Holding a Business Seat, I was Downgraded - What to Do?
I thought that I've seen everything in air travel, but nothing prepared me for what happened last week.
Holding a business/first class reservation (A class), I walked into the airport, checked-in luggage and received a boarding pass showing a business class seat. (The same seat was showing on the United app on my phone).
When boarding, the agent scanned the pass, but the computer beeped angrily. "You're not on the passenger list", she proclaimed, "wait here, please". She proceeded to board everyone else, while I'm still smiling, certain that everything will be soon resolved.
But later, with everybody on board and I'm still at the gate, the agent curtly told me that I wasn't on the passenger list. If I wanted to fly, she added, there's one seat in the last row in economy.
"But I paid for a business class seat on this flight," I protested. "Well, do you want to fly or not?" She responded coolly. So I flew three hours in economy.
Now -- what are my options? Have you ever heard about such incident? What should I ask United for compensation? More importantly -- how can I prevent it from happening in the future?