Brazilgirl

I need some advice from the road warriors. When I traveled in December to the US , I had a disagreeable incident which I have been trying to solve on my own to no avail. I would love some advice on how to proceed.



We flew to the US on US Airways in their Envoy class. I purchased the first leg GRU/CLT with TAM FF points. We then flew from CLt to MSY , also on US Airways. This portion was in First using point from United ( DH 's ticket ) and from TAM ( my ticket).

All return tickets were revenue tickets.



What happened? When I tried to print my boarding pass , I couldn't get a seat assignment although my ticket was confirmed. My husband could. Upon check-in at the airport , the agent also couldn't get me a seat.... He told me I needed to talk to the gate agent.



Being an early bird , we had lots of time to spare. We went to the gate which was empty. I went to talk to the gate agent who proceeded to tell me they were overbooked . Not only didn't I have my first class seat , there was no seat for me on the plane!



Due to massive amounts of people going to New Orleans for the same Hematology conference as my husband , all flights to MSY were completely full for the next 2 days.



The gate agent said TAM was somehow at fault ( she couldn't explain exactly why).



I was very calm but firm. She ended up getting a volunteer to be bumped from the flight and I was the last person on the plane way in the back.. I was very thankful to be able to get to MSY , but I used 70,000 points from TAM ( I Know! Absurd! But it was a second honeymoon trip and I had points expiring...).

Often1

US, by its own COC, owes you the fare difference between J & Y. Because this was an award ticket, the "fare" is in miles and that is what the refund will be.

You should submit a webform complaint to US with the basic details (2-3 sentences at the max, as US can see exactly what happens) of the DG. The fact that you were almost denied boarding is irrelevant because you weren't.

US may also toss in a few of its own miles or a cert as a customer service gesture.

Brazilgirl

Thank you...as they were TAM miles , would they go to my TAM account or to my Dividend Miles account?

bkafrick

A "confirmed ticket" is somewhat old terminology, as all tickets when purchased are confirmed... Did you have a seat assignment when you purchased (even with miles) your original ticket? If not, file this in the back of your head to always get an assigned seat when traveling, especially on partner airlines.

Brazilgirl

Yes , I did have a seat assignment when the reservation was made ( at a call center). I later accessed my reservation on the US airways website and changed my seat to be next to my husband. The reservation was made in August for the flight in December.

I periodically check my flights for schedule changes etc. There was nothing amiss until I tried to print out my boarding pass at my hotel in Charlotte the night before my flight. I noticed there was no longer a seat assignment and it said for me to speak to a gate agent.

When I arrived at the airport , I was able to check in my baggage and go through security with my boarding pass. My reservation didn't "disappear".

The gate agent gave me a long story about TAM and something in Munich in November that was the cause of this problem. Quite frankly , I have no idea what they were talking about ...they were quite apologetic and worked hard to get me on the flight. But , as I said , there a lot of miles in play and a mistake was made. I want only what I believe is fair.

kudzu

Since you had a seat assignment CLT-MSY and it "disappeared" overnight, the only explanation I can think of is that a Federal Air Marshal (FAM), who takes priority, booked last-minute, there were no First seats left, and unfortunately the computer (or agent) picked your seat to be given away. Were you originally booked in an aisle seat by chance, perhaps row 2? (those appear to be favorites of FAMs). As a rule, US never oversells First, and if it were a FAM, US is not allowed to tell you too.

Compensation: My guess would be that US should refund the difference in Miles between what TAM charges GRU-CLT-MSY one-way in Envoy/First and Envoy/Economy, plus Miles goodwill, to your TAM account, since your ticket was booked with TAM Miles. Not easy to make happen. Has TAM been any help at all on your behalf?

Brazilgirl

Yes , the gate agent told me they never overbooked First. They really couldn't explain what happened in a logical fashion.

I do believe we were in Row 2. But my husband ended up sitting next to a fellow conference attendee ( a physician).

TAM has not been especially helpful. I keep getting the same response. " your case is in analysis , we will contact you when we have an answer " kind of thing. They recently told me they had passed it on to US Airways. US airways told me very firmly at the gate that I needed to contact TAM. They gave me a printour with details about the incident.

My fear is they are just passing it back and forth. Should I contact US Airways as suggested by a previous poster?

Thank you.

sbtinme

I essentially had this very same scenario happen to me 2 weeks ago. Except:

- I was on all US metal, using US miles on an award trip r/t
- US did, in fact, erroneously DELETE my return trip and the error was entirely theirs.
- It took me hours to untangle the mess in the midst of that early January air system meltdown. Made for a horrible last day of "vacation"

Long story short: US gave me the miles back (diff b/t F and Y for the one way passage) since I'd lost my seats in F and went standby on three legs to get home. (UGH).

But, maddeningly, I received nothing in terms of goodwill (no extra points, not $5, no nothing). US really screwed up with my record and they acknowledged as much. But, I received nothing but the miles differential despite my clear request for something along the lines of 10K or $100 as a courtesy for royally messing me up.

Brazilgirl

Disappointing and not very encouraging.

kudzu

You mentioned you flew in December, and had been dealing with TAM since.

If you think enough time has passed for US to respond, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to email US Customer Service, referencing your case/flight #, your direct email/phone contact info just in case they have a quick question (and not having to go indirectly through TAM to contact you). Make it sound more a gentle nudge than an impatient shove

Brazilgirl

I am a big fan of gentle nudges...will give it a try.

tommyleo

I'm curious about this. Did the OP have to pay a J (Business) award fare or an F award fare for the leg to MSY?

Brazilgirl

The Code Fare listed on my ticket was "O". I am not well versed in all code fares , so not sure what it means. Looked it up and it says First Award Ticket.

emrdoc

So your husband didn't let you have the first class seat? Yikes!

tommyleo

Did TAM charge you their F award fare for that segment? If you paid for an F ticket with TAM miles, your compensation should be (at least) the difference between an F award and a Y (coach) award.

[Note that this would be contrary to an earlier opinion that your compensation should be the difference between a J (business) and a Y award.]