Help - 2 4 1 Club bumped to WT+ at check in
 

Hi all
Travelling as a couple on separate bookings with a family of 3, we on the 2 4 1 have been bumped into WT+, they have offered us £100 as compensation is this really correct. I know there is other threads on this but am struggling to search on my mobile

TIA
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Hi - I think it might be good to include your route, but I suspect you are already airside.

£100 compensation for a downgrade like this seems very poor. You are entitled to EU 261 (see separate thread) for the downgrade however, I don't think you have to accept it. Re-routing you in J should be an option if available and agreeable with you.

I am sure the resident experts will chip in here. All the best.

If this happens to us in Nov on our 2-4-1 booking, I am not flying.

You will, later, get the mileage difference.

Looking at correspondence sent to a HFP reader this week, BA is now claiming that Avios tickets are entirely excluded from EU261 and you will get zilch extra.

This is, even on a casual reading of the rules, bull and EU261 applies but you will need to fight.

However, BA will then claim the 2nd ticket has zero value. EU261 does allow for this. The best you would get via a small claims court is 75% of the one way Avios used for 1 person.

That's why 241 tickets are downgraded first. The new FLY system knows the economic value of each ticket and acts accordingly.

£100 is probably just immediate payment. Be careful what you sign, take a photo of it (no one seems to do this) but usually it's OK to accept this: you can't sign away your EC261 rights even if you wanted to.

I take it you can't go in CW via another flight or route?

Did you check in online yesterday?

So there are five you in total - two bookings.

Booking A is three people and they’re still in Club.
Booking B, includes you, is a 2-4-1 booking, and you have both been downgraded?

You are each entitled to 75% of the cost you would have paid in Avios each (ignore the fact you used a 2-4-1).

BA will not agree, and you will have a fight on your hands, but don’t let that get the holiday down. Where are you off to? Worry about it when you’re back!

I've been repeatedly told by a variety of BA staff, at different levels of the company, that this is not correct, and it doesn't accord with what I have seen at LHR.

Flying to MCO offered 2 of us to fly tomorrow, I did ask about routing through another carrier/airport but they refused saying they did not have a responsibility to do that

Yes we checked in yesterday and also paid £170 for seat selection 3 days ago

The second point is a bit silly since it wouldn't cost BA anything significant to route you via AA. I guess this is at LGW, which admittedly does reduce the practical options.

I think CountyKerry is right, namely get on with enjoying the holiday and then come back here / EC261 thread to pursue the case. BA will not ascribe a value to the 2-4-1, and CEDR seems to agree, so I would look to perhaps MCOL the lost value on your return. The calculation is tricky to do now, unfortunately, but I would urge you to do this.

Nasty. This does seem at odds with the assumption that those last to check in will be at the front of the queue for downgrades.

Although a downgrade is a real PITA WT+ for a vacation trip to MCO is not too bad for a day flight. Especially if you let the crew know you were downgraded, you should hopefully get some extra special attention.

When you get back, go to the EU 261 thread here and pursue your full entitlement under EU 261 regulations, which is 75% of price paid (excl. legal taxs) for that sector. You will need to take a bit of a fight, especially as BA will try to decieve you regarding the 2-4-1, but it is straightforward and with a good argument from the experts here, you will almost certainly get the Avios back or cash equivalent awarded by MCOL.

Whatever you do, don't let it put a downer on your vacation!!

Indeed. Moreover BA will have to refund the OP's £170 and presumably won't get anything from whichever pair of customers managed to squeeze on with unreserved bookings. If you do the maths, it doesn't make sense.

I'm not saying thats not the case, but the phrase "well, they would say that, wouldn't they" immediately springs to mind.

The increased (if anecdotal) number of 2-4-1's being reported as selected for downgrade, combined with the "saving money is in our DNA" mantra from Cruz makes me suspect that either you were lied to, or (more likely) the people who spoke to you aren't fully in the loop.

But, we'll probably never know.

I applaud the calm nature in which the OP seems to be accepting this. I'd be pushing for a rerouting on another carrier in business.

With 5 in the party, seems like the OP is stuck but should of course enjoy their vacation. It seems the situation could have been handled very differently.

Now...given the LHR briefing sheet has a listing of all flight numbers that are subject to potential downgrades, perhaps a kind staffer could slip this onto FT each morning? :)