Jumper Jack

I think its pretty disgusting to get a 20% code for seating in equivalent of PE seat. If I paid for J seat, I honestly could not give two damn for food. Its all about getting sleep so I can adjust to new timezone effortlessly.

llcooljayce

Does OP have an update?

DrunkCargo

Here is a Quebec case (Coopersmith c. Air Canada, 2009 QCCQ 5521)of a YUL-CDG J flight that awarded $500 for

the inconvenience, loss of enjoyment of the flight and the holiday, whether it is conceptualised as a clam for damages or for reimbursement of a portion of the price of the ticket, the Court finds that $500 should be sufficient to compensate Dr. Coopersmith for the prejudice.

In this case, Coopersmith was actually woken from sleep to assist. But specifically it seems an amount has been set on a typical TATL J fare. Please don't derail with Hippocratic Oath arguments on this one. The matter is about amount of compensation, not ruling in that particular case.

DrunkCargo

Hang on, I just noticed you said they would issue a refund. If those were the words used, then there was a promise to be compensated the entire amount of the flight. You relied on that promise in your decision to still take the flight, under the assumption that the deposit you originally placed on the CoC would be returned.

If it was offered by an agent acting on behalf of Air Canada, then I would say it is binding. Affidavit it and get your refund.

1Newflyer

I would imagine you are suggesting a small court claim not via lawyer as they will take more than the recovery, right?

karachi

i got bumped on CX a few yrs ago due to inop J seat. they gave me cash difference (abt Cdn $2k) at the door.
got upgraded to a non-recline AC seat last yr. I took it, and used the manual controls to recline it.

DrunkCargo

Affidavit can be prepared by a notary I believe. No lawyer required. Dunno...

You can swear one on a napkin in court too I think. Taxpayer's bill. Also small claims isn't mutually exclusive of representation. Also, real court doesn't require representation. Afaik, we all still have the right to self-represent. Remember, if your legal bill is $500, AC's will be $50k to defend the action because they use bloated firms. They'll just cut the cheque and be done with it.

DrunkCargo

You say bumped on CX. Bumped to Y?

karachi

yes. had a paid J tick.

DrunkCargo

So they had Y space available. I guess in OP's situation they could have opup'ed some random Y to J if Y was full. But if Y only had middle seats in the back, it seems like a significant downgrade.

*conjecture*

What I find interesting is this inoperable seat was only discovered/disclosed at boarding time, when I suspect it was not broken on the flight immediately preceding it. Is this information available to the gate agent to deal with prior to boarding time?

Stranger

Not unusual. The other on flight 90 to GRU, my wife's seat did recline. However at breakfast time, it would not straighten back up and the (very nice) SD could not make it work either.

However since the J cabin was only 35% occupied, she just moved to an empty seat, end of the story.

DrunkCargo

On DL the SOP is to send that information to operations prior to landing so that repairs can be done on ground and appropriate seating arrangements can be made well prior to boarding the next flight. Still seems unreasonable that this information could not be relayed prior to landing, again, unless the breakage occurred in the last 30 minutes of flight.

therossinator

Time to resurrect an old thread.
On a recent flight between Saint John's and Honolulu, my lie flat seat was completely inoperable. Here is what I sent to Air Canada:
"On my recent flight in Signature Class, the seat would not recline at all, locked in the takeoff/landing position. The flight attendants and pilot attempted reset the seat control system and the flight attendants tried to manually lay the seat flat but all efforts were unsuccessful. Ultimately, at 190cm tall, I slept extremely uncomfortably spanning the gap between the seat and the foot rest, supported by my carry on bag. This was very disappointing as it was the only opportunity I had to sleep flat on my journey which started 5 hours before the flight in question and continued another 12 hours after it landed. The flight attendant was very apologetic and stated that I should be afforded compensation and that he would submit a request as such. I have not seen any indication of this request and want to reach out to Air Canada to follow up on the issue."

The truth is, the original ticked (paid P fare) had that specific segment booked on a 737 Max but the aircraft was swapped and I was lucky to have been in Signature Class at all. Ultimately though, Air Canada provided me a $300 eCoupon which I am very grateful for and plan to use for a nice trip to Calgary/Banff.

I really appreciate the service that Air Canada provided. This trip (plus a LAX-YYZ-YYT immediately preceding) was actually my first time ever flying Air Canada. I'm quite impressed. It was a joy to fly with them and find them to be miles ahead of the US legacy carriers at this point in time.

bakersdozen

$300 for a broken seat stuck in upright? I'd reject their first offer and tell them to up it or name what you'd like. That sounds horrible.

canadiancow

But is it? They didn't pay for a lie-flat.

When I fly narrow-bodies, I basically never recline my seat.

So what's the difference?