Originally Posted by
cauchy
But EC261 kicks in where an operating air carrier "places" a passenger in a lower class. Even if the OP goes along with it, the OP was still "placed" in business and is, in my view, still owed the money.
The words "by the means provided for in Article 7(3)" in your quote are interesting. It means the following:
3. The compensation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be paid in cash, by electronic bank transfer, bank orders or bank cheques or, with the signed agreement of the passenger, in travel vouchers and/or other services.
To my knowledge, you can't transfer frequent flyer points to someone using one of the stipulated payment methods.
Originally Posted by
AJA_
What happens if BA refunds the difference between First and CW rather than the 75%? I've seen reports of BA doing this particularly with Avios bookings.
E.g. LHR DXB is 80k Avios in First and 60k in CW peak fare. So BA automatically refunds 20k Avios instead of 75% x 80k. I've understood that BA sees doing that as a get out of paying the 75%. If you say I involuntarily accept the downgrade but will sort out the entitlement to refund after I've flown. Does that work? Or could you argue the 20k refund is compensation for the inconvenience and still claim the 75% reimbursement per EC261?
BA is required to refund 75%. If the ticket costs 80,000, then BA has to refund 60,000. If BA refunds 20,000 as a fare difference, then I'd say that you should subtract 20,000 from the 60,000 claimed and only request the difference of 40,000 when you go to CEDR. Note that you should also get back 75% of the fuel surcharge.