Vol Downgrade Compensation. For you or your Employer ??
 

If you take vol downgrade , Business to Econ , is the Compensation for you or your employer ( Who paid for your ticket , for a business trip).

What do you do ?? Keep it for youself and say nothing or offer it to your employer ??

CX hardly downgrades anyone who already has a confirmed seat especially in Business Class. Usually the flights are booked solid anyway, so CX would prefer to keep you in a fare paying Business Class seat, rather than pay you money to downgrade.. and they'd have to upgrade someone from economy because the flight is full? Doesn't make sense...So I would say, if you're hoping to win some cash... tough luck. However, if you have been bumped off your confirmed seat and CX offers you cash, then you would be entitled to the cash because you endured the suffering and humiliation of having been totally embarrassed at the gate.

My brother was Vol downgraded on the early HKG flight yesterday.Was asked at the airport express and declined, but thought about it and said if they gave him 2 seats in ECON he would do it. Was given a large sum , put straight onto his credit card, and ended up ( probably by luck with 2 empty seats besides him in ECON. WE was discussing weather he should mention it to his employer, and I siad I would put a post on FT.

Dont know 2 much about his ticket , but think it is around the world with CX & BA as hes is of to JFK tomorrow on BA , then CX back to HKG.

Would his employer ever get wind of this ??

AS I say this was a Vol downgrade as the CX offer was too good to turn down.

I'd keep the compensation :D because you're the one who's getting the pain and suffering in Y :)

That is theft, pure and simple -

I suggest you mention this in your next interview - i

In my opinion, it is between you and the airline. So my advice to him was not to mention it to the employer.

And why is that? He does not own the ticket, the employer does.

Under your logic, if he did not take the trip at all, he should get the refund from the ticket.

Let me ask it to you like this - if someone asked you during a job interview how YOU would handle this situation, how would you answer?

Thieves are thieves - we generally try NOT to hire them.

Each to their own opinion , but can not see this a theft.

You get FF miles on Business travel & some promo benifits .... Do you offer these back to the Employer ???

Whats the dif between an upgrade , ( a service benifit ) and a downgrade , for an unsoliceted financial benifit. ??

You can argue it either way....

It's certainly a grey area, each to his/her own. If I were you, I'll offer it back. Depends on how your company's accounting is done, it may be easier for your employer to let you keep it...

I just see this as so black and white, and with no gray

Look at it like this -

Your employer pays cash for your ticket, through no fault or action on your part, a portion of that ticket is not used resulting in a refund

How is this different from

You are working on a project of some kind and in order to complete the process your employer buys 100 widgets. When you actually finish the project, you only need 80 and when you go to return the 20 they offer to credit you instead of your employer.

Just because this involves an airline ticket and we consider ourselves to have a special knowledge and sense of entitlement in this area, I see no difference between my examples.

Well I can certinaly see your argument.

Probably the sensible thing to do is mention it to the Company , and see what they say.

Thanks for all the comments.

What if you do the opposite?

Your employer would only pay for Y on flights that are not long enough to qualify for J travel, and you pay the difference between Y and J out of your own pocket by exchanging your ticket?

What would happen then?

To me that is the same as having, for example, a dinner per diem of $70 and deciding you want a decent bottle of wine and your dinner bill is $150.00 - you can expense the $70 and the rest is yours.

Please understand why companies pay for premium travel - it is so that you can be productive and well rested to represent our interests upon arrival. It is not so the employee can use it as a scam to make money.

To use the word scam is out of order. I asked a simple question and after taking your advice agree that you should tell your employer.

The incident that I was refering to was not intended as a scam , or theft.( as you have also mentioned).

My initial advice on hearing what had happened was to keep the money, but after reading your arguments agree that it is wrong. ( I travel on my own £ and have never had to
consider an employee / employer relationship).

I politly asked other peoples advice , I my ego is not large enough to think that I am always right.