jonnye

This is the second time this is happening to me!!

Flying TLV-MAD-NYC-MAD-TLV in Business Class - booked online, confirmed all sectors, paid, got e-ticket, end of story - right?..... WRONG!

Go into 'Manage My Reservation' to assign myself some seats... TLV-MAD - Done, MAD-NYC - Done, NYC-MAD - Done, MAD-TLV.... there are no seats to select (All are Occupied)!

I call up IB Service center to ask if there is a problem... they say

"There is no problem sir... you are confirmed in Business Class... accept that there is no seat available for you as ALL the seats are taken"

to which i reply,

"Are you saying that you've overbooked the cabin and therefore that's why i'm unable to select a seat?"....

to which they reply..."

"There is no problem sir... you are confirmed in Business Class... accept that there is no seat available for you as ALL the seats are taken and when you get to the airport in MAD on your return leg they will be able to help you"

As you might have noticed from my opening sentence - this happened to me once before except on the TLV-MAD outbound leg (was confirmed in Business Class to NY and back but could not select a seat on that particular leg) - low and behold on arrival to the airport (as obviously they would not let me check-in online) i was 'downgraded'!

Suggestions?

*** UPDATE ***

Thank You BA Executive Club!!! - After having so many issues with 'Customer Service Reps' at Iberia, BAEC in TLV said they would speak to Iberia directly for me to see what they can do. She told me they asked IB to go through all PAX on that particular flight in business (A319 - not sure if they'd do the same on an A346!) and see if any NON-Ticketed pax were holding seats (i.e. under Reservations) - it was confirmed that one PAX was indeed holding a seat without being ticketed and therefore they were able to release the seat for me (Ticketed). It just shows that you do need to persevere even when you might be told 'NO' to a legitimate request.

spainflyer

I wonder how many of the Biz class passengers on the MAD - TLV leg were non-revs? Iberia does seem to transport more than its share of these.

jonnye

Up to 4 per flight per class! and with a Business Class of only 14 seats that's far too many!

fpc552

OK, so the flight is oversold. This happens all the time. Some of the pax won't actually be on the flight (won't show up, or will misconnect, etc.). You should have your J seat.
I wouldn't worry about it until you are actually given a boarding pass that isn't in J. Not a departure management card, but an acutal boarding pass with a Y seat assignment on it.

cfabar1

I wish that airlines would not oversell J seats.... However, this happens all the time... You should be fine.

duniawala

I will probably get slammed for this. OP, Why did you even post this? Your issue was solved within 3 hrs of your posting and before anyone even posted a response. In fact this not even an issue. Now,if you had been downgraded during your travel, YES that would have been an issue you would be jumping all over demanding heaven and earth.

I am happy that your issue was resolved and thanks for wasting my time. It had nothing to do with the fantastic headline on the FT main page.

TLVtraveler

It sucks to possibly be downgraded, but if it happens to you it's best to happen to a flight from/to TLV - according to Tibi law (consumer law focusing on flight disruption) you will be entitled to 80% according to paragraph 3A5, if they refuse to pay or notify you of your rights in writing then they are breaching paragraph 14A3.

If IB will try breaching the law, they may face exemplary compensation of up to 10,000 NIS (2,500$) in addition to the original compensation.

Here is the complete law (Hebrew only, couldn't manage to find an English version) - let me know if you need help understanding it...).

UncleDude

It happens all the time on CX First Class it does not mean they are oversold.

There are only 6 seats in the Cabin

2 are blocked for CX Elites

2 are blocked for People with babies

So if you are not one of the first 2 to book it shows no availability.

You can with phone pressure get CX to release an elite seat but the 2 Bassinets Seats 2A and 2K are usually only controlled by the Airport.

Allan38103

Who writes these headlines, anyway?

I look at the headlines for FT posts and think to myself, "This might be an interesting or informative post. I might be able to read it (and the on-point comments that follow) and gain some useful knowledge."

Then the actual post turns out to have very little to do with the headline leads you to believe.

Reading this thread is just a waste of everyone's time.

DocP

I don't think it is at all fair to chide the OP when the problem is the headline. He stated he had already had an involuntary downgrade in the past in these circumstances and was trying to be proactive this time. He continued to try to resolve this after his post and was successful.

grimjack2k

I've also noticed the trend towards "click-bait" mainpage headlines. I won't be surprised if we start seeing headlines like "Housewife discovers one simple trick to check bags for free! Airline CEOs hate her!" or "Business class passenger asks for second beverage. What happens next will shock you!"...

DELLAS

I tend to agree although as also stated over booking a cabin is a decades old issue not just IB. Most airlines do it. I must add that no one has mentioned the fact that the cabin may not have been over booked. Airlines sometimes hold back some seats for airport allocation. So even though every seat on the seat map is showing 100% full and pre allocation not possible the remainder 3-4 may be blocked off for the airport. It happens quite a bit.

I note the OP said it happened before and he was downgraded but that is not to say that was the same situation this time.

spainflyer

I like this! And I think we should hijack this thread and turn it into a click-bait wiki!

"Travel to Switzerland. What the airlines don't want you to know!"

"Lose weight while flying with this one, simple trick!"

"Bruce Jenner's transformation to flight attendant in 91 shocking pics!"

Keep 'em coming!!

clubman

I don't see where the issue is with the title never mind the actual post.

Give the guy a break.

Often1

So what? IB overbooked, not oversold, but overbooked a cabin. This happens every day on pretty much every carrier. Few flights are actually oversold and when they are, volunteers are generally located and even then, involuntarily denying boarding or downgrading is generally accomplished by fare class or status or both.

This thread is about something which never was a problem and which OP found out was not.