Originally Posted by
USAF_Retired
I would like to see some data points on how often downgrades actually occur. Yes, we hear about a downgrade about once a year...and that's only because someone has a strong SM presence and wants to let the world know their business. I would imagine the downgrade rate is extremely low and shouldn't be something most people should worry about. I've been flying for over thirty years on mostly booked FC and have never been downgraded. I have taken cash vouchers a few times on overbooked flights where I volunteered to give up my seat.
I was downgraded last week but fought back to reclaim my (paid) F seat. CRJ-900 was downgauged to a CRJ-700, with 3 fewer seats up front. (Of course, numerous pax ended up without seats.)
It all ended up being more or less a moot point when a different CRJ-900 was subbed back in about an hour before departure--though sadly at least 1 F pax ended up in Y because he couldn't articulate well enough to the GA that he had paid for his F seat, so an upgrader got it instead. (The GA was snippy or I would have tried to step in and help him. He had a printed paper copy of his record clearly showing he had paid for seat 1A, sigh.)