Jan 20, 2016, 9:14 am
Last edit by: Palal
Brief History
On 6 January, a fare appeared for a few hours on Ethiopian Airlines (ET) and online travel agencies (OTAs) offering BRU-ADD-(GBE)-CPT r/t in fully refundable business (C-Class) for 530.
Several days later, many members got e-mails stating that they "actually booked economy tickets" and were downgraded from fare basis CRTBE (fully refundable business) to TLES6MBE (economy). Some who booked through OTAs have yet to receive this downgrade, and some have been downgraded with no notification from OTAs.
Several people have also successfully flown already.
Next Steps
1. It's (now) safe to call/email the airline.
2. It seems 2 options are given: travel in economy, or full refund.
--> those who have chosen a refund have mostly gotten it promptly.
--> those who have contested the e-mail have not received any type of response.
--> other options were presented here, although others have not seem to replicated the result.
3. Contacting any Ethiopian offices (London, Vienna, etc.) have resulted in being redirected to the Ethiopian Brussels office.
4. For those who plan to fight it, see below. Note that no one has had a successful outcome yet.
5. Update: Some users are reporting getting the offer of 75% refunds to travel in economy as per EC 261.
Avenues of contest:
1. Try Art. 10 (2) lit. c of the Flight Delay Compensation Regulation 261/2004. It may be possible to get up to 75% of the ticket price back, although this is unconfirmed and debatable.
2. Befriend a Belgian lawyer with a penchant for pro bono work
Kidding aside, it is not wise to go the legal route.
You should email the Belgian enforcement body at: [email protected]
In the email state your name, eticket, travel date, attach ticket receipt.
State that your ticket has been purchased and issued in business class and that the airline is offering to either cancel or downgrade without compensation. Politely ask for their help in enforcing EU Reg 261/2004 Art.10 2(c).
Planned Trips:
early February OwlMan
early April mattking2000
March-End Culture Guru
late April Palal
Further/concurrent reading (for the German-inclined):
http://www.vielfliegertreff.de/first-business-class-tarife/91159-et-bru-cpt-524-euro.html
On 6 January, a fare appeared for a few hours on Ethiopian Airlines (ET) and online travel agencies (OTAs) offering BRU-ADD-(GBE)-CPT r/t in fully refundable business (C-Class) for 530.
Several days later, many members got e-mails stating that they "actually booked economy tickets" and were downgraded from fare basis CRTBE (fully refundable business) to TLES6MBE (economy). Some who booked through OTAs have yet to receive this downgrade, and some have been downgraded with no notification from OTAs.
Several people have also successfully flown already.
Next Steps
1. It's (now) safe to call/email the airline.
2. It seems 2 options are given: travel in economy, or full refund.
--> those who have chosen a refund have mostly gotten it promptly.
--> those who have contested the e-mail have not received any type of response.
--> other options were presented here, although others have not seem to replicated the result.
3. Contacting any Ethiopian offices (London, Vienna, etc.) have resulted in being redirected to the Ethiopian Brussels office.
4. For those who plan to fight it, see below. Note that no one has had a successful outcome yet.
5. Update: Some users are reporting getting the offer of 75% refunds to travel in economy as per EC 261.
Avenues of contest:
1. Try Art. 10 (2) lit. c of the Flight Delay Compensation Regulation 261/2004. It may be possible to get up to 75% of the ticket price back, although this is unconfirmed and debatable.
2. Befriend a Belgian lawyer with a penchant for pro bono work
Kidding aside, it is not wise to go the legal route. Code:
Article 10: Upgrading and downgrading 1. If an operating air carrier places a passenger in a class higher than that for which the ticket was purchased, it may not request any supplementary payment. 2. If an operating air carrier places a passenger in a class lower than that for which the ticket was purchased, it shall within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), reimburse (a) 30 % of the price of the ticket for all flights of 1500 kilometres or less, or (b) 50 % of the price of the ticket for all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 kilometres, except flights between the European territory of the Member States and the French overseas departments, and for all other flights between 1500 and 3500 kilometres, or (c) 75 % of the price of the ticket for all flights not falling under (a) or (b), including flights between the European territory of the Member States and the French overseas departments.
In the email state your name, eticket, travel date, attach ticket receipt.
State that your ticket has been purchased and issued in business class and that the airline is offering to either cancel or downgrade without compensation. Politely ask for their help in enforcing EU Reg 261/2004 Art.10 2(c).
Planned Trips:
early February OwlMan
early April mattking2000
March-End Culture Guru
late April Palal
Further/concurrent reading (for the German-inclined):
http://www.vielfliegertreff.de/first-business-class-tarife/91159-et-bru-cpt-524-euro.html
[PREMIUM FARE GONE] Ethiopian Airlines-Brussel to CPT (r/t) in J on 787 for 530 in J
Mar 14, 2016, 4:08 am
#646
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 4,279
)
Mar 28, 2016, 12:39 pm
#647
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PEK
Programs: A3*G, UA Gold EY Silver
Posts: 8,954
Monday, March 28, 2016
Following the temporary closure of Brussels Airport, Ethiopian Airlines offers a free bus service from Brussels North station to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport for all passengers booked on flight ET705 to Addis Ababa and beyond, until further notice. Departure is scheduled at 13h00 in front of the entrance of the Brussels North train station. Passengers can board the bus by presenting their electronic ticket with departure Brussels To confirm the bus transport, passengers are kindly requested to contact the Ethiopian Airlines office at 02 716 00 60 by advising their local contact number. Flight ET705 will depart from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport from Terminal 2A at 22h15. Passengers are free to travel to Paris by their own means should they prefer to. For free date change (new travel date on/before 25th June) or full refund (of the affected flights due to airport closure), passenger are requested to contact their booking office. You may contact online booking on [email protected] for booking made online.
Following the temporary closure of Brussels Airport, Ethiopian Airlines offers a free bus service from Brussels North station to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport for all passengers booked on flight ET705 to Addis Ababa and beyond, until further notice. Departure is scheduled at 13h00 in front of the entrance of the Brussels North train station. Passengers can board the bus by presenting their electronic ticket with departure Brussels To confirm the bus transport, passengers are kindly requested to contact the Ethiopian Airlines office at 02 716 00 60 by advising their local contact number. Flight ET705 will depart from Paris Charles de Gaulle airport from Terminal 2A at 22h15. Passengers are free to travel to Paris by their own means should they prefer to. For free date change (new travel date on/before 25th June) or full refund (of the affected flights due to airport closure), passenger are requested to contact their booking office. You may contact online booking on [email protected] for booking made online.
Apr 27, 2016, 8:31 am
#653
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Norway
Programs: SK*G/EBD
Posts: 31
It seems like they are not answering at the moment.
I also got rebooked with 2 long layovers in Addis, I asked if it was at all possible to rebook via ARN and after a couple of weeks I got the same request to rebook with long layover..
May 3, 2016, 4:15 pm
#654
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: PEK
Programs: A3*G, UA Gold EY Silver
Posts: 8,954
Finished my trip on Sunday. Overall a pleasant experience on-board, much better than US legacy carriers.
Got an entire row to myself on the 787 (which was substituted twice, first for a 777 a week before and then again for the 787 the day before) on BRU-ADD, and had an empty middle on ADD-CPT. If you're *G, you get an automatic middle block, unless the flight is full.
Food catered out of CDG was awesome, and out of ADD and CPT it was good. I was surprised that 3/4 times the choices were fish/meat, the other time it was chicken/mutton.
Neither the 777 nor the 787 have power plugs in Y, but they do have USB ports.
The crew was nice, although a bit indifferent. IFE was good and worldwide movie selection was also good.
Flights arrived on time or ahead of schedule (they pad their schedules), except ADD-CPT due to weather. Even then it was a relatively short delay.
ADD is a bit of a mess, and a new terminal should fix that next year. The *G lounge is pretty small. It has an ok selection of food (better than BRU) and wifi, but little space during peak times. 787s seem to use remote stands and buses, and bus drivers are pretty crazy.
The bidvest lounge at CPT (both int'l and domestic) is awesome with an excellent food spread.
On the way back, I managed to get a hotel voucher for my overnight layover (they can't give you a visa without the hotel voucher), which also included breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Hilton, as well as free transport to and from. You should be able to get it at the origin if you ask at the check-in counter. If not, then you have to do it at the transfer desk.
The return was the day before Orthodox Easter, so the airport was understaffed, and security took a bit of time to get through.
Overall a very pleasant experience. So much so, that I'm going out of my way to fly them on LAX-DUB in June.
Got an entire row to myself on the 787 (which was substituted twice, first for a 777 a week before and then again for the 787 the day before) on BRU-ADD, and had an empty middle on ADD-CPT. If you're *G, you get an automatic middle block, unless the flight is full.
Food catered out of CDG was awesome, and out of ADD and CPT it was good. I was surprised that 3/4 times the choices were fish/meat, the other time it was chicken/mutton.
Neither the 777 nor the 787 have power plugs in Y, but they do have USB ports.
The crew was nice, although a bit indifferent. IFE was good and worldwide movie selection was also good.
Flights arrived on time or ahead of schedule (they pad their schedules), except ADD-CPT due to weather. Even then it was a relatively short delay.
ADD is a bit of a mess, and a new terminal should fix that next year. The *G lounge is pretty small. It has an ok selection of food (better than BRU) and wifi, but little space during peak times. 787s seem to use remote stands and buses, and bus drivers are pretty crazy.
The bidvest lounge at CPT (both int'l and domestic) is awesome with an excellent food spread.
On the way back, I managed to get a hotel voucher for my overnight layover (they can't give you a visa without the hotel voucher), which also included breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Hilton, as well as free transport to and from. You should be able to get it at the origin if you ask at the check-in counter. If not, then you have to do it at the transfer desk.
The return was the day before Orthodox Easter, so the airport was understaffed, and security took a bit of time to get through.
Overall a very pleasant experience. So much so, that I'm going out of my way to fly them on LAX-DUB in June.
May 4, 2016, 5:42 am
#655
Join Date: Jul 2011
Programs: QF Plat, VA Plat, BA Gold
Posts: 528
Finished my trip on Sunday. Overall a pleasant experience on-board, much better than US legacy carriers.
Got an entire row to myself on the 787 (which was substituted twice, first for a 777 a week before and then again for the 787 the day before) on BRU-ADD, and had an empty middle on ADD-CPT. If you're *G, you get an automatic middle block, unless the flight is full.
Food catered out of CDG was awesome, and out of ADD and CPT it was good. I was surprised that 3/4 times the choices were fish/meat, the other time it was chicken/mutton.
Neither the 777 nor the 787 have power plugs in Y, but they do have USB ports.
The crew was nice, although a bit indifferent. IFE was good and worldwide movie selection was also good.
Flights arrived on time or ahead of schedule (they pad their schedules), except ADD-CPT due to weather. Even then it was a relatively short delay.
ADD is a bit of a mess, and a new terminal should fix that next year. The *G lounge is pretty small. It has an ok selection of food (better than BRU) and wifi, but little space during peak times. 787s seem to use remote stands and buses, and bus drivers are pretty crazy.
The bidvest lounge at CPT (both int'l and domestic) is awesome with an excellent food spread.
On the way back, I managed to get a hotel voucher for my overnight layover (they can't give you a visa without the hotel voucher), which also included breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Hilton, as well as free transport to and from. You should be able to get it at the origin if you ask at the check-in counter. If not, then you have to do it at the transfer desk.
The return was the day before Orthodox Easter, so the airport was understaffed, and security took a bit of time to get through.
Overall a very pleasant experience. So much so, that I'm going out of my way to fly them on LAX-DUB in June.
Got an entire row to myself on the 787 (which was substituted twice, first for a 777 a week before and then again for the 787 the day before) on BRU-ADD, and had an empty middle on ADD-CPT. If you're *G, you get an automatic middle block, unless the flight is full.
Food catered out of CDG was awesome, and out of ADD and CPT it was good. I was surprised that 3/4 times the choices were fish/meat, the other time it was chicken/mutton.
Neither the 777 nor the 787 have power plugs in Y, but they do have USB ports.
The crew was nice, although a bit indifferent. IFE was good and worldwide movie selection was also good.
Flights arrived on time or ahead of schedule (they pad their schedules), except ADD-CPT due to weather. Even then it was a relatively short delay.
ADD is a bit of a mess, and a new terminal should fix that next year. The *G lounge is pretty small. It has an ok selection of food (better than BRU) and wifi, but little space during peak times. 787s seem to use remote stands and buses, and bus drivers are pretty crazy.
The bidvest lounge at CPT (both int'l and domestic) is awesome with an excellent food spread.
On the way back, I managed to get a hotel voucher for my overnight layover (they can't give you a visa without the hotel voucher), which also included breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Hilton, as well as free transport to and from. You should be able to get it at the origin if you ask at the check-in counter. If not, then you have to do it at the transfer desk.
The return was the day before Orthodox Easter, so the airport was understaffed, and security took a bit of time to get through.
Overall a very pleasant experience. So much so, that I'm going out of my way to fly them on LAX-DUB in June.
You managed to get a overnight at the Hilton in Y? Well done!