First post on the forum.

I flew back to the States last night from Aruba, AUA-EWR. Currently I am on gold elite. The particular ticket I paid was fare class B. The original roundtrip ticket I paid $816.7 including all taxes and fees. Then there were two changes I ended up paying a total of $1,156.70.

Two days prior to my return I got an email message upgrading me to first class. I flew Newark Aruba very often it was nothing new to me. At the airport I was bumped off, however. This is a first to me. The reason the counter agent told me was they had to make a first class seat available to the co-pilot. Since the upgrade is complimentary I kept mum.

I was the last one to check in. It is the election year in Aruba. On my way to the airport there was a campaign prosession several miles long delaying traffic. The check-in counter was already closed after I returned the rental car to get to the counter. Although I was more than one and a half hour before the scheduled departure time.

Do I have a case?

There are several confusing elements in the post

If the check in counter was closed then how

did the "counter" as you called it refuse the up

It sounds as if you were boarded on the flight

The price paid due to changes is irrelevent

What case are you asking about

a case of what?? LoL

No you arent due any type of Compensation,no matter how much you paid for your tkt. You purchased a Coach tkt and thats what you got a coach seat.

As you said you had a free Upgarde but there are numerous legitimate reasons a carrier has for removing a person from there. 1- its Needed for cockpit crew, 2- FAM, 3- change of equipment and now less FC seats etc etc

Since you were the last person there You became the SOL person

Next time purchase a FC tkt

yaofeng:

Sorry to hear about your upgrade bump.

WELCOME to FlyerTalk

How was the load on that flight? As a Gold who bought B class fare I thought you would be B-UPed instantly, unless there wasn't B-UP space availabled and so you were EUAed instead. If there was B-UP space you should have been prioritized ahead of any others who were EUAed.

This doesn't make any sense.

The co-pilot could ride in Coach, if available, or in a jump seat.

CO has a downgrade policy which dictates compensation. The OP should have been compensated according to the policy.

I called Continental from the airport (in Oranjestad, Aruba) when I learned I was bumped down. The Onepass curtesy desk told me the airport made the bump and I will have to check with them, which I already know. My guess is because I was the last one to check in the counter agent thought I was not showing up so she bumped me instead. I don't know if I showed up earlier it would have made a difference.

The flight was about 85 to 90% full. I ended up sitting in row 20 with an empty seat between me and the next passenger. Yes I was bumped up on my out going flight even before the $340 change fees. My guess is I would not have been the one bumped down had I arrived a little earlier at the airport but that is only a guess.

What is EUA?

Not true at all.

Correct.

getting back the say the Miles used I dont consider being Compensation and I thought any other type would be Only if the passenger was on a paid FC tkt.

If Im wrong Thanks for correcting me

Update, from the post below seems the OP is getting a refund for uping the to a higher fare. IMO thats not compensation, compensation would be if CO refund that $$$ and then gave the OP something in addition for being downgraded

Just got off the phone with the CO Onepass desk. CO is issuing me a refund for one of the two changes I paid. So I am getting $150 credit back (not a voucher) to my credit card account. I am happy.

The reason the co-pilot was given a first class seat was either he was on vacation or was on a lay-over and got called back. Their contract with CO calls for them getting a seat in first class I was told by the Onepass agent.

Thanks for the help.

Customer service is typically a priority in situations where they have to "downgrade" you back into Coach. Typically this means your original seat (exit or bulk) was lost when you were upgraded, and now you might end up in middle seat.

I've been downgraded twice due to equipment changes and thus, seat shortage. The first one, I was given an upgrade voucher for a future flight, and the second one I was given $500 travel certificate.

I found the CO policy on downgrading a passenger.

https://www.continental.com/web/en-U...2009080101.pdf

On a related note, is there a policy on "un-stand-by-ing" a customer? I was waiting for a flight this morning and watched the boarding of another flight at the adjacent gate. At approximately 5 minutes before departure time, the GA called 3 people on the standby list and sent them down the jetway without BPs and told them to take any of the 3 seats available. Just then, two ticketed passengers ran up to the gate. The GA ran down the jetway and grabbed the last 2 passengers and told them she now only had one seat. It was fairly chaotic, and she clearly had planned to clean up all of the records afterwards, so I'm sure the two people pulled off the plane had not actually been issued BPs yet. I wasn't sure if I liked all of this or not - I guess that she was giving the ticketed passengers every possible consideration, but once you get sent down the jetway it seems like you should get to keep "your" seat.