I got downgraded. Help please.
Feb 7, 2018, 2:00 pm
#16
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Feb 7, 2018, 2:02 pm
#17
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OP, allow me to make this simple for you - Regardless what you have read and told, you are not officially downgraded until your travel has commenced, i.e. sitting in Y when booked in PE.
At this moment, if your situation is confirmed (no PE), what you are entitled is only either a refund or waived rebooking fee.
At this moment, if your situation is confirmed (no PE), what you are entitled is only either a refund or waived rebooking fee.
Feb 7, 2018, 2:03 pm
#18
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 324
OK, so OP has an open jaw ticket as follows:
LAX-LHR on VS outbound
CDG-LAX on AF inbound
Both directions seem to have been purchased in premium economy and it's presumably not an award ticket. Right? Then shortly after purchasing the ticket, OP paid (MONEY???) to upgrade the AF operated return segment from PE to business class. This happened last spring. Then very recently (today?), OP got an email saying that the outbound portion had been downgraded from PE to regular coach on the same VS flight. Correct? What did VS say when OP phoned other than that the segment is still operated by a three class aircraft? If the ticket is currently V class, what class was it originally? Is the PE cabin now full on the flight, scheduled for late spring?
Is this on DL ticket stock? How was the ticket purchased? Were any flights sold under codeshare flight numbers? Fare classes/ booking classes?
LAX-LHR on VS outbound
CDG-LAX on AF inbound
Both directions seem to have been purchased in premium economy and it's presumably not an award ticket. Right? Then shortly after purchasing the ticket, OP paid (MONEY???) to upgrade the AF operated return segment from PE to business class. This happened last spring. Then very recently (today?), OP got an email saying that the outbound portion had been downgraded from PE to regular coach on the same VS flight. Correct? What did VS say when OP phoned other than that the segment is still operated by a three class aircraft? If the ticket is currently V class, what class was it originally? Is the PE cabin now full on the flight, scheduled for late spring?
Is this on DL ticket stock? How was the ticket purchased? Were any flights sold under codeshare flight numbers? Fare classes/ booking classes?
Feb 7, 2018, 2:05 pm
#19
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 324
OP, allow me to make this simple for you - Regardless what you have read and told, you are not officially downgraded until your travel has commenced, i.e. sitting in Y when booked in PE.
At this moment, if your situation is confirmed (no PE), what you are entitled is only either a refund or waived rebooking fee.
At this moment, if your situation is confirmed (no PE), what you are entitled is only either a refund or waived rebooking fee.
Feb 7, 2018, 2:05 pm
#20
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 23,056
Last August I booked the following PE ticket on delta.com:
BOS-CDG-MAN on AF
MAN-BOS-MSP on VS
Two weeks before the outbound flight I called AF and upgraded with SkyMiles from PE to Business. It took about 5 minutes and there were no subsequent problems. As I understand it, when you call the US number for AF you get Delta agents; when I made the call it was clear that the agent on the AF line had access to my SkyMiles account. I had to do a similar upgrade on VS through Delta, which took much longer because the DL agent had to talk with a VS agent while I was on the phone.
All the flights were initially on the Delta codeshare flight numbers. The upgrades changed those flights to the operating carriers’ flight numbers.
It is not clear whether the OP was upgrading with miles or money, but it is not a problem to upgrade with miles by calling AF.
"Remember: Mileage Upgrade Awards can only be booked by contacting a SkyMiles representative."
https://www.delta.com/content/www/en...-and-more.html
At this point, it hasn't been clarified whether OP went through an actual DL agent in the US, or an AF agent in France.
Feb 7, 2018, 2:07 pm
#22
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Feb 7, 2018, 2:12 pm
#24
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Feb 7, 2018, 2:24 pm
#26
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: DCA
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It sounds like something may have gotten lost when you talked to whatever agent you talked to. I would call back one more time, and simply state that you were involuntarily downgraded to economy but premium economy is still being sold on the flight, so they should please fix that. Don't get into a long explanation of what you did with your return, because that doesn't matter.
My guess is that someone will take care of this for you.
My guess is that someone will take care of this for you.
Feb 7, 2018, 2:30 pm
#27
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Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 324
That is the fifth time in 2 days I have called. I have spoken to 2 different "supervisors" and no one has any other options. I just give them my confirmation number and explain I was downgraded without notice and we still get nowhere.
Some acknowledge that it shouldn't have happened but they say it DID happen and now there's nothing they can do. Even when i get them to admit this wasn't something that is my fault they still say I owe money to get our seats back (which are still open).
Some acknowledge that it shouldn't have happened but they say it DID happen and now there's nothing they can do. Even when i get them to admit this wasn't something that is my fault they still say I owe money to get our seats back (which are still open).
Feb 7, 2018, 2:43 pm
#28
Join Date: Mar 2010
Programs: DL PM, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 8,414
This sounds enormously frustrating and I'm so sorry you are dealing with this.
I had a similar issue with a delta issued VS ticket when I flew them in PE back in November on a ticket purchased in June 2017. The issue for me was that they had realigned the fare classes for premium economy (I think in July?) and this caused a whole host of issues. What happened for me was that my seat assignments were showing PE seats, but my fare class and ticket were showing economy. I had SEVERAL agents INSIST that I was in coach, despite my ongoing insistence that I had paid for PE and had the email receipt to prove it. I think I called four times, always asking for a supervisor, (and maybe for the reissue desk?), and finally , someone was able to see that when the new fare classes were published, that my ticket had not been reissued properly. They were able to fix it, and we flew in PE, but it took a lot of pushing on my end. This was not obvious to the agent, it took extreme pressure on my end to make them dig deep enough to see the issue.
My advice is to not give up, and to keep asking for the highest level of person you can speak with, and possibly the international reissue desk.
I had a similar issue with a delta issued VS ticket when I flew them in PE back in November on a ticket purchased in June 2017. The issue for me was that they had realigned the fare classes for premium economy (I think in July?) and this caused a whole host of issues. What happened for me was that my seat assignments were showing PE seats, but my fare class and ticket were showing economy. I had SEVERAL agents INSIST that I was in coach, despite my ongoing insistence that I had paid for PE and had the email receipt to prove it. I think I called four times, always asking for a supervisor, (and maybe for the reissue desk?), and finally , someone was able to see that when the new fare classes were published, that my ticket had not been reissued properly. They were able to fix it, and we flew in PE, but it took a lot of pushing on my end. This was not obvious to the agent, it took extreme pressure on my end to make them dig deep enough to see the issue.
My advice is to not give up, and to keep asking for the highest level of person you can speak with, and possibly the international reissue desk.
Feb 7, 2018, 2:52 pm
#29
Join Date: Jun 2017
Location: MidSouth
Programs: AA; Delta GM
Posts: 728
I had a similar issue where the ticket on VS was booked (via Delta) in one class. Despite an assigned seat and a receipt showing that I'd paid for a higher class of seating, my seat was showing up on VS as the next lower class of service. I went back/forth several times with Delta to confirm that I had the seats I'd selected, regardless of how they were labeled on the VS seating screen, because it just felt like I was somehow getting ripped off.
Feb 7, 2018, 2:59 pm
#30
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 324
I think this is different since I called vs and they said "you are absolutely downgraded. We at virgin have no mechanism to downgrade someone but someone at Delta has done it."
Also, before the downgrade I could see and pick my seat in PE. Afterwards, nope. I get a warning that I cannot pick a seat because I am in v class fare.
Also, before the downgrade I could see and pick my seat in PE. Afterwards, nope. I get a warning that I cannot pick a seat because I am in v class fare.