FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Last-minute reservation booked with Miles for family emergency - lessons to learn?
Old Mar 19, 2023, 12:59 pm
  #8  
LeonS
 
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 200
Originally Posted by sehgalanuj
I am sorry to see that you are having to deal with additional stress while also dealing with a tragedy in the family. I am not sure if you have any status with AFKL but that can help in these scenarios. But sometimes it can be as simple as just taking he gamble and then talking to customer service after the fact to try and get them to make a commercial gesture. The key with the latter is to not abuse it, of course, but I have had them make exceptional refunds to me after I had already traveled, due to the situation being outside the normal.

At least until a few years ago AFKL did make extra accommodations for these kind of situations. I am not sure of what that looks like with redemption tickets, but you could get a seat on even sold out flights. The process was not easy and required speaking to their agents, but within 24hrs of your travel they could usually get you on flights. If they still do this, it is only possible via call to customer service, and even then having status is going to make this much easier to process (especially Platinum since the PSL agents are far more likely to go the extra mile to help out in my experience).

An example from a few months ago based on my personal experience. I was flying on a revenue ticket via CDG. A day before my flight it became clear that there was a high chance that due to strikes I would likely miss my connection, and it was crucial that I make the earliest possible connection. There was a second flight just a couple of hours after my originally scheduled flight, but changing the revenue ticket to this one was quite expensive and the PSL confirmed only 2 seats were left on the flight. So in case of IROPS there was a likelihood that I wouldn't have a seat available to get on this flight. After conferring with the agent, we decided the best action to take was for me to make a separate redemption booking for the last sector and keep it as a "standby". If I made my original connection, they would cancel and refund me (even waive the €50 fee they charge on cancellations), and if I didn't make my original connection, I could take the redemption flight. The agent said that due to the special circumstance they would waive the fee they charge for irregular use of tickets and even refund me the miles and taxes for the redemption. He added notes detailing this in both my bookings and asked me to get in touch with them after my flights to resolve the refunds. I was also told that if I had checked baggage, it would basically get stuck in CDG and that I'd have to file a PIR to get it back to me. As luck had it, I did miss my original flight and had to take the redemption one. I wrote to them after I reached my destination, they filed the PIR and got me my refund too. It all went ok in the end, but required me suggesting creative things over the phone to an agent willing to help (I realize this last part is hard to find, and the likelihood only increases if you have access to the PSL).

I realize €275 and 70k miles is a lot to spend. But I think you would have had a good chance to get most, or part of it back if you had written to their customer service after taking the flights. The ground staff doesn't have a lot of flexibility in what they can do, but customer service has more flexibility in the commercial gestures they can make. All of it can be a gamble though.
Thanks for sharing the story.

Unfortunately, I have no status with AF/KLM.

My biased experience (biased because I fly >90% of the time with USA carriers) is that European carriers post-trip are less likely to make a commercial gesture than American ones. But your experience might show I'm wrong.
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