Originally Posted by
SK AAR
No chance. This is not a downgrade in the meaning of EU Reg. 261/04. IB will argue that you never had a valid ticket for business class.
Theoretically airlines could always argue there was no valid ticket, even when the one is downgraded at the airport. Are we at mercy of airlines to recognize existence of a valid ticket? This doesn’t sound right, but I am not an expert in this area.
PS. I recall some Ethiopian fare a couple of years ago when downgraded passengers received 75% refund so I thought it was because they had to.
PPS. I already requested refund from IB, so purely theoretical discussion from my side.