Missing a flight after winning StepUp upgrade!
Feb 22, 2019, 5:12 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2017
Posts: 86
Missing a flight after winning StepUp upgrade!
Hello All,
I was flying home from Madagascar to London on my birthday last year and decided to try and upgrade the JNB-LHR leg of my journey. Put in a bid of GBP800 and won a Business Class upgrade as part of South African Airways' Step Up program.
As a parting birthday gift, I got food poisoning in Madagascar (a sadly frequent occurrence in this part of the world). SAA were no help at all on the phone: turns out that although you have paid for a Business Class seat, you are not purchasing the Business Class ticket flexibility. I had to pay a change fee to switch to an Economy seat on a flight later that week, once I had recovered! They would not allow me to switch to a later Business Class journey or get a refund or airline credit.
Anyone have any experience of getting refunds / credit out of SAA in a situation like this? Was a crappy birthday gift to pay about GBP1000 extra for the same economy seat I was going to get in the first place!
Cheers.
I was flying home from Madagascar to London on my birthday last year and decided to try and upgrade the JNB-LHR leg of my journey. Put in a bid of GBP800 and won a Business Class upgrade as part of South African Airways' Step Up program.
As a parting birthday gift, I got food poisoning in Madagascar (a sadly frequent occurrence in this part of the world). SAA were no help at all on the phone: turns out that although you have paid for a Business Class seat, you are not purchasing the Business Class ticket flexibility. I had to pay a change fee to switch to an Economy seat on a flight later that week, once I had recovered! They would not allow me to switch to a later Business Class journey or get a refund or airline credit.
Anyone have any experience of getting refunds / credit out of SAA in a situation like this? Was a crappy birthday gift to pay about GBP1000 extra for the same economy seat I was going to get in the first place!
Cheers.
Feb 26, 2019, 3:51 pm
#2
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: near Heathrow
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL (OWE), SA LifePlat (*G), BD Gold to the end, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,907
Hello All,
I was flying home from Madagascar to London on my birthday last year and decided to try and upgrade the JNB-LHR leg of my journey. Put in a bid of GBP800 and won a Business Class upgrade as part of South African Airways' Step Up program.
As a parting birthday gift, I got food poisoning in Madagascar (a sadly frequent occurrence in this part of the world). SAA were no help at all on the phone: turns out that although you have paid for a Business Class seat, you are not purchasing the Business Class ticket flexibility. I had to pay a change fee to switch to an Economy seat on a flight later that week, once I had recovered! They would not allow me to switch to a later Business Class journey or get a refund or airline credit.
Anyone have any experience of getting refunds / credit out of SAA in a situation like this? Was a crappy birthday gift to pay about GBP1000 extra for the same economy seat I was going to get in the first place!
Cheers.
I was flying home from Madagascar to London on my birthday last year and decided to try and upgrade the JNB-LHR leg of my journey. Put in a bid of GBP800 and won a Business Class upgrade as part of South African Airways' Step Up program.
As a parting birthday gift, I got food poisoning in Madagascar (a sadly frequent occurrence in this part of the world). SAA were no help at all on the phone: turns out that although you have paid for a Business Class seat, you are not purchasing the Business Class ticket flexibility. I had to pay a change fee to switch to an Economy seat on a flight later that week, once I had recovered! They would not allow me to switch to a later Business Class journey or get a refund or airline credit.
Anyone have any experience of getting refunds / credit out of SAA in a situation like this? Was a crappy birthday gift to pay about GBP1000 extra for the same economy seat I was going to get in the first place!
Cheers.
