Diabeetus

Hi all, similar to the double downgrade post, I had a stressful experience a couple of weeks ago.

Does anyone have any suggestions about how I could have managed this better to avoid getting downgraded and kids getting split up? Or was this a no-win situation? What should I expect now?

I was flying YYC-YYZ-MAD with my 2 children in PY, both are too young be unaccompanied. Party of 3, paid PY ticket.
The Mrs and grandparents in J reward (3 adults in J).

The night before travel, I received a push notification that I was moved from my 14F seat to SBY (standby) for YYC-YYZ. I could see the bird changed from 777 (2-4-2 in PY) to 789 (2-3-2). My kids were still in PY, we had originally booked 3 of the middle PY seats together (14DEF). I assume the AC algorithm with the 777 to 787 downgrade is that the middle "F" seat PY pax are all F-ed into SBY since it doesn't exist on the 787.

I tried multiple attempts to stay on top of the issue, and each time AC staff reassured me that I would travel in PY together with my kids:
- 1st phone call to the Concierge line, they checked with a supervisor and said it would be sorted out shortly, not to worry.
- 2nd phone call 2 hours later since I had no updates from AC. They said it was under YYC control, but from what they could tell, I would stay in PY and it will be sorted out at the airport.
- YYC Concierge offered reassurances as well, and sent a note to the gate.
- Gate agent says there is a middle-middle PY seat in a different row (13D), but refused to offer it to me since it would be unfair to ask 14G for the trade (aisle), and wouldn't move any other PY pax so that I could be in the same middle 3 seats with my kids. On the AC app, I was #1 on standby and #1 on "upgrade" list for PY.

I explained to the gate agent that it made zero sense to move a SE on a paid PY ticket (rather than eupgrade) traveling with 2 small children, with an onward international connection to standby and leave the 2 kids alone in a cabin. I also mentioned I was #1 on the 2 lists. I think this set off the gate agent, and she said my only choice was to accept a downgrade for all of us into economy at the back by the lavs, or take a single economy seat by myself and leave the 4 and 8 year olds in PY. She said it with quite a bit of snark and glee, and added that she just gave away 13D to another pax. I think my comment to her came off as "DYKWIA" and she decided to stick it to me.

I had been expecting that it would be resolved and we would all be in PY based upon all the various AC reassurances. If we took a later flight to YYZ, then we would miss our connection to MAD. At the last moment, I thought of a solution:
1. 1 parent take the Y seat.
2. keep the 2 remaining PY seats - 1 parent + youngest child.
3. move the oldest child to J with the grandparents.

In the end, we took the Y seat. But it sure felt like the gate agent was intent on being as difficult and unaccommodating as possible. In hindsight, the 777 (I can't remember which config it was) to 789 swap probably created problems for a ton of pax, so I'm sure the gate agent stressed. We were fortunate that our travel party was large enough that we could think of a last minute shuffle solution.

1) What should I have done differently? Was it a bad idea that I told the gate agent I was a SE traveling with 2 kids, a connecting flight after, and on a paid ticket?
2) I wrote in to AC and included boarding passes, screenshots, etc. What should I expect in response?

canadiancow

1. Have them follow the prescribed overbooking rules in the tariff. There are so many factors that would have guaranteed it wouldn't be you. Paid (not upgrade), children on PNR, onward connection, status, etc.

I would have been tempted to say "okay, so who's looking after the kids?".

But I certainly would have had them bring a concierge to the gate to deal with it.

You're required to adhere to the tariff. So are they.

Diabeetus

Thanks CC.

I was unaware of the prescribed overbooking rules in the tariff. Per my google search, I have turned up a couple of links, for future reference for myself and others.:

https://www.aircanada.com/content/da...pdr/ACF520.pdf

https://www.aircanada.com/ca/en/aco/...tariffs.html#/

I did not think of calling the Concierge to the gate, I will keep that handy in the future as well.

RatherBeInYOW

This kind of thing really grinds me, I can just picture the gate agent deciding to make someones life miserable. These kinds of people shouldn't be in customer service positions.

I would have done as canadiancow suggests and either got them to call a concierge or called myself - I've had concierges forcefully override gate agents in YYZ for me before so it wouldn't be the first time.

As for compensation I would point out to AC that procedures were not followed. Last time I had something like this happen (GA not following procedure at the gate that ended up with me in Y when I should not have been) I got $ and they proactively upgraded my next flight from Y to J.

warrens

To quote the lady, a regular, who was standing behind me in the Zone 1 line the other day in reference to a grumpy old bint working the desk -- "That agent needs to retire, she gives the whole airline a bad name every time I see her."

CdnFlier

Interestingly, as far I understand it minor children without an adult accompanying them in the cabin of travel are technically automatically considered unaccompanied minors and need to be supervised by AC, but your kids don't qualify for that based on age.

Honestly I probably would also have taken the downgrade if push came to shove but otherwise, if they are kids who travel a lot, here's the TV, maybe let the in charge know where you are and say that gate downgraded you but left the kids there. It would have been dealt with. At minimum their seat mates likely would have demanded it be sorted out.

What a mess. Do hope you write in, it does not seem as if they followed any of their standard rules.

lcfowler

I just want to know what algorithm in AC’s system thinks moving a paid PY pax accompanying two minors to SBY makes any sense at all. Let alone an SE with an international connection. Seems like a rule that’s pretty easy to put in the system to not bump them. Were the remaining 19 seats all filled with MM pax?!?

tbuff

And I thought my paid J booking of 4 pax (2 adults 2 kids ) being split up across the J cabin was bad....

songsc

To me, AC is a transportation company where passengers are just some sort of specialized cargos. As long as passengers are eventually moved from A to B, it's ok for them.

Despite offering premium cabins, AC is far, far from a hospitality company. And this is why I mentioned in another thread that I have no desire to fly AC unless absolutely necessary.

Diabeetus

Thanks. I'm glad that I'm not crazy in thinking some rules were likely broken with what they did.

Unfortunately my kids are too young / not independent enough to gamble leaving the kids there. Daddy abandoning them on a flight definitely would have been a traumatic core memory.

RangerNS

For them, Daddy, the crew, or other PAX?

billdokes

You definitely need to write in to bring this to AC's attention and try to get some compensation for your experience, which IMHO is completely unacceptable.

YOWgary

My edit.

I generally show up to these discussions with an "I'm sure this one's got two sides", but splitting a parent and underage children into separate cabins meets my standard for "inexcusable".

...for the same reasons a parent should be denied the option to eUpgrade away from similar-aged children and leave them for the flight crew to deal with.

cmill007

Personally I'd write in a written complaint naming the agent for this one.

InTheAirGuy

Report the agent.