GrayAnderson

To be fair, given that such bundles don't tie the free beverage amenity to a given seat (as far as I can tell), it doesn't seem like an undue burden for the FAs to have access to a seatmap indicating who has free beverages prepaid. That might get hairy if you start having to swap seats around because of insert-issue-here (broken seats, etc.), but it seems like a good starting point.

Also, I think it would be fair to say that Rule 30 should apply to base fares but not buy-up/up-sell products. For example, I understand not wanting to have to offer someone a refund because of broken IFE, but given that IFE is basically a baseline item it would presumably not factor in to the bundle side of things. If, on the other hand, you sell 25 "extra legroom" packs and only have 24 extra legroom seats...well, that's a problem now, isn't it? And that does seem to lead to some very...questionable...potential practices if they can "bump you back" to not having the aforementioned legroom, etc., if they're "oversold" in that respect.

canadiancow

The issue with TG/FL/CO is that they are all base fares, but they're also the "buy-up" you describe.

I just bought a crapload of CO fares for EYW. The BVRG is nice, but I bought a YCD-YVR-YYJ CO fare. There's no service on those flights. I'm SE, so I get free preferred seats on all fares. I'm SE, so I get zone 1 boarding on all fares. 15% mileage bonus isn't even much on that route (38*2=78). The free (no questions asked, no haggling, etc.) standby is worth it. But we're also talking about a relatively low upcharge ($20 CAD). I've also paid $20 CAD on fares where I end up getting three free drinks, which exceed the cost of the upfare.

So what I value (and pay for) is very different than what someone who would be GTE in zone 5 might value.

At the very least, it's easy to see if someone selected a seat and was later moved. That's tracked on the PNR.

It's not easy to see if someone was able to board in zone 3, or if the GA did a bad job of boarding.

It's not easy to see if someone was denied their free standby, or free BVRG. These ones may require an argument, so you have to be confident to follow through. I've had an FA give me my BVRG no questions asked, but then when it was pointed out that all 7 of us had a free drink, she went to check the manifest. Not an issue when we're in rows 1-3 on the plane and the manifest is at the front, but I could see some pushback if you're further back and the FA is going to have to go out of their way to verify.

I almost complained about a YYJ-YVR where I had a Comfort fare and had selected a preferred seat, and due to Miss GTE beside me having a way-too-big bag, the FA put it under the seat in front of ME and asked if I was "okay" with it. Not wanting to delay the flight, or REALLY caring for a flight of that duration, I said "sure". But at the end of the day, I paid for (by fare and status) a seat with extra legroom, and I ended up with less legroom than a regular seat. Should I get a (partial?) refund for the fare difference from Flex to Comfort? Are they going to take my word for it? Do I need to take photos?

As for selling 25 Comfort fares when you only have 24 preferred seats, I'm sure it's worded as "Comfort fares have no charge for selecting a preferred seat". Though I suspect that unlike Latitude fares (which also offer free preferred seats), most people buy Latitude for the flexibility, whereas I suspect most people buy "Comfort" for the comfort.

It's a hard problem in general. AC has unbundled everything, and then partially bundled it back up. They don't have the technical or operational systems to deal with it (just look at @philelite's recent issue with BVRG not showing up at all on his BPs). I hope this couple gets the refund they want deserve.

canopus27

I agree with this.

The problem with Rule 30 is that it means AC has very little motivation to fix the delivery problem. In fact, if you buy a comfort fare but then forget to argue for your free beverage, then AC actually comes out ahead.

If they know in advance that a failure to deliver the promised buy-up service, would result in mandatory refunds of the buy-up fare delta, then I'm confident they would work harder to actually deliver the promised service in the first place.

canadiancow

Here's a "bundling" issue I run into far too often.

DoorDash had a promotion. 1 cent Big Mac. I added a $4.43 McFlurry. Delivery/fees/whatever were $5.21.

The McFlurry was wrong (not the type I ordered), and the Big Mac was cold. What refund am I owed?

I haven't hear back yet, but I fully expect them to offer me $4.44 (a reasonable number from their perspective - the only thing that actually "worked" was the delivery). I think I deserve $9.65. The latter would also be the customer-friendly approach.

But I don't see DoorDash giving me a full refund, just like I don't see AC being customer-friendly and refunding the fare difference between BA and CO.