Originally Posted by
channa
On those issues, WE CARE was focused on, as you say, minimizing compensation payouts and trying to convince me that my upgrade was "complimentary" so I was not entitled to anything.
If the airline advertises upgrades based on status, and then fails to provide those upgrades due to shenanigans by gate agents, is it guilty of False Advertising/Fraud? (Its gain is getting many frequent travelers to buy tickets from it rather than a competitor.)
The first relevant opinion on that subject is that of a state's Attorney General (any state in which the airline has a presence will do). The second, if it gets that far, is the jury's.