Downgrade Refund
 

It is the first time I have had to submit a request for a refund via the EK website, downgrade from F to J due to metal change (3 class to 2 class). I received a reply straight away "Thank you for your query – we will respond as quickly as possible", this was 10 days ago. The flight was 2 weeks ago. I would appreciate it if anybody has first hand experience of such a request as to a reasonable time to expect an outcome, thank you.

What is a reasonable time - at most two weeks
How long might one expect to wait for a reply from Emirates I do not know

BTW many years for the same reason I was downgraded by EVA on my flight out and I was going to wait until I was back home before applying (pre internet days) but on checking in for the return I was handed an envelope with cash to cover the downgrade

IME you can escalate this if its a case like yours of premium cabin downgrade. If you call EK and ask them to give back office a nudge then you might end up with someone who can push it forward.

I hope you aren’t expecting a refund....

What was the route ?

Not even if departing from countries where EC261 applies ?

Well that depend on notice

No, it does not.

EC 261/2004 downgrade refunds apply no matter when (or if) notice is given. Whether downgraded an hour after booking or as boarding the flight, the refund is the same, 75% of the base segment fare for a Type 3 flight.

Luckily for me I don’t live in the land of the worlds favourite airline or it’s soon to be ex friends in europe.

EK will still downgrade to the highest J fare which is often more than an F saver. I got 300aed from a much higher “fare difference”.

not an issue on other airlines where J is better than F I suppose...

Does this matter ? I thought as Often1 pointed out, the EC261 reimbursement is 75% of base segment fare. Ofcourse, this all depends on which route the OP was downgraded on. If outside EU jurisdiction, it could be what you said.

As I said I live in Dubai and the flight was Dxb to HKT so yes it matters.

The route was MAN-DXB-BKK, booked in F with the DXB-BKK downgraded to J. The downgrade was from F saver to J flex (sneaky) so I expect very little if anything but would just like a conclusion as EK said the response would be as quickly as possible.
Last year I booked this same flight in J and a few weeks before departure paid to upgrade the entire route in F, this was not a small amount so it is disappointing that I can expect very little recompense for the downgrade of one leg of the journey, but that appears to be the way with EK.
(Not expecting sympathy!!!)

I presume they have send you a new e-ticket (not sure, as this has never happened to me). You can then compare the fare calculation of the 2 tickets and see what you should get back. Or is it not that simple. The upgrade you paid for last year may have been from J Saver into F Flex or some other combination which can be way more of a difference than what they have done to you now.

By the way, you DO have my sympathy as I would also be gutted to loose out on F and get squat back. But I suspect my sympathy does very little to soften the blow, sorry for that. :rolleyes:

Thank you, you are correct the calculation is not simple as they downgrade to J flex which is probably more or less similar to F saver price.
The paid for upgrade last time was from J saver to F saver as far as I remember and was exactly same route and flight numbers. Obviously if I had known that this year the 2nd leg was to be downgraded I would not have booked F but gone for J, this is what I will do in future.
Off out for a beer in sunny Thailand to drown my sorrows.

As has been said, you are entitled to 75% of the downgraded sector (not including taxes but including surcharges) under EU regulations.

Work out the percentage of the distance of the downgraded sector, and use this to calculate how much you should be refunded.

There are some examples on the EC261 thread on the BA forum.

ETA :- Now that I'm back on a proper computer...

MAN-DXB = 3518 miles
DXB-BKK- 3050 miles

So, the return is 13135 miles.

The DXB-BKK leg is 23.2% of the total.

Let's say the F return is £5000 not including government taxes.

23.2% of £5000 = £1160

So, under EC261 you'd be entitled to 75% of £1160 = £870

*I think :)

This makes sense, I don't see a point of bringing in the fare type (F saver, J flex, etc). It only matters how much you paid and working out the approx fare of the affected sector.