be aware that you may have to process your upgrade manually – Delta will not be doing it for you.