JohnYYC

I am leaving tomorrow morning for Europe. I am flying YYC-YYZ then on to Europe on a Latitude fare using an upgrade to business. This was confirmed and cleared 2 months ago. I chose and confirmed seat 3K 2 months ago also. So when I check in today I am bumped and put on Standby. I of course phone Air Canada and am told that the flight is oversold and I can take my chances waiting at the Airport. I mention I have been confirmed for 2 months and the Agent recommends I take the flight on a later Day. I tell Him I already have a Hotel booking and Train Tickets that rely on Me getting there on the date originally scheduled. He puts Me on hold, and while on hold I get a text from AC that I am now in 1K. He comes back, I confirm this is OK and I figure that is it.

2 Hours later I get a text that I am now in 14G in Economy. I call AC again and the Agent tells Me that She still shows Me in Business, but has no idea why I have been bumped to Economy. She puts Me on hold and I get another text this time telling Me I am in 1D. She comes back off of Hold and tells Me She still sees 1K unoccupied, but is unable to secure the seat for some reason. I thank her and figure once again that is it.

Another 2 hours pass and I get a text again returning Me to Seat 14G. This time I get another agent on the line again. This Agent tells Me that the the seat may be needed for a revenue passenger and makes me feel pretty crappy about being a eupgrade to business passenger. I would like to say this has never happened to me before. But this is actually the 4th time in a Year that I have been downgraded after being confirmed in Business Class on a eupgrade. Twice in 2022 YVR to YYC and once YYC to YYZ in mid 2022.

Is this a usual practice of Air Canada to downgrade eupgrades after they have been confirmed? ...or am I just unlucky?

cmill007

I’ve never heard of it happening like this. Irrops? Yes. Pilots needing to be repositioned? Yep, got it.

I suspect this was a glitch and you came out the short end of it. Or you were bumped for an operational reason and it wasn’t communicated to you.

Bohemian1

If you read through the handy eUpgrade thread, you find a couple of examples with similar outcomes as yours. It's not necessarily common, and AC will try to accommodate you. Worst case, they put you in the cabin you paid for.

But it sounds like it's happened to you more than once, and I would call that unlucky.

WildcatYXU

Well, posts like this are popping up way too frequently lately. Along with the posts complaining about being downgraded on an Aeroplan reward ticket. This looks like further devaluation of AC's FF program.
The downgraded AP rewards are the worst case. Here you can't even say that AC puts you into a cabin you paid for. Because you paid for a J cabin. Just with different currency AC decided to accept. So what will be next? Downgrading ACV bookings on sun routes because we only paid few hundred extra for the J seat and a J ticket costs almost that much as our entire package? Downgrading P and Z bookings because there are customers willing to pay for full J?

stevendorechester

I wonder if they were OP was offered space on a different flight. Options might have been quite limited at the last minute. I' ve found that AC agents will bend over backwards in situations like this.

Also, was the OP connecting on a separate ticket to Europe. The agent could have had more options with a flight to Europe from YYC.
Eurbrought that up as I had a very good experience once with an AE reward on UA in business class to LA, with a cheap ticket to Singapore the next day. In ORD due to a couple of aircraft swaps. Flights were massive overbooked and gate agents overwhelmed. I went up to a gate agent and told him that I was going to SIN the following day on a UA ticket and that he can take my seat. The agent had a huge smile on his face and asked me to have a seat and they would let me know. After the plane left for LA a manager came to see me, rebooked me the following day from ORD via on a direct routing to Asia in business class, paid for my hotel and gave me vouchers. Just saying it doesn't hurt to ask.

capedreamer

Wow this sounds like a total nightmare. Just from the number of times you needed to call in alone.

And 4th time in a year? That really does seem unlucky.

I may have missed it, but did you end up flying in business on this flight?

rankourabu

There have been quite a few posts about the downgrade issue on Aeroplan tickets in the Air Passenger Rights group as well.
Its super easy for AC to do that, because at most, you can get a few thousand points refunded with no other consequence to AC.

songsc

Thanks for letting us know, now I will be even more hesitant about flying on AC.

Not much can be done in this case unfortunately. AC dictates the rules and the market. If one has to fly then one has to deal with all sorts of nonsense more or less. All I can say is, the sooner one becomes less dependent on AC, or, any single brand/entity, let it be airlines, hotels, or whatever, the easier life becomes.

Stranger

OP said they did.

Happened to me once a number of years ago but there was an equipment swap. Also could happen when accommodating pilots.

But indeed this seems to be happening more often now. Still, most likely because either of the above, or because something went wrong. The OP likely was the lowest on the totem pole...

Why it would happen more to him than to the rest of us is another story...

Changeup2000

I had it happened to me once. I was then put on a partner’s flight in J, AND had the eupgrade credits refunded to me. Not a bad result for me where I have some flexibility.

Not sure if OP asked about partner airlines, but it is something AC would have done to accommodate. They may put you in an LH J seat to FRA and then some connection flight.

JohnYYC

Unfortunately No. Now in Row 31 in a middle seat. Wait... it gets even Better. I have been removed from Business on my YYZ-VIE leg and put on the Waitlist. I showed my original boarding Pass for Business (J) to the agent at the Elite Check in at YYC. She said it has been happing a lot as of late. Possibly to make room for "Revenue" passengers.

canadiancow

I highly doubt any front-line agent knows why anything is happening. I can think of many more plausible scenarios than "someone wanted to buy a ticket".

rankourabu

Probably has no idea *why* its happening, but a front line agent can definitely tell that its happening more frequently

sameruval

Ugh my nightmare, especially with a TPAC Aeroplan J award coming up. It's why I keep checking my booking on cowtool and the AC website to ensure no funny business with the booking. But it seems all these downgrades have happened on the day of travel as well which is an extra kick below the belt.

Would be nice to have a wiki or something that walks one through their options in this event, what questions to ask to see if its appropriate and within the rules etc.

I wonder if they partially rely on people being flustered and pressured on the day of departure.

D582

From what I've seen, when downgrades are happening it's first people on Aeroplan tickets who eUpgraded, then cash tickets who eUpgraded, before any passengers that are actually ticketed in J (reward or cash).

I do think there is a bit of a difference for someone who purchases a Latitude or PY Flex ticket (cash or points) 6 months before the flight and instantly confirms into J using eUpgrades and has that taken away at the last moment, vs. the rescinding of a en upgrade granted a couple of weeks before the flight. Unfortunately, AC doesn't seem to make a distinction in this case.