Involuntary Downgrade on BA - what to do

[Andrew_Sunline]

Hi there, My wife was flying back on a Premium Economy BA ticket Milan to Sydney (via London) on BA. It was booked with Expedia. After BA was delayed 40 minutes from Milan Linate to LHR, BA didn't wait at LHR for the connection to HK so they put her on a Qatar flight the next morning (and paid for a hotel room). The problem was Qatar doesn't have Premium Economy and they refused to give her Business, so she effectively got an involuntary downgrade to economy.
Now Expedia and BA are both giving us a lack of firm compensation and are saying it will take 6 weeks til they possibly compensate us. The difference in fare value between economy and premium economy was about 1200 euros for return (so 600 euros for one way). Am I entitled to this amount? How should I guarantee that I get the most back?

 

[TomVexille]

Welcome to AFF.

I'd start by researching what she might be entitled to under the EU261 regulations

 

[Happy Trails]

Lots of info here:

The 2019 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation EC261/2004 - FlyerTalk Forums

British Airways | Executive Club - The 2019 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation EC261/2004 - 1) Introduction This thread is intended to help FlyerTalkers who think they may be entitled to EC261 compensation when flying on British Airways. This is not about the rights and wrongs of...

www.flyertalk.com

FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - The 2016 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation 261/2004

Post 26864509 - FlyerTalk is a living, growing community where frequent travelers around the world come to exchange knowledge and experiences about everything miles and points related.

www.flyertalk.com

 

[Max Samuels]

Lots of info here:

The 2019 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation EC261/2004 - FlyerTalk Forums

British Airways | Executive Club - The 2019 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation EC261/2004 - 1) Introduction This thread is intended to help FlyerTalkers who think they may be entitled to EC261 compensation when flying on British Airways. This is not about the rights and wrongs of...

www.flyertalk.com

Wow - according to the link that's a 75% refund of the original ticket price!

 

[Daver6]

Some might argue that QR Y is better than BA Y+...

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Wow - according to the link that's a 75% refund of the original ticket price!

My understanding is that this has been modified to 75% of the sector price - not the total ticket price. So a $10,000 4-segment ticket is not going to get $7.5K back for one leg downgraded, it will be 10K/4 @ 75%.

 

[wandering_fred]

And I believe the relative distances of the flight segments.

Happy wandering
Fred

 

[MEL_Traveller]

And I believe the relative distances of the flight segments.

Happy wandering
Fred

Yes.

 

[Max Samuels]

My understanding is that this has been modified to 75% of the sector price - not the total ticket price. So a $10,000 4-segment ticket is not going to get $7.5K back for one leg downgraded, it will be 10K/4 @ 75%.

That would be the logical assumption but an article in one of the links discussed that this is somewhat vague and that it has been interpreted differently in different cases..... sometimes sector by sector, sometimes the entire ticket value

 

[Max Samuels]

That would be the logical assumption but an article in one of the links discussed that this is somewhat vague and that it has been interpreted differently in different cases..... sometimes sector by sector, sometimes the entire ticket value

"However the CAA has advised us that their interpretation is that the whole ticket is used to calculate downgrades, not just the affected leg; equally we know of situations where BA only compensated the effected leg. Also note that you may be entitled to further consumer protection: for example if the Regulation's compensation was less than the amount paid the upgrade (such as an airport upgrade)...."

 

[MEL_Traveller]

"However the CAA has advised us that their interpretation is that the whole ticket is used to calculate downgrades, not just the affected leg; equally we know of situations where BA only compensated the effected leg. Also note that you may be entitled to further consumer protection: for example if the Regulation's compensation was less than the amount paid the upgrade (such as an airport upgrade)...."

I'm not sure if this is old (or cached) information? It was that way at the start, but changed a while ago.

The current CAA page clearly states that compensation for a downgrade is based on the portion of the flight downgraded, (my underlining):

Being reimbursed when downgraded
If you are downgraded, your airline must reimburse you within seven days. The amount you receive is calculated as a percentage of what you paid for your ticket, and depends on the length of your flight:

• For short-haul flights of less than 1,500km, you will receive 30% of the price of the flight.
• For medium-haul flights of 1,500km – 3,500km, or flights within the EU of more than 1,500km, you will receive 50% of the price of the flight.
• For long haul flights of more than 3,500km, you will receive 75% of the price of the flight.

It is likely you will only receive a refund for the portion of your journey that was downgraded.

For instance, if you booked a return ticket for £1,000, but were only downgraded on the return leg, your reimbursement may be calculated as a percentage of £500.

Full page: Your rights when you are downgraded | UK Civil Aviation Authority

 

[Andrew_Sunline]

ok so here's the latest. ticket (booked with expedia) cost 2500 euros. downgraded section was london to sydney so approx 97% of one way miles (46.5% of total return flight miles).

ba gave me back 21 euros to my cc without notifying me. when i called them they told me expedia hadn't told them how much each leg cost therefore they gave me 21 euros according to their "calculations" which is less than 1% of total ticket cost!!.
now expedia "will get back to me". i'm demanding 46.5% x 2500euros x 75%.
Thoughts?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

ok so here's the latest. ticket (booked with expedia) cost 2500 euros. downgraded section was london to sydney so approx 97% of one way miles (46.5% of total return flight miles).

ba gave me back 21 euros to my cc without notifying me. when i called them they told me expedia hadn't told them how much each leg cost therefore they gave me 21 euros according to their "calculations" which is less than 1% of total ticket cost!!.
now expedia "will get back to me". i'm demanding 46.5% x 2500euros x 75%.
Thoughts?

I think that sounds right!

The 21 euros is probably BA's calculation based on a full one way walk-up (ie last minute) economy fare compared to the 1/2 round-trip premium economy fare. They'll sort it out for you.