Originally Posted by jackal

As I read Alaska's Contract of Carriage, this qualifies as an Involuntary Denied Boarding situation, since you were not given carriage in your ticketed cabin. As such, I personally believe you should be offered the legally mandated IDB compensation (what is it now, $800 cash?).

Unfortunately, AS doesn't see it that way. I was bumped out of an F seat and into Y once on a "paid" F award--not upgraded--and wrote in about the situation. I was offered something like 6,500 miles back. Despite their argument, I remain unconvinced it was anything other than an IDB.

That said, I would guess you got an OK deal. The difference in fare (assuming it's the lowest Hot Deals fare, not the full Y fare!) plus $200 probably means you made out OK. That said, AS REALLY needs to fix their systems. Right now, the order they bump people out of F in is screwed up. It should be first by booking type (paid F first, then award F, then advance confirmed upgrades [H-Up fares, certificates, and miles], and then finally complimentary upgrades [the 100/72/48-hour ones] in order of status and waitlist time) and only then (in the case of a tie) based on check-in or booking time.

You may wish to write in your thoughts on this matter to Customer Care. Maybe with enough squawking, they'll fix their bump order.