QFF EK Award Booking ex-EU downgraded from F to J

[Nat]

Hi All,

I had a QFF EK Award Booking in F ex-EU through to Sydney via Dubai. The EU to Dubai flight was downgraded from F to J as EK swapped the 777-300 to the new 777-200 on this particular day meaning no F was available.

I received an e-mail notification a few days before but left it as I didn't have time to sort out other flights etc. Is it worth calling Qantas now that I have taken the flight to request any points be refunded? What should I ask in this situation?

 

[GoldCanyon340]

If it's on one booking then I don't think you'll get a refund as the higher class DXB-SYD prevails.

 

[opusman]

Under EU 261 you're entitled to 75% of the cost of the flight in compensation.

 

[futaris]

Qantas Downgrade Debacle | Australian Frequent Flyer
EU 261 and downgrades, on reward flights and points-upgraded seats - FlyerTalk Forums
The 2018 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation EC261/2004 - FlyerTalk Forums

 

[Danger]

I think it's fair that you get a reimbursement of the difference in points between J and F on that sector although it would be a bit more complicated if it was a through flight with only a transit in Dubai, as GoldCanyon340 points out. Certainly worth a shot.

 

[serfty]

With eu261, the segment "cost of the ticket" is pro rated on the distance of the downgraded segment in relation to the entire distance of the booking.

Take the base fare excluding +++, apply the above figure and take 75% of that. In this case it's points.

Lets take Paris for example.

192000 is what I believe is the points cost for EK-EK First between Paris CDG and SYD via DXB.

Distances are CDG-DXB 3259 & DXB-SYD 7481 for a total of 10740.

So 3259 / 10740 = 0.3034450652 and the segment fare is 58261 points.

75% of that is 43696.

Good luck getting EK to give you QF points.

 

[Tam]

Hi Nat,
I was just in this situation myself. Downgraded from F to J on a reward flight on Qatar Airways on the Doha to CDG sector, due to change of aircraft.

After several emails with Qantas Frequent Flyer I was given back the difference in points F -> J for this sector. I was fobbed off a few times with generic emails but kept emailing with a new ‘case number’ each time and eventually won out.

 

[opusman]

Good luck getting EK to give you QF points.

You could try claiming what QF would charge if you bought 43K points, i.e. $1200

 

[Nat]

Thanks all for your replies, it sounds like it is worth me contacting Qantas and seeing if they can offer anything. I'll send in a written request and let you know the outcome. I would be more than happy with what Tam managed to achieve, the difference in points F -> J would be fair.

 

[mtbsafari]

Try Airhelp. They have an app, but also an office in Australia.

 

[pks]

This happened to us in August, SYD-DXB-LGW all EK in F using QF points. A flight change DXB-LGW meant no F and downgraded to J. I concated Qantas who initially said yes there would be a points refund, but after calculating F SYD-DXB and J DXB-LGW it was same number of points as F all the way. It also meant we couldn’t access the Emirates F lounge in Dubai.

 

[GlennT]

Had the same problem earlier this year with Qantas award in F EK HKG-DXB leg, due to substitution to a 2 cabin aircraft. Was offered 5,000 pts compensation which I refused to accept. The flight was imminent, so took it (EK 2 cabin Business is cough for those wondering) and resumed my claim on return. After the matter being escalated after speaking to 3 other Customer Care people, I eventually got a refund of 30,000 pts, which is what I originally suggested as fair compensation. This was the difference between First and Business if booked as stand-alone sectors.
The key is to persist, escalate, and above all tell Qantas at the outset what compensation you would find acceptable (keep it reasonable!).
I was very disappointed with the way Qantas handled this matter, from their lack of communication, to attempting to handball the problem to Emirates, and agreeing to meaningful compensation.

 

[flyer001]

Be sure that if downgraded you get the counter staff to sign a docket at the time of downgrading.
i was downgraded from a fully paid Business class trip [no points only cash] and was downgraded to economy as a plane breakdown meant the plane was overbooked.
when i tried to get a refund even though showing Qantas my booking and the actual seats allocated they said no refund as the counter staff had not signed that i was downgraded by them. after arguing about this for a year or so i gave up and normally do not bother flying business class except for long overseas flights.

 

[GlennT]

@pks. You shouldn't fall for that logic! The same thing would have happened to me if I fell for that; re-read my post above and re-open your refund request. Escalate as far as needed to get what you want.

 

[pks]

Thanks @GlennT I’ll pursue with Qantas - 30k points x 2 would help with next years bookings