FranckM

Hello guys

Not sure I am posting in the right place, as it is not ticketed on Jetblue, but the operating carrier of the flight where I have an issue is Jetblue.
.
I booked a ticket through an online travel agency a ticket CDG-DUB-SFO-LAS and LAS-BOS-DUB-CDG with mixed class of service.
Everything has been ticketed out of the Aer Lingus stock 053.

On my return segment, I have a LAS-BOS flight (EI5163) with the operating carrier being Jetblue (B6 1078). The segment has been ticketed in J class and the travel agency advertise a business class seat. However when I put the PNR on Jetblue website it display Economy. I have called Jetblue to try to assign a Mint seat, but there are telling me that I own a economy seat. Strange, they recognise that fare class for Mint does include J. Aer Lingus also is recognising that J class is business class but they do not understand why Jetblue do not agree with that. Of course as I did the booking on a 3rd party, they are telling me to go back to my travel agency and get the issue fixed.

The travel agency is no help, they are simply telling me that they did their job by booking J class and that I have a business class seat on that segment. When I asked them to contact the airline operating this specific flight between LAS & BOS, they refuse to do it, as they do not see the problem.


Does any one know what is wrong here ? is there some kind of misalignement between Aer Lingus J fare class and Jetblue fare class ?

On my side, the Travel agency advertise for a biz seat between these 2 cities, I get an economy seat, it is clearly unacceptable and I am asking for a full cancellation and refund as I did not get what I paid for.
Situation has escalated a lot, I sent a letter of formal notice, but it does not seems to push them to fix the situation.

Any good ideas ?

EBiafore99

Mint is tricky with B6. On B6's website, you can't even book a Mint seat in an itinerary that includes a connection to a flight with no Mint service. In fact, even when you call B6 reservations, some agents can't even do it.

I know you are talking about a codeshare, but it may be the same limitation. Refer to the thread "Connecting Mint Flight/Mixed Fare Booking" about this. The bottom line, this may be a HUCA situation until you get an experienced agent.

sbm12

There are two specific details that are needed to determine if you're screwed or not:
1) What is the EI class of service booking code for that specific segment?
2) What does that map to on JetBlue's system?

There is no guarantee that EI J maps to B6 J. ExpertFlyer should be able to tell you what the mapping is or if you call JetBlue back and they still insist you're in economy ask what code they show the booking in on their systems. But I'd start there in trying to resolve the situation.

Often1

Your first and only call should be to your TA who issued your ticket. The TA advertised a J seat on the segment and it is up to the TA to get one for you. Once you start engaging in self-help, you let the TA off the hook.

FlyerTalker70

That's correct but it still doesn't hurt to call B6, try speaking to a supervisor and if all else fails HUCA! Obviously if something is listed as Business class you are entitled to that, and I have personally been on itineraries with a different airline (LH) where it lists the flight as Economy (P class) even though they know full well I'm in Business!

-James

FranckM

1) J class according to the Travel Agency and their booking confirmation
2) Jetblue can seat assign in the economy cabin only

I have been calling them every single day for the past week.
TA do not see the economy seat map as they do not offer to assign seat. When I ask them to call the airline they simply refuse to. I even sent them a screenshot of Jetblue booking confirmation I was able to print out by putin the PNR, where it is clearly written economy, but it does not seems to bother them..

Often1

Who is the TA?

You have not identified the source of the problem and there may be some here who could help you if you would provide that information.

As fair warning to others, be very careful in selecting a TA. While a TA should not be necessary, when you do use one, you need one who can and will provide appropriate customer service and when it has made a mistake, will fix that mistake.

FranckM

internet website gotogate.com
and yes, IF I had read internet comments before I would have not...

Often1

Don't know when your trip is and thus whether you can duplicate what you have through a reputable channel. But, I would at least price this ticket through EI and if it can be had to anything close to what you had, I would book the new ticket and cancel the Gotogate ticket (or handle through a chargeback given the likely answer).

A quick scan of online reviews suggests that you are not alone, that the vendor won't help you and, at best, you are stuck with what you have and at worst, wind up with something much worse. Better to get out while the going is decent.

FranckM

Ticket is mixed fare where the CDG-DUB segment is non refundable, thus they apply the restriction to the whole trip. Guess that my only choice is to sue them to get the sale cancelled. Thanks for the help..

Often1

Not sure that it will get to a law suit. If you can show the backup paperwork reflecting that J was advertised and sold on the B6 segment, it should be a relatively easy chargeback (if the threat of the chargeback does not result in a quick refund). Outfits which have high chargeback rates tend to do a lot to avoid even more chargebacks and these guys likely have a bad rate.

I would just be careful that the new ticket is not markedly more than you are willing to pay before you attempt all of this.

However, before getting to that point, it is worth a shot at doing a three-way call with the TA and B6. Neither are going to be particularly happy about this, so just be polite & firm. Your role is not to argue about anything, but to simply keep asking what needs to be done to assure that you are seated in J (MINT) on the B6 segment.

Do this when you have plenty of time on your hands as well as a speaker with a mute button and something else to do while you sit on endless holds.

sbm12

You've stated what the seat map shows, not the class B6 claims it is booked in to. You need to know the booking class to know if it is correct or not.

And then you need to confirm if that's what the actual booking is supposed to deliver.

Also, while I can understand being annoyed at not getting the Mint service for the flight where you believe it was paid for, you're talking about a 5 hour flight. You need to decide just how willing you are to fight this or suffer for the goal of being "right" in a scenario where you have not yet truly confirmed that you are right.

Bruh

I just booked and flew on SNN -> JFK -> SFO through Aer Lingus and had the same problem.

Unfortunately I think the problem is actually with Aer Lingus, and is pretty crazy!

SNN - JFK was Aer Lingus and JFK - SFO was Jet Blue. I booked through Aer Lingus and booked business class. Nowhere in the process did it indicate that any part of the booking was economy.

I couldn't select a seat on Jet Blue flight so I called them. They said I was in economy. I called Aer Lingus, got disconnected after half and hour, called again for another half hour. They said that there is nothing they can do, and that this is company policy and that they cannot guarantee business class on codeshares, despite there clearly being business class seats available on the jet blue flight. They also said they couldn't upgrade me even if I paid more.

I called Jet Blue and they also couldn't upgrade me if I paid, as Aer Lingus had issued the ticket. They were great, though. I would really recommend them.

Luckily when I arrived in JFK I was able to pay for an upgrade at the gate, though this cost ~$400.

It's unbelievable that Aer Lingus do something so incredibly misleading and wrong. I will definitely never, ever be flying with them again.

guv1976

What did your e-ticket receipt indicate as the class of service and cabin on your JetBlue flight? Because this was a trip to the U.S., you can file a consumer complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation if you believe that Aer Lingus engaged in deceptive or misleading conduct:

https://www.transportation.gov/airco...umer-complaint

jjbiv

I agree it could be made more clear and stated explicitly without having to expand multiple options on the booking page but Aer Lingus does provide the following note in a tooltip next to the business class amenities and this is probably enough to defend themselves against a complaint of an unfair or deceptive practice:
Exclusive cabin
Lie flat seats
Luxury dining

Note Only available on the transatlantic part of this trip.