A5Globetrotter

Need help here on how to proceed. Here's the scenario:

A few weeks ago, I booked a one-way ticket in First from MSP-EWR using Avios. The flight was on AA metal. I was called a few hours before the flight letting me know of cancelation (pretty standard) and I was rebooked on another AA flight (also standard). The flight they booked me on; however, was MSP-ORD-NYC (forget which airport) but only the second segment in First. In either case, flight would get me in too late (next AM), so I requested they put me on a DL flight that was getting in that night. Hour of annoying calls later, they did.

However, the flight was in economy and I was never told I would lose all of the paid Avios (don't think would have been different if I had kept the flight they offered). I took the flight (got DL credit by pushing them to get me in Y), and on the backend saw no credit from BA. In my mind, I had a canceled flight, was booked in First and flew economy back (and at a worse time!). Hence, not even counting inconvenience, I should be due back 22.5k-7.5k = 15k Avios for the difference between First and Economy. This has fallen on pretty deaf ears and BA just recently responded to a tweet of mine and after a fight offered back 10k stating:

"Thank you. Normally we are unable to offer a refund in these situations but we have re-credited 10,000 Avios to your account as a gesture."

Needless to say, this doesn't seem appropriate and I'm not content. Moreso, not content as I don't want goodwill written on my account (I want to save that for another time).

Thoughts? Is this reasonable? Other way to proceed?

DWFI

I think that on paper, you are due the Avios refund in full. I also think that on paper, BA could have told you to go pound sand when you asked to be endorsed onto Delta.

Consequently I think 10K is a fair compromise.

I do recall a thread with a similar issue a while back, not 100% how it was resolved.

IMH

This is probably not what you want to hear but yes, I think it probably is.

If you'd insisted on staying in F you'd have been able to -- but probably wouldn't have been able to travel until the following day (because most flights inside 24 hours don't have any spare F seats due to upgrading practices in the US).

It sounds as though AA was very flexible in working with you to find an acceptable alternative: they paid another carrier and you reached your destination on the day you needed to. You accepted that and, in doing so, accepted the downgrade.

Getting downgraded to Y: annoying. Getting where you needed to be: more important. Getting DL miles and 10,000 Avios: ding ding ding.

Tafflyer

Presumably AA as operating (and cancelling) carrier endorsed you to DL. (??)
You travelled coach, paid first, a refund is due. Simple.

A5Globetrotter

They didn't endorse it, I pushed. But is there really any way the customer service team now would know that? If they didn't offer and I pushed for it, does that change the expectation?

Edit: they executed it, but didn't offer it to me as an option until I requested it.

Tafflyer

Well, they should have put you on DL in first. If this was not available, which I assume due to the flock of status pax that would have been given upgrades at T-24, then you are due the fare difference back. Since the ticketing airline was BA, than they have to do it. No difference if it was cash, miles, Avios, points or any other means of payment. If you don't get anywhere, I would advise you to complain to the DOT. http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/file-consumer-complaint

HIDDY

As you refused the alternative routing offered then it could be said they did what they had to do and you also refused the other option of being refunded in full instead of pushing for the flight on Delta.You did get to your destination and got 10,000 Avios refunded which might be better than what you might actually be entitled to.

Bit of a grey area and would be good to know the exact rules.

Globaliser

"Endorsed" in the sense of made your ticket valid for use on another airline. But it's common to have to push a bit to get an airline to re-route you onto another airline, for reasons which are obvious.

At the end of the day, you technically took (indeed, insisted on) a voluntary re-route/downgrade so that you could get where you needed to get to, and that was facilitated by waivers of the ticket conditions by the operating airline. One could argue endlessly about this; you might be right and you might be wrong, but in the end there's only 5,000 Avios in it! Like DWFI, I think that you might regard this as a fair compromise.

IMH

Even less if we give some value to the 2,500 or so Delta redeemable and qualifying miles that OP will have earned as a DL Platinum member.

OP got what he requested on the day -- a flight to the desired destination arriving the same night plus DL miles by "pushing them to get me in Y". He/she also got 10,000 Avios. I'd say it's time to see that as an acceptable outcome and move on.

TravellingSalesman

I would say that BA should refund the full amount, and often are far too reluctant to do this when they downgrade. On the other hand I would also agree with those who say that 5k avios aren't worth it.

Globaliser

Although in this instance, BA didn't do any downgrading. It was ultimately the passenger who insisted on being both downgraded and re-routed (onto a different airline), because that was what was needed to get where they needed to go. And it wasn't even triggered by anything that BA did; it was the operating airline's cancellation.

A5Globetrotter

Was it unreasonable to expect a flight that would get me in that night (given that there were others still live)? (ie, should I not be penalized for a normal request?)

If I had taken the original flight they offered, was I still entitled to compensation given that only one leg was in first?

cmcbugg

You'd probably owe BA more miles since they price per segment

Globaliser

I still think that the answer is: Maybe, maybe not; but you could only have got a maximum of 15,000 back, and you've had 10,000 back plus a slug of DL miles too - so is this discussion about high principle really worth the electrons?

FAA1996

It seems like a voluntary downgrade to me. They AA flight you were on wasn't flying; you and two options:

A) Take the next AA flight with reward seats available in F
B) Take a voluntary downgrade and get to your destination in time

You chose option B, so the Avios and SkyPesos are icing on the cake.