Dear FT,

Here is a letter I have drafted, but not sent. I think it is self explanatory. Looking for advice here:
(a) What I should I do? Should I contact my travel agent to see what's coming to me?
(b) Who should I send this letter to within CX that will read it, listen, and resolve this situation to my satisfaction?
(c) Any comments on the letter itself? Anything I should add/delete?

Dear CX,

My name is Pickles N. Vinegar (AA Advantage XXXX/Platinum/OneWorld Sapphire, MPC#XXXX/Green.) I am writing to you to make you aware of a series of incidents that caused me to be involuntarily downgraded from First Class to Business Class on CX XXX from JFK-YVR-HKG on September XX, 2003. The timeline is as follows:
1. I purchased an AONE3 RTW ticket with original routing HKG-LHR-BOS-JFK-YVR-HKG from my travel agent in Hong Kong, XXXXX. Departure date was September XX-8, with original return BOS-JFK-YVR-HKG on September XX-2. I begun my journey uneventfully, arriving in BOS on September XX-6.
2. While in BOS, I had to attend a meeting a meeting in Washington, DC, so I decided to use the AONE3 ticket to add a BOS-DCA round trip, departing September XX-5, and returning September XX-4. American Airlines reissued the ticket with the additional segments, with the Cathay Pacific segments showing American Airlines flight numbers.
3. Upon my return to BOS, I needed to stay in BOS for a couple more days, so I changed my BOS-JFK-YVR-HKG travel from September XX-2 to September XX. AA confirmed availability and gave me a seat assignment for BOS-JFK. The RTW desk agent said that the JFK-YVR-HKG segment was confirmed, but they could only tentatively assign me a seat. As late as 2 hours before my BOS-JFK departure, the American Airlines website showed that my Cathay legs were confirmed in First Class, although no seat assignment was available for the JFK-YVR-HKG segments.
4. When checking in at Terminal 7 in JFK, the BA/CX agents (including the ticketing agent Ms. XXXX) indicated that somehow my JFK-YVR-HKG reservation had been cancelled (clearly not by me), and that First Class was now checked-in full. Although not all passengers boarding in YVR had checked in, the flight was also full on the YVR-HKG segment. The agents in JFK were very apologetic and helpful, but the best they could do is offer me a Business Class seat, which I had no option but to take. Ms. XXXX was kind enough to give me her card and encouraged me to contact Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong to obtain a refund and compensation between the paid class of service (First Class) and the class flown (Business Class).
5. Once aboard the plane, a number of things became apparent. The on-board ISM was not aware of my situation (through no fault of her own, of course), and apparently First Class did not check in full starting in JFK. The only thing I can think of is that the YVR-HKG was fully booked, but not everybody had checked in yet. Somewhere along the chain, it appears that a decision was made to put me in Business Class instead of whatever passenger(s) had not yet checked in YVR. I do not know why this decision was taken.
6. Upon arrival in YVR, I spoke to both the ISM and the YVR ground agent, and described my situation (of which, once again, they had no knowledge). At that point I was informed that apparently one person in YVR had not checked in, and that a seat was now available. I briefly considered taking the seat, but decided against it, since I was quite upset at that point, and had missed one of the highlights of the trip, which is the First Class meal in the JFK-YVR segment. So I continued in Business Class for the remainder of my trip. The ground agent in YVR did not seem concerned about my situation, and made no offers to help or inform Cathay Pacific in HKG of what happened. She even went as far as indicating that whatever refund I was due was likely to be “small” since I was traveling on an AONE ticket. I found her commingling of the situation with the monetary consideration insulting.

I am writing to you to request that the difference between fare paid (First Class) and class of service flown (Business Class) be refunded to me without delay. Also, I do not know what the policy is for involuntary downgrade is, but if there is such a policy, I would like to be informed what it is and what the compensation in this situation would be. You may contact me at your earliest convenience to discuss the situation at XXX-XXX-XXXX, or at my work address above.

In closing, I would like to mention that Cathay Pacific is my favorite airline in the world, and I fly them as often as possible, with at least XX segments flown this year. I go out of my way to fly Cathay Pacific, although alternatives exist for all my travel. Although my JFK-YVR-HKG flight in the New Business Class was up to the usual high standards of Cathay Pacific, I had been looking forward to flying in First Class once again (and maybe picking up a set of Shanghai Tang pajamas for my wife, who loves the store.) Instead, I was sorely disappointed, both by the incident itself and by the way it was handled.

Sincerely,

Pickles N. Vinegar