I don't have the exact verbiage in front of me but I believe there are two different policies regarding commuters. One in the PWA and one in the FOM. The one that gets you a seat on the second flight is in the FOM I believe and requires the second flight to be Delta or Delta Connection. The one in the PWA is the one that just keeps you from getting in trouble as long as you had a decent plan and it just went south. Maybe a more seasoned commuter can chime in here.

Bottom line is, before you make any big decisions, know both the clauses cold and plan accordingly.

When I was commuting to reserve in ATL last Fall, I was able to use yellow slips to keep things fairly predictable. I would usually get a 4 day trip and be notified at 8AM the day prior to report. Won't always work, but for me it did.