Options on Possible Forced Downgrade
 

I may be being premature but I want to understand my options regarding a flight I have tomorrow where I am being told I cannot check in online and need to go to the airport to check in.

Flight is LHR to CAI tomorrow which seems to be generally full. Ticket is one way in J bought with Avios. I am suspecting I am being singled out as it is an award booking and they may be looking to bump or downgrade me. (Perhaps I am getting paranoid).

If bumped I presume I can claim 600 Euro for IDB and hopefully go the next day with BA providing hotel accommodation. I could cope with that no problem. What are my options though if they demand that I travel in Y.

I see on other threads that 75% of the sector fee should be returned but this would be mostly just Avios. Could they insist I travel in Y with just the Avios and small cash return, or would I be within my rights to insist on travel the next day in J with compensation.

Thanks in advance.

Whilst I don't know all the definitive answers - a friend was downgraded to Economy from CE recently on a flight to AMS and then didn't have access to the lounge!

He could have taken the next flight in J but chose to fly earlier on his original flight!

I do not think he pursued IDB, but did speak to CR about it later and was given 2,500 avios IIRC.

So no lounge access if downgraded!

If you don't have it already, you should get the BA app, load the booking and check that there is an entry under "Ticket Number", displayed below the flight details.

If there is no ticket number, you should phone BA and get them to check that the e-ticket has been correctly issued and matches the booking.

You will probably find the best advice in the EU261 thread. As I understand things, you would be entitled to the relevant distance based compensation if you are denied boarding altogether. If there is a seat, but in economy, you would have to take it to be entitled to 75% of the ticket (generally accepted to be the sector effected.)

The chance of a downgrade compared to an IT glitch remains low. If you are downgraded at check in, demand that they demonstrate they have asked for volunteers first (part of the regulation) and ask what compensation they would offer you together with a flight in the original class tomorrow. make it difficult for them. Remember though, the EU261 only kicks in if you are involuntary downgraded or offloaded. If you agree or offload yourself, it's a greyer area.

Was it an Avios ticket? If not your friend may have been given less than legally entitled to. You should direct them to the EU261 thread

Even if it was an avios ticket, it's less than he's entitled to. He got fobbed off.

EF does show LHR-CAI on 20FEB as zeroed out in all classes at the moment.

To avoid drift, a number of off-topic posts and responses which were beginning to dominate the thread have been removed. To assist the OP in getting the initial question answered, please contain posts to the core subject. Thanks.

/mod

I believe you'd be entitled to 75% of Avios paid for the sector if you were to be downgraded - so assuming you didn't use a 2-4-1 then around 23500 Avios, plus 75% of the carrier surcharges paid for the sector (not sure about taxes though).

Thank you for the comments so far. I have checked and the flight has been ticketed.

It does seem that downgrading could happen on the 75% rule if they chose but it would be very disagreeable particularly since they were still prepared to sell at least one J ticket as early as yesterday, but not now. Overbooking and then downgrading the Avios passenger would be shameful but hopefully it won't come to that.

I will update tomorrow to close out.

It does look a bit full upfront, it's an A321 midhaul, so there are only CW and WT cabins, so in a way a potential double downgrade if it happens.

Yes you can ask to be rebooked, the compensation issue is a bit thorny at that point, but I would claim for delayed arrival if you went the next day, plus the hotel cost if it wasn't provided. The complexities are best explored in the dedicated thread for this, but I should point out that this suggestion isn't totally water-tight since actually BA do have the ability to downgrade and reimburse, it's allowed for by both conditions of carriage and the Regulation.

I would arrive no later than 3 hours before departure. The problem may clear overnight, it just takes one family to have a kid with chickenpox and suddenly there's no problem. More plausibly, a failed connection tomorrow (or an ex CAI TP runner missing the last leg!). So it's quite possible everything will be fine tomorrow, assuming the OP is ticketed. If not, give the connections you are happy to take instead (Alitalia? Austrian?) and/or you are OK to travel the next day. However I see that flight is also looking rather full too...... Meanwhile MS is sending half empty 777s over to London, it would appear.

So I am in the lounge but as expected I have been downgraded and am now waiting for a manager to appear.
All seems strange as check in lady tells me flight has not been oversold and there is no note regarding any damaged seat. Hopefully I will get put back into J rather than have to suffer my double downgrade window seat.
No offer provided so far of anything beyond the 75% and small cash refund. No effort was made by BA prior to my giving over the PNR for volunteers at either the Business check in entrance or desk despite my declaration of a Cairo destination. Not a happy bunny at the moment. :(

Oh dear, yes it must be disappointing. Did you ask about either going tomorrow or via another route? I think there is one spare seat for tomorrow, and there are other ways to CAI today (e.g. Alitalia via Rome, TK via IST). Plus the direct Egyptair flight.

Looking at EF & BA.com, both showing 1J & 1Y available on BA155 tonight?

Net availability in Amadeus inventory shows CW 0 and WT -2 for BA155 tonight...so it's even overbooked
Just one spare J for tomorrow as well