Jagboi

Correct. Separate cabin and booking classes (W, E and T)

remington99

I didn't make any changes except a different seat assignment, and I did that with the Air Canada representative on the phone.

The proof will be what I see in my Aeroplan account after I do the flight.

I will probably have to update the video

gcashin

When you look up your booking (under manage my bookings) on AC's web site, what fare class did they rebook you in? Very concerning if they are rebooking into lower fare classes for an involuntary aircraft swap and not offering a partial refund, preferred seating, or some other compensation.

remington99

It says the fare class if "Flex, V"

Mauricio23

Yesterday I was wavering between routing to Europe in PE through LHR on AC or LH economy through MUC. LH economy is tolerable for me, while AC Y on the 777HD is not (and AC PE on the 777HD, with its rock-hard seats, is nothing to write home about). This thread helped make up my mind. I'll wait to hear from the higher-ups before dropping any money on PE.

canadiancow

So they rebooked you into the lowest Flex fare.

Top of the upgrade list to the bottom

SparseFlyer

Don't worry guys, AC adjusted its PE fares.

You can now book PE for an 80% premium over Tango, so next time we lose the PE seat we will get a massive refund.

We win now right?

ffsim

That's what I suggested earlier. I still don't see why the booking class needs to change... that's a surefire way to make sure there'll be no COS bonus. What stops AC from selling an N or O fare on a 2-class aircraft?

lostinthewash

Mr LITW is on tonight's YYZ-LHR flight, originally booked in PE. Aircraft downgrade. No notice, no call, no email, no nothing. He noticed, because he was checking his booking.

Their "system" rebooked him from PE to lowest Flex fare. Top of the upgrade foodchain to lowest.

AC needs to get their ... together regarding PE. Revenue management and fleet management (is there such a thing?) have a huge disconnect.

Seriously ... in what other industry can you market a "new and improved product" then randomly change the product without telling the customer and without some sort of compensation if you are downgrading.

Messed up.

Lights_a_blur

That is atrocious. It looks like it was changed to an A333, meaning there are 19 more seats in J than the 788. I hope they do the right thing and upgrade him. Please let us know what happens.

I currently have 3 upcoming bookings in PE. If this keeps up and I can't be assured of actually getting the product I paid for, I am switching those bookings to CX.

Jagboi

Isn't that a definition of "bait and switch"?

gcashin

Wow - this sounds like quite a mess if AC is rebooking PE bookings from aircraft swaps into the lowest Flex fare and not offering any compensation.

If someone makes a voluntary SDC from PE to a 2-cabin aircraft, that's one thing, and if AC decides it should book into Flex for a voluntary SDC, as long as they make that clear, then the person has a choice.

However, for an involuntary downgrade of cabin service, the least they could do is book it into a higher economy fare like Latitude so that person can at least get the appropriate mileage, priority services, preferred seating, etc.

Hopefully Ben or Andrew can step in here, as this is really concerning. Also PE differentials have increased recently (recent trip I was looking at to Europe, PE was about $300 above Flex), so rebooking into lowest Flex for an airline initiated equipment change is completely unfair.

Wpgjetse

I don't find the 777 PE seats to hard. 14 hours to HK no problem. I would take the AC PE any day over Yunless I could fly direct. It sound like you are flying out of YVR, Therefor I would take LH direct flight to Munich.

Mauricio23

MUC is not my final destination - the choice is connecting in LHR or MUC.
777 PE seats are survivable if I bring an extra cushion - they are clearly better than LH Y, but also substantially more expensive - there are trade-offs here. Paying that premium without the certainty of receiving the product I paid for is not attractive to me. If I wanted to play the lottery I would buy a lottery ticket, not an airline one.

787 PE seats are a lot better in many dimensions (padding, legroom, entertainment system).

arf04

It certainly is messed up. Though some people here on FT seem to think it's reasonable because the booking class is an economy one, given that PE seats are specifically marketed as being different--and thus worth more--there is the potential to pursue the issue of compensation through legal means. I think booking PE on any of the 787s is risky right now as they move these planes around all the time.
Messed up.