we can debate how much compensation/refund is warranted, but this view is clearly incorrect. just because the person wants/needs to get home that day (work, commitments, etc.) doesn't mean he isn't entitled to a refund. :rolleyes:

If he was IDB'd then he would be entitled to compensation, but it sounds like he voluntarily took the Y offer and thus would not be entitled to IDB compensation. However, it seems to me that he is entitled to the fare difference between full-fare Y (what he flew) and full-fare J (what he paid). This should be a significant sum--hundreds, if not a few thousand, dollars/euros.

I would also encourage the OP's husband to seek good will compensation in the form of FF miles. Folks who fly full fare business class are the airline's most prized customers and the airline usually doesn't want to upset them.

I know that he had a CO tkt, but CO didnt mess up , it was KL so shouldnt KL be the one to turn to in order to get refunded and or compensation. Why should CO have to give anything above the difference in Fares? KL on the other hand owes the OPs husband something.

OK Monday morning Quarterbacking, but on a Full Fare tkt why not simply ask to be routed however they had to , on whomever they had to in order to get me to my final destination as paid for in Biz? Then again I might simply have told KL to refund the whole return portion and purchased a new tkt on whomever.

Didn't he get any EU compensation?

why is everyone here hung up on "full fare Y"? who is to say that if business wasn't available at time of booking, he would have selected full fare Y? maybe he would have selected a discounted Y.

i also don't consider "the last row of the plane" to be service commensurate with full fare Y. typically, full fare Y gets access to elite seats, such as exit row or bulkhead, no?

Update:

The first service rep I spoke to at Continental told me I needed to talk to KLM about a refund. As far as I'm concerned my only transaction has been with Continental. I paid them and they arranged travel that included a flight with one of their partners. Any money that changes hands needs to come from Continental. If they need to go back to KLM to recoup their money, that's fine. (How can I ask KLM for a refund when I don't even know how much money they got from Continental for the rerouted flight?)

I didn't like that answer so I hung up and called back. The 2nd service rep immediately told me I needed to talk to the refund accounting department and transferred me there. (Amazing how just talking to a different person can make such a difference.) The person in refund accounting was very nice and seemed to agree that a refund is due. I need to send in a copy of the original itinerary and all boarding passes showing that he actually flew coach. They'll calculate the refund and process it. I'll be sure and write up a nice cover letter explaining the situation, and even point out that he wouldn't have purchased a full fare coach seat if given a choice, and that last row of the plane isn't where a full fare coach seat would have been.

No telling how long any of this is going to take. I also plan to contact One Pass and see if he can get some goodwill miles for the delay/inconvenience.

Thanks for all the replies and advice. If you think of anything else I should include in the letter or mention on the call to onepass, let me know.

sbpoll, IMO the fact that he sat in the last row has nothing to do with anything, except if there were empty seats all over. I know people who purchased a full fare 'Y' who paid alot more then a person who was on the same flight in a very discounted BF seat.

He probably got the last row cause that was all that was opened, I would hate for the Airlines to start assigning seats based on the fare that a person paid. Most walk-up passenegrs end up in a middle seat somewhere yet they probably paid more for their tkt then 99% of the others on the flight.

He could have/should have asked what was available before accepting it. A friend took a Bump the other week w/o having asked anything till the flight was gone. It was then he found out the next available flight was late the next day, but was told he could stand-by but all the flights before his were way oversold. He got heated and demanded to be put onto another Carrier, he was told No way.

His fault, my friend should have gotten all the details before having accepted the Bump.With a Bump as long as the Flight is still at the gate is the time to work things out, bearing in mind how many others are willing to be Bumped as well.

Unfortunately , Nice was where your husband had to work things out, and get names and things in writing. And it was there where he accepted whatever it was that KL offered Him, no matter the reason for doing so.

Yes he is due a Refund but as others have said it might not be exactly what You had in mind. as for anything above that, I still say that should be forth coming from KL, even if its CO miles then KL should have to pay CO for them, but CO didnt do anything wrong if regars to the flights

You should ALWAYS discuss compensation and refunds, etc PRIOR to completing the trip.

If you accept the accomodations offered, you are entitled to nothing because you had other options that you did not exercise. You could have refuned the return BEFORE it was used, and purchased another return. You could have also called CO in the USA (inconvenient, but possible), and had them reaccomodate you before you made the return. A third option would have been to go online and change your ticket, since it was a changeable ticket. You took what they gave you, and by traveling, you accepted it.

You can't accept the offer and the reaccomodation, use the product, and then call up and expect something.

You might get it out of good will, but technically, you accepted it, and are entitled to nothing.

that happens all the time. for example, NW charges additional for exit row. there are scads of other examples, both domestically and internationally.

wrong. the transaction is between the OP and CO. CO must come up with the refund/compensation. if CO wants to then ask KL to pony up, that is their business. but, the OP has no relationship with KL.

the relationships are as follows:

customer/business = OP/Continental
business partners = CO and KLM

there is no relationship between OP and KLM. again, the relationship is between <<OP and CO>> and <<CO and KLM>>. the OP never paid KLM anything, CO did.

Charging extra for certain seats is not the same as saying Rows 5-10 are for Y fares only, all those purchasing L,U,orT fares will get a seat at the gate only or can only seat in a middle seat

With the news of a pending snow storm or bitter cold weather approaching, simply showing up at any NE Airport and purchasing a seat then and there can very likely get the person the worst seat on the flight.

It seems thats what the OPs husband ran into, a very last minute switch onto a flight that was almost sold-out, why should the fare paid or its value be a factor of where the passenger should sit. They should sit in any empty seat that is available, Unfortunately for the OPs husband all that was left was the last row.

I never disagreed about who must come up with the Refund, the Op paid CO and its CO who must give the refund and then seek the $$$ back from KL.

As for any compensation I highly doubt that the EU laws would require CO to issue the Compensation even thou the tkt was purchased via them. But would look towards KL who caused the problem even if it wasnt intentional, since the said flight was on KL, had the flight from Nice been on CO then Im sure CO would have been the Carrier the EU would hold accountable. Same with a code-share its the Carrier that is suppose to do the actual operating of the flight, that will be held accountable and not the name of the Carrier that sold the tkt or is printed on the tkt.

I don't think this is correct. He is at least due the difference in fare between what he paid for business class and the economy class travel provided.

Pays to Know....
 

I think the best thing for the OP to take away from this is to have the knowledge of what to do the next time this happens. After all that is what the majority of us are doing here, seeing how we can maximize any potential loses.

The OP has learned from here or other means to get a second opinion and that is good. Now she is learning about the ways to make sure you make it home ok. All in All, in the end everyone will gain from what we have to say and the next time the husband will be in Business class on another airline home if this problem happens again.

wrong. this may never happen to the OP ever again. in the last ten years i have been traveling, i have never had a ticket whereby:

1) purchased from one airline with codeshares
2) codeshare partner cancels a flight
a) reason: mechanical
3) partner rebooks but in a different class of service.

sure it happens...but clearly not anything close to an everyday situation.

so, saying that the best thing the OP can take away from this thread is a lesson isn't right. the best takeaways are: a) some thoughts regarding what he is entitled to and b) how to go about getting refunded/compensated.

it's like warning someone what they should do next time they are struck by lightening. sure, it could happen again. but, it probably won't.