Originally Posted by
sfogate
The tipoff is that you were seated in 1E and that seat was needed for a flight crew member. This means that the flight attendant's jumpseat was broken and they were required to use 1E, as their jumpseat.
His seat is not relevant. The downgrade should have been processed in reverse EUA order:
- EUA upgrade by reverse status
- Mileage upgrader by reverse status
- Paid F ticket by reverse fare class and status
Then he should have been given their seat. His seat assignment should have absolutely no bearing in this matter.
The ONLY way CO handled this situation properly is if the entire F cabin was full of revenue tickets, and he was the lowest statused of them all. And even then, CO's treatment of a paid F Elite was poor. He should have been advised of his right to a refund (plus the voucher compensation), and/or been given alternate flights on other carriers with F/J space (perhaps even to accommodate the entire party of 5 if they wanted to fly together).