PJ81

Hello All,

I posted in here a few days ago as it looked like our return flights had been cancelled. Seven of us (4 adults, 3 children) Dub-Phl-Mco return in business with AA booked through BA.com.

They have put us on our original Phl-Dub flight but the connecting flight has changed and all seven of us downgraded to economy, they didn't tell me this, I discovered it when trying to choose seats!! Not a huge deal for us as it's a short flight and the timings actually work better.

Can anyone give me advise about refund or compensation for the downgrade? And would we be entitled to the tier points/Avios for a business class flight even though we will now be in economy? Do I contact BA or AA??

Many thanks

MADPhil

You should be eligible for Original Routing Credit if the change was not your choice (I even got it when I took a bus because an AA cancellation was followed by no available seats). You should be able to get a refund of some sort although the airline can make this quite small. Some people worry that you may not be able to do both but I don't know how real cases have worked out. You should contact BA for ORC and probably also for any refund.

MarkFlies

1. Apply to BA for ORC. Once it's posted:

2. Write to AA. Request a refund. They will refer you to BA but they might throw you some AA miles (are they any use?) or an AA voucher.

3. Ask BA for a refund - don't expect much

Filthy Monkey

Have you considered actually rerouting? Maybe going via London?

Heathrow Tower

Yes, had this happen to me last year.

I only found out at the gate boarding my DFW-SCL leg. I asked if we would be bumped down into economy for the return leg, and they said yes, so I got the. To reroute the return leg SCL-MIA-DFW all in business class.

Suggest you try the same?

Often1

The MCO-PHL segment would have been in F as there is no domestic J on AA (on that route). As BA is the ticketing carrier, any reroute will be handled by BA. Deal with the reroute now and compensation and ORC after your return home.

If you have a preferred reroute, call BA with that. Your point about the short hop up to PHL is well taken, but you might consider MCO-LGW-DUB, just check that the timing works for you.

When you return, call BA and ask for the refund for the downgrade if you do stick with the AA segment. As others note, it won't be that much, but it's something. ORC at the same time.

KARFA

Guide to ORC here https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/brit...r-s-guide.html

SonTech

Why not go Dub-MCO-Dub direct with Aer Lingus? Saves all the hassle of connecting.

PJ81

Thanks for all the replies, will let you know how I get on!

zabes64

Actually as of this year there is no domestic F on 2 cabin flights, so domestic J is actually correct now for all 2 cabin flights.

Tafflyer

Actually, AA still calls it First Class. The only change is that it now books into fare buckets J,D,C,R and I.

If AA have downgraded you by incorrectly processing a schedule change you are within your rights to ask to be put back into the forward cabin or rerouted. Practically, you may not mind the shorter flight in Y but it will prove difficult to get an ORC from AA posted to a BAEC account. AA are strict about only crediting for cabin flown, even when it's their fault. I would request the reroute.

KARFA

I previously thought this as well that ORC would be very difficult. However, this seems to have changed and I think there are several reports of successful ORC claims under similar circumstances as detailed in the ORC guide linked to above.

PJ81

So I had call last week from a nice chap in Newcastle who advised me that there is no compensation for the downgrade and that I can either have the avoids/tier points for business class or the refund, not both!! He didn't know how much the refund would be so I asked him to find out. I he said he would and would email me. Have received an update today and it is going to take a bit longer to work out the refund.

To be honest i'm not very happy. It basically means that they can overbook in premium cabins and then just downgrade the cheapest fare paying passenger(s) and offer them a refund but no compensation. Doesn't seem fair.

corporate-wage-slave

OK, well let's get this one step at a time. There isn't compensation for this under EC261 for two reasons: you're on an AA flight from MCO to PHL so since this is a non European airline it is outside coverage. Secondly EC261 only gives a refund mechanism rather than compensation. Given the short sector I doubt EC261 would be very generous in this area either, though it depends how much you paid, but on a longer sector it may have given you much better protection.

BA calculates the AA refund if they issued the ticket. It can take 6 weeks to do this, and when it comes back it it near impossible to challenge the offered refund unless you have a pretty forensic insight on the fares concerned.

On top of this, if it was AA that was to blame here, you are at liberty to approach AA - not BA - for customer service remediation. My guess is that if you approach them and explain the inconvenience of the new timings, mention something good that AA did in the process (e.g. name an AA staffer who did a good job) you may well get a travel voucher of USD100 or so per passenger.

You can still follow through for the Original Routing Credit as per the dedicated thread on this. I have my doubts on this, but you should handle that separately from the refund in my view, by filling in the relevant partner webform and ringing up when this is automatically rejected (which it will be if you were awarded some Avios anyway).

It's important to bear in mind that though the LGW-MCO flight may be expensive/unattractive for other reasons, it does give EC261 protection all the way. Had there been a weather even in Florida - scarcely unusual - you would have been left there without right of care protection, for example. Aer Lingus' own Florida flights also have this EC261 protection.

PJ81

Thanks C-W-S. I have contacted AA to see what they say.

In terms of the LGW-MCO route, the DUB-PHL-MCO suited the family better as they live close to Dublin but I get that it carries more protection as such!