Booked KA F to PVG but downgraded
 

I booked a redemption via IB for KA F for the outbound to PVG and CX J for the inbound. The day after I book, I was downgraded by CX to J and website is not selling F anymore (it was selling every single day of October when I booked, but seems like everything got pulled the day after I booked).

What should I do? I prefer dealing with CX instead of IB, and would like to change to an earlier flight on the same flight if possible since I only picked the 1pm flight because it has first class....

Hi,
I believe KA does not have guaranteed F to PVG (only PEK x6 (?)), so as you booked into F, I believe they will just refund your miles and downgrade you into J. You could get a last minute equipment swap onto the 33R though.

Cheers

OP - Two questions:
1. From where does your flight depart? You have given us destination, but not origin. It may matter.
2. You have said you "booked" but were you issued an e-ticket (you would have an e-ticket number, not just a PNR)?

As IB issued the ticket, you'll have to deal with IB. Their ability to rebook you will depend on award availability on the flights you want. If there is none, you may be able to request IB to contact their CX liason, but there's probably no guarantee.

Assuming this is just a single-segment round-trip, you should get a refund back for the difference in miles, of course again IB would need to handle that.

That's correct. CX cannot change the ticket issued by IB. OP has to deal with IB.

Above isnt entirely correct. Whens ur flight

To answer some of the questions above. The flight is in the first week of October. From HKG to PVG and back. I am prepared to deal with IB if I have no choice but just wanted to double check first to see if there is a possibility I can deal directly with CX...

I fly HKG-TPE-HKG several times a year in paid J and ocassionally in redemption J. I've never been denied a change to an earlier flight if I show up at the check-in counter and ask. I'm assuming PVG would be similar, given the frequency of flights. Use this strategy if you fail to have IB change it in advance.

I think that the situation is somewhat different.
What normally would happen once CX/KA notified IB that there is no F on this flight and that the pax is moved to J, then IB reissues the ticket in J.
When the pax shows up at PVG, the agent will see a J ticket not a F ticket.

I think that the situation is somewhat different.
What normally would happen once CX/KA notified IB that there is no F on this flight and that the pax is moved to J, then IB reissues the ticket in J.
When the pax shows up at PVG, the agent will see a J ticket not a F ticket.

This is over a month before the flight, not a last minute change.

If by hurt, you're specifically not referring to waiting on hold for an hour to get through to CX on the phone, then no, it doesn't hurt. ;)

That said, IB is probably at least as bad.

In the first post, the OP said that they chose the 1pm flight ONLY to fly F; else they would have chosen an earlier flight - I interpreted that the earlier flights do not offer F. My point was wrt to taking an earlier flight in J if F is no longer an option and IB doesn't/can't/won't change their reservations to an earlier flight (in J) - in my experience, CX is very flexible with allowing switches to earlier flights (in J), at the check-in counter, on the HKG-TPE-HKG sector and I assumed it may be similar for HKG-PVG given the high frequency between them.

If IB works with them to offer an acceptable solution, none of what I wrote matters.