Originally Posted by
Brussels traveller
It was priceless! Having just moved to Dubai and just made Gold on EK in the space of 5 months, I was looking forward to my first flight as a Gold member.
Having paid the 700 AED at the ticket counter, I get to check in and get told that the flight was oversold and I had been bumped .... wait for it ... to the very flight I was initially booked on and that I had just paid to change from!!
"Tiens, allez ket, ge meen et nie" ...
This has happened to me once, with a canceled flight though, not an overbooked one.
Considering you were gold (or even silver), it's strange they would have bumped you off the flight.
Then again, I believe they will only reserve you a seat (aisle or window, depending on your prefs., but most probably not a middle seat) up to a certain point/time before take-off, then bumping you all together.
As a matter of fact, they might have kept a seat reserved in J (if you were booked Y), then noticing you were probably/possibly not showing up after all, or having some genuine cash or miles paying J-travelers showing up at the very last minute, which might have made them decide to bump you off...
Golden rule: if you think the flight is full and/or you might qualify for an upgrade, show up on time: both at check-in
and at the gate.
Of course, if you check-in online you're pretty sure to get the seat you have selected. If you don't, then it's basically a game of Russian roulette: and they bump you either up or off (although everything probably depends on your pnr profile), especially if you were late for check-in.
I realize OLCI is not (always) available at every destination served, and things might have been extra-complicated because of the date-change/extra-payment for your booking... but still,... Yeah, I'm really guessing here...
Just wondering though: Did you do OLCI?? And did you show up on time??
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