A discussion recently came up amongst friends, so I thought I'd ask the wise heads here.
Two hypothetical scenarios, both on type 3 (longhaul) flights where EU 261 would be applicable:
- I bought an upgradeable ticket with money, and upgraded it by points. I'm then downgraded at the gate.
- I used only points (and paid taxes and "surcharges") to obtain a reward flight in a premium class, and I'm downgraded at the gate.
Clearly, in each case I'm entitled to the difference in points between the class I booked and the class I got. However, EU 261 also provides that I should be entitled to a refund of (in this example) 75% of the ticket price.
- In the first case, am I correct in assuming this is the price of the upgradeable ticket, plus any mandatory additional taxes and "surcharges" for the points upgrade, or is it some representative equivalent ticket price for the premium cabin?
- In the second case, is the "ticket price" just the taxes and "surcharges", or (again) is it a representative ticket price for the premium cabin?
Thanks for any thoughts, particularly if they come with real-world examples of how it's been applied!
(I did search FT for similar questions, but they were very few, and answers contradictory.)