Compensation Question
 

Hi all,

I was flying from ARN - LHR during the recent strike and my flight was cancelled due to this. I was rebooked from an agent on a new flight ARN - FRA - LHR on Lufthansa. The agent did not tell me that because of this re-booking I got downgraded from SAS Plus to Economy Class.

So after the strike I filed a complaint with SAS. I didn't hear anything for a month which is why I called them and put some pressure on them (hint: it works, now I got an answer within 12 hours), and they are offering me either of the following:

a) a 300€ travel voucher with SAS, valid for one year
b) 150€ cash payment

My initial feeling is to push back as I paid more for the ticket than the cash compensation and also didn't earn the correct amount of miles. But I am not sure what exactly my rights are in this situation?

Can anyone help?

You should
a) claim original routing credit to get the full miles you purchased with your ticket
b) claim downgrading compensation according to EU261. I assume ARN-LHR is a cat 1 flight, so you are due 30% of amount paid for the segment. So unless you paid more than 450€ for the leg ARN-LHR the offer from SK is quite fair.

a) is independent of b)

It is default practice to downgrade Plus to economy on other airlines, which is a considerable downside to the product. By inventing their own in-between economy and business but not calling it economy extra they seem to get away with it. Making the appalling product even worse on a reroute which is a negative experience to begin with.

You should get the original miles if you send them an email. The voucher is always the better choice.

Thanks for the help!

I was in the same situation not so long ago. Plus is the same as economy with other airlines. Go is sort of an 'economy minus'. Only if your ticket reads booking class C or Z (full flexible plus class) you will get on a business class seat with a partner airline. All other 'plus' classes translate to economy.

I agree with fassy: claim your original flight plan for miles and points or whatever you like to call them.

The offer you got from SAS is the standard offer. Check if it holds according to the EU regulation. In my case it was sufficient. I'd also choose the voucher, as FlyingMoose suggests.

Age old problem between a separate class of service and a marginally improved experience.

There is no EC 261/2004 compensation because the underlying cause is a labor dispute. However, by contract, SK must refund you the fare difference for the extra service you purchased. It will also generally award you credit as though you had flown the original itinerary.

I wonder what it would do in court. SAS sells a product that is better than economy but rebooks to economy on other airlines when there is a better than economy product available.

I don't care about the fare difference or the miles, I care about not flying economy. It is often to complicated to purchase a last minute upgrade in rebooking situations. Would be a great Diamond/Pandion perk - when booked in Plus you get rebooked in Business on other airlines.