I have run into problems on bumps in the US before for a domestic flight, where a particular flight was promised and then once the aircraft was loaded, no seats on the flight I had been promised.

Personally, I would do a TTU to NWA about the problem, since you're a Plat. I've done this when I had problems with a KLM flight ex YVR, and NW compensated me. So it should certainly work for a NW flight ex-AMS. :)

While the agent may be correct within the rules for compensation, the offer was given, and you accepted it. While I wouldn't count on the cash, perhaps some miles or a voucher might be coming your way.

Until I read the actual rules myself, I am not in a position to say what is mandated and what is allowed, so for now I will leave that part alone.

It does remain a fact that an alternative arrangement was found for you, and it really was not so bad. You did not have to spend the night in AMS, but instead arrived only 45 minutes later than planned. Giving up your EUA on the MSP-DCA flight should have entered into your mental calculations of how this would all play out. As you are probably aware, getting a last minute upgrade on the day of the flight does not happen very often on that route, so once you give it up you would have a very slim chance of getting it back, should they happen to route you via MSP and connect to another MSP-DCA flight later in the day or the next day.

I have to say a little in defense of the GA. What you were quoted at first is the "worst case scenario" about paying for hotel rooms and meals and 600 Euros. It does not address all of the ifs, ands, and buts. But the GA's main responsibility is to get that flight out, with as many as possible of the people who have confirmed reservations sitting in seats when the door is closed, and not to quote you all of the rules. The responsibility for getting that flight out is shared with the folks in operations, who make decisions about how long to hold a flight when there are late connecting passengers. The whole process is a very fluid one, changing from minute to minute, until the door of the plane is finally closed and it departs. The GA probably assumed, and it was most logical to assume, that there was no possible way that you were going to be reaccomodated on the same day to get to DCA. But only when he/she had some time to actually start working on that problem did it become apparent that there was an option via YYZ that would work. It may not have been available 5 minutes before that, but there may have been some last minute cancellations. Who knows? Hard to say exactly what happened there, but it all did work out so you did not have to spend 24 hours stuck in AMS.

As for the issue of United BP's for the YYZ-DCA portion, someone can correct me if I am wrong, but I do not believe that KLM can issue United BP's for connecting passengers. Other SkyTeam airlines, yes. For any others, you have to check in again with the second airline, don't you???

First, when you volunteer you have no right to request (or expect) accommodation on the same carrier or a specific carrier. Although most airlines will try to rebook you on their own metal, you will usually receive the earliest and most direct option to reduce hotel and meal expenses. Even if you were rebooked on another carrier, I imagine NW would consider your request for original mileage credit.

Secondly, NW/KL and AC/UA have an interline agreement and you would not have to check-in with AC (I'm assuming this was a UA codeshare, since UA doesn't fly YYZ-DCA) unless you had checked luggage (irrelevant, since you had none). If the agent said you'd have to check in with UA, they were ignorant and/or lying.

Jamito - I'm guessing you do what most of us seasoned travelers in a bump situation do - you request that the agent protect you on the later flight (or whatever flight is being offered at the time). 9 times out of 10 this works for me. In some cases, the agent will even print me a boarding pass for the later flight - only to not be used because I get seated on my original flight.

As for Yaatri's situation in AMS...I don't think NWA is going to give him/his family anything for this. Maybe it should just be chaulked up to a learning experience.

Question though...did Yaatri have the option to decline the bump after the 600 euro offer was rescinded? If so, were the four original seats for the flight already given up or were they still your's for the taking?

-RM

It sounds like they were still available, and that his seats were not given away until after the final options were presented.

actually, it was a damn good roll! :D

unless I'm missing something you got :

300 euros x 4 people
confirmed space and arrival 45 minutes later than your original itinerary

Sounds pretty good to me :D

As we all know, we lose preboarding (and usually EUA upgrades for domestic portions of re-booked flights) when we decide to wait it out for a bump.

If you didn't know this, chalk it up to a good education where you got paid. :D

IMO, volunteering means supreme flexibility --- once you enter into it, all hopes of upgrades, pre-boarding and other "niceties" are traded for compensation. If you are uncomfortable with the unknown (be it routing, new time of arrival, which airlines metal you'll be on) --- it is best to stick with your original itinerary, and just pre-board with the other Platinums.

Check out article 8 of EU 261/04 that govern passenger rights:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air_po...s/index_en.htm

In the case of VDB, compensation is to be negotiated between the pax (who volontarily gives up his/her seat) and the airline:

If you get IDBed following rules apply (EU 261/04 article 7,8 & 9):

Usually airlines give/negotiate the same benefits to the VDB pax as the IDB pax get. So in my view of the rule you were supposed to get:

- 50% of 600EUR (delay <4h over a trip longer than 3500KM) = 300 EUR cash (our higher value in voucher at the discretion of the airline)
- re-routing to the final destination under comparable conditions of travel at the earliest convenience

If you didn't get the above and a protest with KL/NW has no satisfactory outcome, then you have a valid case to file a protest with enforcement agency of EU261/04 in NL the IVW.

http://ivw.nl/onderwerpen/luchtvaart...stapwijgering/

The form (Formulier Melding klachten luchtvaartpassagier) can be emailed to loket(at)ivw.nl They will however only act if you have already discussed this with KL/NW.

That has been my experience in domestic bumps - never had the compensation renegotiated after the offer.

Just because an interline agreement exists, that has nothing to do with whether a carrier has the ability to thru check you in on another carrier. I would guess that NW/KL do not have the ability to check you in on UA/AC. They can transfer your bags, and sell legs on each other as part of a ticket, that it what an interline agreement means.

If its an e-ticket, the agent should also have the ability to issue a boarding pass.

It was a paper ticket. And it was Air Canada code-share.

Why on Earth did they give you a paper ticket? 96% of all tickets are e-tickets, and that last 4% that aren't usually belong to Third World or dilapidated airlines, neither of which NW/KL or AC/UA are.

Are you sure you weren't printed a paper receipt or voucher, but the reservation was actually electronic.

I am sure it was a paper ticket.
1. The person who handed me the documents told me it was a paper ticket.
2. I know what a paper ticket looks like.
3. It was on the KLM stock. The kind with red type. :)
I was surprised too and thought exactly what you did, "Why the hell are they giving me a paper ticket in this age?" But I was more interested in having the compensation restored to the full amount than arguing about a paper ticket vs e-ticket.

One correction we were compensated for three people only as they needed only three volunteers. I would gladly except all the inconvenience if the GA had not switched the amount. The first mention of compensation was 600 Euros without any mention that it could be lower under some circumstances. It was definitely a case of deliberate misinformation. How many times must I state that?

As I pointed out earlier, the GA told you the compensation in the worst case scenario....that is if you had to spend the night in AMS and not get home until the next day. In that case, you would have received the 600 Euros, hotel and meal vouchers, etc.

However, you were VERY LUCKY!!!! You did not have to spend the night and they were able to get you home the same day. In fact, only 45 minutes later than you had planned, so all 4 of you could actually ride home together from DCA. What a heck of a deal....you got 900 Euros, and missed out on a few extra miles since you did not have to travel via MSP. You got exactly the same meal, but maybe you did not get to sit together on the plane to enjoy it. You got a KLM movie instead of the NW AVOD. BUT....you have 900 Euros in your pocket. That probably was enough to cover the cost of two of the four tickets that you purchased for this trip, if not three of them.

Thanks go to the LH Mod who posted the EU Rules above, which are quite clear. You got exactly what you were due, no more and no less. What is the problem here?