ambrogz

1. on OCT 6 we are flying CDG DOH in F and i see there is no F on 777 and i ll be downgraded from F to C (due to change of planes)

as i m using dividend miles i won t be able to request any compensation from QR cause they ll say - it s not our ticket and go to dividend miles

dividend miles will say its not our mistake but QR's who changed their planes and not them (old story)

is tehre any possibility that QR might give us any compensation or similar - upgrade in the future or similar

any ideas/experience?

2. do you know when a standard ie fully fledged F lounge will be open at DOH airport?

thanks a lot for your help

Guy Betsy

Looks like your option is to get Dividend Miles to lower your mileage award to a C ticket instead of a F ticket. Or else depart from LHR or CDG on a day that has F class and use your ticket then.

QR will very unlikely give you any compensation as they have advised you ahead of time. They might only give you something if the change happened on the day you are travelling and no advance notice was given.

orbitmic

It doesn't look to me as though QR have advised the OP, I think that the OP simply saw the EQ change (which incidentally may well be reversed in the meantime!) and even if they had, it is not clear that it would make a difference. As the flight originated in the EU, the OP is covered by EU261/2004 and entitled to a refund of 75% of his fare (flight is over 3500 km) so presumably 75% of the miles pay. This is what I would ask and would not settle for less.

warakorn

As orbitmic has stated. QR must refund 75% of the ticket cost according the EU passenger rights legislation.
QR can be forced by French court to do so.
Moreover, QR is the culprit and would be the defendant in a court battle. QR cannot shift the blame to US.

What is the monetary equivalent of 75% of the miles?
Well, the passenger can calculate it here - as you can buy Dividend Miles:
http://www.usairways.com/en-US/divid...ault.html?re=1

The cheapest way for QR to get out of it, would be that Akbar Al Baker calls Doug Parker and convinces him that Doug puts 75% of the spent miles into the account of the passenger.

stargold

I would be interested to hear of any actual success stories of EU261 claim for this type of downgrade scenario (not booked directly with the flying airline, downgrade happens well in advance (>2 weeks)). My understanding is that it is not payable in this scenario.

Pacha

as the change has happened more than 2 weeks out, the only 261/2004 scenario that applies is your right to a free refund of fare paid (in this case miles w/o a cancellation fee)

no compensation needed to be paid due to the advance change, as long as they have notified you of the change.

warakorn

Honestly I am a bit annoyed hearing this "2 week rule" over and over again. You are probably the 100th person at FT raising this rule.

The 2-week rule usually only matters when it comes to compensation payments (these famous EUR 600).
However, we are talking about a downgrade. The 75% are a refund. This is not a compensation, its a refund.
The airline breaches the contract and does not deliver the class of service, which has been ticketed.
It does not matter how far in advance the airline notifies the passenger. The 75% will always stand.

The EU Passenger Rights legislation is very clear on this topic. The defendant will always be the operating airline regardless of who issued the ticket. The EU lawmakers did not want to give the airlines the room to wiggle themselves out of paying by playing that kind of ping pong game.

Most cases are settled out of court.
In clear cases (this one is a clear case) the airline pays up, once a recognized lawyer starts writing mails to the airlines.

warakorn

Pacha? Are you on the payroll of QR?
Why are distributing that kind of nonsense?

Read the EC261/2004 carefully:

EC261/2004

Downgrades are mentioned in Article 10.
Where does the regulation mention the 14-day rule?
It mentions it in article 7. Article 7 has nothing to do with downgrades.
The 75% is a refund, not a compensation.

orbitmic

+1.

- Article 5.c.i mentions that two weeks notice means no right to cancellation compensation.

- Article 10 on upgrading and downgrading does not in any way suggest that any notice - be it a day, two week, or 300 days - affects the passenger's right to the 30/50/75% refund (75% in the case of the OP).

ambrogz

FYI

- neither QR nor USair (dividend miles) have informed me about the downgrade
- i just see the evolution of planes used on this route (flightaware.com) and have noticed that they 340 and 777 interchangeably

knowing my bad luck there will be a 777 on my day and there will be again hassle at the airport with nonone who d want to speak to me as QR will refuse to deal with a USair ticket etc etc (i hate such situations)

fly747first

QR's check in staff at CDG are atrocious--beyond entitled, lazy, and rude. I think it is to your best interest to try to resolve this in advance rather than be left at their mercy on the day of departure.

Just last month, one of the QR female Senior Agents at CDG had the nerve to tell me that it was too late to check my bags after I had been waiting for 45 minutes because the was occupying the F check-in desk helping an off duty pilot. Of course I demanded to speak to her supervisor and all of a sudden the timing to check my bags wasn't an issue anymore.