villox

Just an update: Customer Service wrote me back and gave me an e-cert. I don't want to say how much but I'll say it was more than generous. What's more, they seemed to really take the time to read my feedback and acknowledge that this came about because of the refusal to issue me a new boarding pass upon clearing me into the standby-F seat. A great service recovery.

samosa

It would be helpful for us to know to gauge what to expect, if you don't mind sharing.

samosa

It would be helpful for us to know to gauge what to expect, if you don't mind sharing.

CruiserCLE

I forgot about the downgrade comp so wanted to ask about a situation I had a few weeks ago.

My flight that I had cleared CPU on @ T-72 was oversold, and I accepted a proactive reroute onto AA at the ticket counter. So went from my confirmed F seat to a middle Y seat. Happened to be checking receipts today and noticed that my ticket was marked as INVOL. I can't remember if it's this thread or another one, but does having your ticket marked as INVOL trigger you to be eligible for downgrade compensation since I went from F to Y on another airline? (in UA's defense, the reroute was supposed to get me to my destination an hour sooner but I soon regretted my decision as I ended up being delayed on the AA flight and was in a middle Y seat).

Realize it's probably my own fault for not requesting any comp at the counter but wanted to check.

lincolnjkc

INVOL is helpful for getting ORC out of United, but AFAIK no impact for downgrade compensation. Since you were originally ticketed in Y and re-accommodated in Y on a different flight (of a different airline) I'm pretty sure you are not eligible for any kind of compensation, especially downgrade comp which is almost exclusively limited to being moved from F to Y on the same aircraft. That doesn't mean you couldn't try for a good will gesture, but I personally wouldn't hold my breath beyond ORC, since UA's position will likely be something along the lines of "the LA did you a favor by proactively putting you on an earlier-arriving OAL flight, and any issues with the OAL flight/delay/service should be brought to the OAL, so we don't owe you squat"

samosa

I have had an issue similar to this and it was before I knew all the IVDB rule but I received goodwill gestures from both airlines. I didn't ask the original carrier (United) but they proactively sent something not sure if it was based on losing the CPU or the overbooking. I did, though, complain to AA for the delay. Ultimately I got to my destination much later because of the AA delay which was mechanical but I think I ended up with 15k from united and 5k from AA. I didn't miss anything since it was a return flight home so it all worked out. This was like 5 years ago and I was UA Gold and AA nobody.

thedarkone

Hi,

Is United cutting down on compensation lately?

Currently gold, but should be 1k by end of august. I was traveling for work (SFO-IAD-BOS-SFO) in all paid business class, and the last leg BOS-SFO flight we were notified on the runway that the plane had mechanical problems and had to deplane. Safely first! On the next flight i was bumped from business to middle seat in coach. We also arrived in SFO 1.45 hours late.

I received a $200 voucher for the delayed arrival and the fare difference of Biz to coach as a credit back to my cc (i think they calculated the BOS-SFO leg to be around $250). But from the wiki it states 1001-2000 miles should result in $500 compensation when being downgraded. I contacted [email protected] and their response was:

Hi, Mr. XXX

We can empathize with the disappointment you have expressed. Please
understand United carefully reviews our guidelines regarding goodwill
compensation annually to make sure that they are properly aligned to
several determining factors. Our intentions are to find a mix of
meaningful options for our customers.

I understand that our goodwill offering cannot compensate you for the
undue anxiety which you experienced throughout this incident.
Nonetheless, this certificate is provided as a tangible expression of
our regret over what transpired when you traveled with us, and our
gratitude for your interest in United Airlines.

With that, I understand you are requesting a $500.00 flight voucher.
However, in the equitable fairness of other customers who have
experienced similar situations, I must respectfully decline this
request.

We appreciate you choosing us for your travels. We hope to welcome you
onboard again soon and will work to ensure that your future United
experiences are satisfactory in every respect.

Any comments or suggestions. Is this what we should expect from now on?

Kacee

I would write to 1kvoice and request GG OVS DOWNGRADE compensation.

WineCountryUA

Was your change from domestic F to economy on the same scheduled flight/same aircraft or were you rerouting to a different flight? They would be different compensation scenarios.

If it was the same flight, what was the explanation?

If it was a new flight, did you ask about staying in the booked cabin but the next alternative was unacceptable -- so you "accepted" the cabin change?

thedarkone

Thank you guys for the responses! The mechanical problem causes deplaning and I was rescheduled for the new/next flight. The gate agent told me i would not make it home tonight in business and just handed me a new boarding pass.

lincolnjkc

Not eligible for oversale downgrade comp then (the "OVS" in GG OVS DOWNGRADE stands for oversale) -- basically needs to be same aircraft/same flight for that to come into play.

In the future if ticketed cabin is important enough to you, especially in the case of a mechanical issue you can request/demand that UA book the ticketed cabin on another airline. (Weather is a different story, of course)

Just over a year ago I had an GSA in JAX who was both incompetent and rude in addition to being entirely unhelpful in an almost identical situation (though after deplaning she wasn't even willing to consider rebooking me "until the flight cancels, not before" even though I would clearly misconnect and "you might just have to be happy in the back of the plane"). I just called reservations and they offered First on Delta or American with no prodding required. (UA's only remaining options were single-cabin aircraft in addition to getting me in obscenely late)

thedarkone

Thanks for the suggestion. Next time I will call reservations instead of dealing with the gate agent.

freakflyer

I recently had an involuntary downgrade. As it was close to departure they didn't have time to print a voucher and said that I could find the credit in my account using my zip code. Has anybody had to get their credit this way? Otherwise will ping United. Thanks.

WineCountryUA

Not aware of any online access to ETCs. You will need to call. BTW, have not seen anyone previously post that they were given this sort of instruction.

alpinesta

Involuntarily downgraded from paid Business class to economy (COS to YUL) by United due to United changing the flight time by 21 minutes a month out from flight. Call to customer service yielded 3 options: A) Accept their changes and receive a $250 travel certificate as credit B) Take a 6am flight with 5 hour layover in ORD C) cancel the flight for credit. Took option B. United credit is useless to us. This experience made us happy that we had already chosen and booked with other airlines (Delta, Hawaiian and even Frontier) for our future travel.