Inoperable Seat...Was I IDB'd

Was booked into upgraded F on a PS flight. The SFO flight that I was on announced a maintenance delay so I tried to get on the LAX. Went to the LAX gate agent and was told "I'm working this flight, have the platinum desk do it." I called up the platinum desk and they put me on. When I went back to the desk she said "we don't have a seat for you." I was told that one of the seats was totally inoperable and unsafe for a passenger to sit in. Thus, there was no room on the flight. They claimed to have blocked the seat and that somehow the platinum desk unblocked it, and it was their (the desk's) fault for all of this. I went to a service director, and he said the same thing, that it was the platinum desk's fault, and that I should have them rebook me.
Is this an IDB and should I have been compensated under DOT regs? If so, what should I do now?

Given you were originally ticketed in business class, you are not entitled to a first class seat if things go wrong.

Questions:
1. Why did you not have them put you back on the SFO flight?
2. If you did not get on either the LAX or SFO flights, why did you leave the gate without compensation?

Here's a couple more details if that helps:
The ticket was Business C, and a mileage supported upgrade was used for F. They gave my seat away on the SFO flight when the plat desk moved me and both flights went out full. I left the gate because the Service Director told me that it was all the desk's fault and they had to handle it. I asked for the Station Manager but was told they were not in at that time, which is it's own problem @ 9 AM on a Friday when you had massive Irrops the night before and that day. I left the airport because I was rebooked out of LGA an hour and a half later. If I didn't take that, I'd have to wait until 5:30 PM, which wasn't an option.

Being technical:

1. I think that an inoperable seat might be safety and therefore void IDB.

2. Also, were you checked in for the flight at least 30 minutes before flight time? I know it wasn't your fault, but from the description, you might not meet that part of IDB in any case.

I was checked in for SFO way ahead of time, but the change to LAX was done while boarding was taking place. I'm not sure if the check in held when the flight was changed but the change took place at 8:02 for a flight that departed at 8:30. The mx delay on SFO was announced @ 7:58.

Maybe not, but certainly to *a* seat. Smells like IDB to me.

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I think airlines are excluded from IDB on weight restrictions. Sometimes, they look for vdb's, but are not required to pay.

All forms of DOT-mandated denied boarding compensation only apply to over bookings--they do not apply to any safety-related situations.

Pretty sure the plane has to have less than 50 seats for the airline not to have to give out IDB compensation for a weight restriction.

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I wonder if you were ever actually checked in for the flight?

Did you have a boarding pass?

If not, I can't see how you'd get IDB compensation.

They don't need it. But many airlines (such as AA) actually try to be fair to their customers (sometimes).

Got a response from CCS. They more than made me whole. I'm very pleased with how they handled it. I got a call from the station manager and the VP for Ops in NYC. Very impressed. ^

What path did you take to solicit that response?

That would be valuable to know. I'm glad it turned out well for you. ^