Downgrade Question
 

If they're not willing to refund the difference between an M fare and cheapest available economy fare, file a DOT complaint. This is the definition of bait-and-switch, where they sold you a ticket where you thought you'd be seated in F, and then they seated you in Y.

I'd bring this up to Customer Care for sure. Which station was this, if you don't mind my asking? I'd probably try and chat with the station manager as well, since rudeness isn't really called for.

I've noticed a creeping rudeness in GA's in particular. Frankly, I'd rather go back to the old pre-merger AS who still had a major relationship with AA, as well as the ticket change rules and fare guarantee.

Thanks all for your help. The plane was switched to one with fewer first class seats - but that happened several months ago and it was confirmed upgrade until a few hours before the flight. I've always been loyal to Alaska primarily for its customer service. Not to sound dramatic, but I was pretty shaken by this experience because of the complete indifference the gate agents showed (and in one case, pure hostility), in particular.

I don't think the AA relationship being retained in the form it was from 2013-2017 is anything close to a given if B6 wins the VX acquisition, as stated in other threads. Frankly AA had incentive to disentangle themselves from AS regardless of competition on SFO/LAX-JFK. We'll never know the counterfactual and surely the VX acquisition didn't help, but if AA had told AS to sod off, things change domestically because we're the bigger airline and we're tired of sharing money, AND B6 was bigger... would that make AS any better off?

The same goes with all the other changes. The industry as a whole is moving towards "we treat you as well as how you paid us for this single ticket transaction, regardless of whether or not you buy a lot of tickets". Even WN hasn't entirely defied that trend with things like selling Early Bird and making tickets more difficult to change/refund, plus devaluation of a fixed-price, straightforward rebate style frequent flier program. I don't think AS is immune to the pressures that Wall Street expects them to bow to.

It also could have been a FAM... (which AS can't confirm or deny)

OP, keep us posted on what you hear back from CS. I hope they take care of you.

I wondered if it could be a FAM, but everyone in the F cabin looked totally checked out so I hope not!

I would write to AS and focus on the disappointment. This was not bait & switch (just look at the definitions and you will see that it was a foolish suggestion). You are entitled to the fare difference and that is $0. If you make a point about the disappointment, you may see some form of a customer service gesture.

I would not be shaken by this in the least. It is almost certainly the aircraft swap which causes a 4-seat shortage and thus it is the freebies which get the boot.

:confused:

If the fare difference was $210 between a an economy ticket and an instant-upgrade fare, why wouldn't OP be entitled to the $210 refund?

Almost all domestic fares are filed as instant-up fares these days - for example, the cheapest first class fare in the SEA-BOS market is a Q fare which instant-ups to P. For MVPG members, AS provides the benefit of a ~$100 discount, allowing the passenger to purchase an M fare that instant-ups to U (subject to inventory). The fact that this fare bucket is also used for mileage and complimentary upgrades does not release AS of its obligation to provide the service sold. If it is unable to do so, then it has the obligation to refund the difference in price between the product sold and the product provided (i.e. the price of an economy ticket at time of purchase). This is not a complicated issue, and in the (hopefully unlikely) event that AS Customer Care is unwilling to provide the appropriate refund, I'm confident that DOT involvement would cause the tune to change quickly.

It is still a complimentary upgrade. You are still only buying an economy class ticket. They have no obligation to upgrade you, it is complimentary if they choose to provide it. While I would expect a service recovery (this is something AS is very good at), the OP isn’t ‘owed’ anything IMO, least of all a refund. He bought coach, he flew in coach. As is said often here, WFBF.

Quick question for those more knowledgeable; would it have made a difference if OP had checked in much earlier through the app/online and shown up at the airport with BP in hand? I feel that leaving that opening where you haven't checked into your upgraded seat leaves an opening for you to be picked first to be bumped to Y.

Instant-upgrade fares haven't consistently been treated as F-cabins fares, a situation across carriers that has existed for several years. Maybe the DOT will get involved (not from one case - that's not how they work) but, frankly, I doubt it. Carriers have lawyers reviewing fare rules.

Working against you here is that Alaska does not have as formal a downgrade policy/process as other airlines.

They have rough criteria they follow, but often it is left to GA discretion to pick the winners and losers and they do not always have the time/info/knowledge to take into account status, fare paid, date of purchase, etc.

e.g. Different agents may view a mileage ticket as trumping an upgraded paid coach fare and vice versa. For a long time they would often just choose whoever was in row 4 when a plane was swapped in without row 4...