Downgraded from Business Class.

[BNEFlyer]

Hi all, I'm asking for a friend here...

Paid BNE-LAX-JFK-LAX-BNE in paid J (I) class. My friends (both Gold FF) have checked in (with 9 bags) but received Y boarding passes. Not W, but Y. They have now missed QF12 and QF94 (as well as DL, VA and NZ flights) and are receiving no co-operation from QF in LAX as to why they have been downgraded.

Does anyone have any idea what may have happened and what compensation they should demand, or how else they could be accommodated? They want to get home ASAP so don't want to fly CX via HKG or stay another night.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Red Roo]

Hi all, I'm asking for a friend here...

Paid BNE-LAX-JFK-LAX-BNE in paid J (I) class. My friends (both Gold FF) have checked in (with 9 bags) but received Y boarding passes. Not W, but Y. They have now missed QF12 and QF94 (as well as DL, VA and NZ flights) and are receiving no co-operation from QF in LAX as to why they have been downgraded.

Does anyone have any idea what may have happened and what compensation they should demand, or how else they could be accommodated? They want to get home ASAP so don't want to fly CX via HKG or stay another night.

Thanks in advance.

We'd be happy to follow up with your friend directly if you could send a private message with their booking details as reference.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Hi all, I'm asking for a friend here...

Paid BNE-LAX-JFK-LAX-BNE in paid J (I) class. My friends (both Gold FF) have checked in (with 9 bags) but received Y boarding passes. Not W, but Y. They have now missed QF12 and QF94 (as well as DL, VA and NZ flights) and are receiving no co-operation from QF in LAX as to why they have been downgraded.

Does anyone have any idea what may have happened and what compensation they should demand, or how else they could be accommodated? They want to get home ASAP so don't want to fly CX via HKG or stay another night.

Thanks in advance.

That sounds pretty poor. Your friends are definitely due money back.
The QF policy is below regarding refunds for involuntary downgrades.
http://www.qantas.com.au/agents/dyn/qf/policies/FareRefundTableEffective17Sep12.pdf


Can the lounge staff help with an explanation?

 

[mannej]

Was the original flight overbooked?

 

[EmilyP]

Hi all,

I am the friend and the pax in question are my parents.

Not sure why they were downgraded. Mum was messaging me on FB and lost wifi so didn't get a great explanation other than she is very upset. She is not a great flyer which is why she pays for a Business ticket to try and alleviate things.

Have PM'd Red Roo so hopefully will get some more info.

Emily

 

[JohnPhelan]

Sounds like it was overbooked, though would have thought Gold FFs would have had a reasonable priority and others should have been bumped before them.

The bigger issue here is - aren't airlines supposed to ask pax who would be willing to be downgraded/wait for a later flight when they check-in, rather than just unilaterally bumping people? There could well have been other pax who might have been happy to stay another day, or take a lower class seat and get some extra points/money. But these people were given no choice or options.

The airline should be negotiating, not just telling them they have been downgraded. That's appalling customer service (especially of status pax) and not the first time QF has acted in this way.

 

[lovestotravel]

Downgrading PAID J pax without a good reason is disgusting

Based on what we know so far, VERY POOR FORM QF

 

[mannej]

Based on what we know so far, VERY POOR FORM QF

Very little is known so far...

 

[Ansett]

It is surprising that they have down graded with out any explanation nor asking before hand.

I hope that your friends get sorted and looked after especially as they were paid J. Surely if anyone was on a points redemption they should have been down graded out of anyone.

Wonder if any QF staff were bumped or left in J?

 

[JohnPhelan]

They held J class tickets, and were denied J class seats. (And not offered any other options). That's actually all we need to know - not good enough!!

 

[JohnPhelan]

Surely if anyone was on a points redemption they should have been down graded out of anyone.

Why? It's simply not acceptable for anyone holding a confirmed J class ticket to be unilaterally bumped to a lower class.

 

[Ansett]

Why? It's simply not acceptable for anyone holding a confirmed J class ticket to be unilaterally bumped to a lower class.

Hi JP Agree fully with you was just saying that one would have thought that a person redeeming points versus a paid J customer would have been downgraded first.

Any passenger holding a confirmed ticket in J or F should not be bumped to a lower class unless they agree to it and are compensated properly for it.

 

[kelvedon]

The QF policy is below regarding refunds for involuntary downgrades.
http://www.qantas.com.au/agents/dyn/qf/policies/FareRefundTableEffective17Sep12.pdf

Thanks for that Link Princess Fiona. Am I reading it correctly but the table lists that compensation for Australia to Europe is $1800 for W downgraded to Y but only $180 more ( i.e. $1980) for J downgraded to Y.
Do Qantas only value Business as merely worth $180 more than Premium Economy?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

That sounds pretty poor. Your friends are definitely due money back.
The QF policy is below regarding refunds for involuntary downgrades.
http://www.qantas.com.au/agents/dyn/qf/policies/FareRefundTableEffective17Sep12.pdf


Can the lounge staff help with an explanation?

Worth noting that the Qantas policy on downgrades is more than likely not binding on passengers and should not be accepted without additional compensation. Even if it is somehow in the contract of carriage, it is an unfavourable condition which was not specifically brought to the attention of the contracting parties.

For qantas to suggest a few dollars compensation, when the actual fare difference may be many thousands, is not something likely to get very far.

You would, at the very least, be entitled to the full fare difference.

 

[TomVexille]

Worth noting that the Qantas policy on downgrades is more than likely not binding on passengers and should not be accepted without additional compensation. Even if it is somehow in the contract of carriage, it is an unfavourable condition which was not specifically brought to the attention of the contracting parties.

For qantas to suggest a few dollars compensation, when the actual fare difference may be many thousands, is not something likely to get very far.

You would, at the very least, be entitled to the full fare difference.

The problem is that they usually calculate the fare difference between J and full Y. Not the available discount fare.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The problem is that they usually calculate the fare difference between J and full Y. Not the available discount fare.

Agree. But that is irrelevant. In my opinion the difference should be the business class fare paid, against the lowest discount fare at the time of purchase, or day of travel. Whichever is the greater amount. I would think the law would agree with that calculation.

 

[Pushka]

I would be very disappointed and angry having paid for J then put into Y. There is a world of difference between the two.

I'd also be contacting my credit card as having paid for something I didn't receive.

I hope there is more to this otherwise Q has acted very very poorly especially to a loyal passenger.

 

[Jousams]

As someone who is allergic to conventional blood thinners and has to take extra precautions to avoid DVT (including flying >Y on long haul) I find this outrageous if it was a simple "your now flying in Y".

 

[MEL_Traveller]

This is another example why we need a solid compensation regime similar to EU261.

But to be fair to Qantas, we should wait to hear, at a strategic level, what they have to say. This is something I would expect the company representative to address, so at least if the situation is as the OP describes, we know what happened (specifics aside), and what actions QF will take.

 

[N860CR]

Wonder if any QF staff were bumped or left in J?

As you're well aware, any staff are onloaded only after the flight has closed.

So no. If paid J pax were downgraded then there's a snowballs chance in hell that staff even got into the flight. Not one of them would have been in a premium cabin.