Standard Ticket magically became Basic
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2022
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 11
Standard Ticket magically became Basic
Hi,
First off, very sorry if this has been addressed. I did look. But I've never seen this before and neither have the agents we've spoken to. Asking on behalf of a colleague, I got dragged in to help as I'm the frequent flyer/Aeroplan guru on my team.
Essentially, my colleague booked a standard return ticket, YYZ-LHR. Her confirmation email clearly shows this...both flights are Economy - Standard. But today, if you log in, both flights show as Economy-Basic, denying her the opportunity to upgrade and possibly screwing up her seat selection (check-in is coming up soon). The ticket number and booking reference match. She booked through the AC app directly. No travel agents or anything weird. She received no communication about a change.
No one at AC can/will do anything; they claim she has always had a basic fare and needs to reach out to customer relations, which she has, but as always they won't respond until long after she has flown. Twitter support says it's nothing they've ever seen before and can't help. I am totally stumped. I thought I'd seen everything but I've never had my class of fare messed with, other than pretty ordinary upgrades/downgrades.
If anyone has seen anything like this or has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Again, sorry if this is covered elsewhere.
First off, very sorry if this has been addressed. I did look. But I've never seen this before and neither have the agents we've spoken to. Asking on behalf of a colleague, I got dragged in to help as I'm the frequent flyer/Aeroplan guru on my team.
Essentially, my colleague booked a standard return ticket, YYZ-LHR. Her confirmation email clearly shows this...both flights are Economy - Standard. But today, if you log in, both flights show as Economy-Basic, denying her the opportunity to upgrade and possibly screwing up her seat selection (check-in is coming up soon). The ticket number and booking reference match. She booked through the AC app directly. No travel agents or anything weird. She received no communication about a change.
No one at AC can/will do anything; they claim she has always had a basic fare and needs to reach out to customer relations, which she has, but as always they won't respond until long after she has flown. Twitter support says it's nothing they've ever seen before and can't help. I am totally stumped. I thought I'd seen everything but I've never had my class of fare messed with, other than pretty ordinary upgrades/downgrades.
If anyone has seen anything like this or has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Again, sorry if this is covered elsewhere.
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: YVR
Programs: AC SE 2MM; UA MP Premier Silver; Marriott Bonvoy LT Titanium Elite; Radisson
Posts: 35,232
Hi,
First off, very sorry if this has been addressed. I did look. But I've never seen this before and neither have the agents we've spoken to. Asking on behalf of a colleague, I got dragged in to help as I'm the frequent flyer/Aeroplan guru on my team.
Essentially, my colleague booked a standard return ticket, YYZ-LHR. Her confirmation email clearly shows this...both flights are Economy - Standard. But today, if you log in, both flights show as Economy-Basic, denying her the opportunity to upgrade and possibly screwing up her seat selection (check-in is coming up soon). The ticket number and booking reference match. She booked through the AC app directly. No travel agents or anything weird. She received no communication about a change.
No one at AC can/will do anything; they claim she has always had a basic fare and needs to reach out to customer relations, which she has, but as always they won't respond until long after she has flown. Twitter support says it's nothing they've ever seen before and can't help. I am totally stumped. I thought I'd seen everything but I've never had my class of fare messed with, other than pretty ordinary upgrades/downgrades.
If anyone has seen anything like this or has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Again, sorry if this is covered elsewhere.
First off, very sorry if this has been addressed. I did look. But I've never seen this before and neither have the agents we've spoken to. Asking on behalf of a colleague, I got dragged in to help as I'm the frequent flyer/Aeroplan guru on my team.
Essentially, my colleague booked a standard return ticket, YYZ-LHR. Her confirmation email clearly shows this...both flights are Economy - Standard. But today, if you log in, both flights show as Economy-Basic, denying her the opportunity to upgrade and possibly screwing up her seat selection (check-in is coming up soon). The ticket number and booking reference match. She booked through the AC app directly. No travel agents or anything weird. She received no communication about a change.
No one at AC can/will do anything; they claim she has always had a basic fare and needs to reach out to customer relations, which she has, but as always they won't respond until long after she has flown. Twitter support says it's nothing they've ever seen before and can't help. I am totally stumped. I thought I'd seen everything but I've never had my class of fare messed with, other than pretty ordinary upgrades/downgrades.
If anyone has seen anything like this or has any ideas, I'd love to hear them. Again, sorry if this is covered elsewhere.
What was the original fare basis on the original booking, and what is the fare basis now?
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: YYC
Posts: 23,742
If OP has a clear proof that the ticket was indeed standard, one option would be to cancel it and buy a new, correct one. Then send a complain to customer relations asking for refunding of the extra charges.
If no dice with customer relations within the interval for CC complaints, then request the CC to cancel the charge for the second ticket.
If no dice with customer relations within the interval for CC complaints, then request the CC to cancel the charge for the second ticket.
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2022
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 11
As for the fare basis, I don't see anything from the original booking but it's currently showing as (L) both ways, which I thought was Standard but I am deeply rusty. Thanks again.
EDIT: The original booking was also L.
If OP has a clear proof that the ticket was indeed standard, one option would be to cancel it and buy a new, correct one. Then send a complain to customer relations asking for refunding of the extra charges.
If no dice with customer relations within the interval for CC complaints, then request the CC to cancel the charge for the second ticket.
If no dice with customer relations within the interval for CC complaints, then request the CC to cancel the charge for the second ticket.
Last edited by Adam Smith; May 24, 2022 at 8:59 pm Reason: Merge consecutive posts by same user
#5
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: YVR
Posts: 1,076
With branded fares, the fare code itself is not enough to determine whether you have a standard or basic ticket. You'll need the entire fare basis.
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2022
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 11
Looks like it's LKA73LGT. More than happy to do my own work if there's a repository of Fare Basis info.
#7
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: YVR
Posts: 1,076
Branded Fares; AC changes booking classes/fare classes for Tango & Flex
Not sure if you made a typo, but TG is standard fare.
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2022
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 11
The mystery deepens...no typo and nothing in her Fare Basis matches anything from that link. I know some kind of $10 Uber-related discount was applied but I can't imagine that could cause all this weirdness.
#9
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,620
List of branded fare basis in link below:
Branded Fares; AC changes booking classes/fare classes for Tango & Flex
Not sure if you made a typo, but TG is standard fare.
Branded Fares; AC changes booking classes/fare classes for Tango & Flex
Not sure if you made a typo, but TG is standard fare.
Have you looked up the booking using the cow's PNR viewer? It might not tell us anything, but it might.
#10
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: YVR
Posts: 1,076
#11
Moderator, Air Canada; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: YYC
Programs: AC SE MM, FB Plat, WS Plat, BA Silver, DL GM, Marriott Plat, Hilton Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 16,620
Oh, and @JDB777, did you try to pull up the fare rules on the AC website and compare them to the fare rules from the e-mail confirmation?
Last edited by Adam Smith; May 24, 2022 at 9:53 pm Reason: Clarification
#12
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: SFO
Programs: AC SE MM, SQ Silver, Bonvoy Tit LTG, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond
Posts: 44,186
I'm 90% sure LGT is a *A JV basic fare.
Not that I think this matters. I'm still drafting my complaint for when the AC website and booking confirmation email said I'd be seated in "business class", and I ended up in Y.
They regularly advertise things on their site and in their confirmation emails that don't match the PNR (which, of course, doesn't exist before you book).
Not that I think this matters. I'm still drafting my complaint for when the AC website and booking confirmation email said I'd be seated in "business class", and I ended up in Y.
They regularly advertise things on their site and in their confirmation emails that don't match the PNR (which, of course, doesn't exist before you book).
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2022
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 11
The fare brand suffix thing usually holds for North America/Sun fares, but international fares often don't follow that convention.
I tried looking up the fare on EF, and it's the lowest L fare, and one of the cheapest Y cabin fares out there. EF doesn't show what fare family it comes from, but when I looked up a couple of random dates in the future, the Basic fares ended in GT.
Have you looked up the booking using the cow's pnr viewer? It might not tell us anything, but it might.
I tried looking up the fare on EF, and it's the lowest L fare, and one of the cheapest Y cabin fares out there. EF doesn't show what fare family it comes from, but when I looked up a couple of random dates in the future, the Basic fares ended in GT.
Have you looked up the booking using the cow's pnr viewer? It might not tell us anything, but it might.
I used the cow tool to find the fare basis. There is evidence of this being a basic fare: Specifically, 0% SQM.
The other thing that jumps out is that while the fare is tiny ($121), the YQ box (which I believe is for additional airline fees even though it shows up under taxes) is over $500. So the ticket is primarily made up of YQ fees. I'm new to this side of things so this may be normal, but it felt off to me.
#14
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: YXU
Programs: AC SE100K, National E/E, HH Diamond, IHG Diamond, MB, Avis P/P
Posts: 959
Thanks very much for looking.
I used the cow tool to find the fare basis. There is evidence of this being a basic fare: Specifically, 0% SQM.
The other thing that jumps out is that while the fare is tiny ($121), the YQ box (which I believe is for additional airline fees even though it shows up under taxes) is over $500. So the ticket is primarily made up of YQ fees. I'm new to this side of things so this may be normal, but it felt off to me.
I used the cow tool to find the fare basis. There is evidence of this being a basic fare: Specifically, 0% SQM.
The other thing that jumps out is that while the fare is tiny ($121), the YQ box (which I believe is for additional airline fees even though it shows up under taxes) is over $500. So the ticket is primarily made up of YQ fees. I'm new to this side of things so this may be normal, but it felt off to me.
So no, this practice of showing low fares and high surcharges is not new by any means.
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2022
Programs: Aeroplan
Posts: 11
Oh, and @JDB777, did you try to pull up the fare rules on the AC website and compare them to the fare rules from the e-mail confirmation?
Working theory at this point is someone at AC built a weird Basic fare but somehow managed to market it on the booking engine as standard. As soon as it's booked, it reveals its true nature and no one at AC sees anything but a basic fare, so they don't believe you when you say it was booked Standard, and have no way to handle it when you show proof.