Question on downgrade compensation
 

Dear sages,

Had a situation this morning at LAX when boarding the flight.

My confirmed upgrade (domestic, with miles) got scrambled. I was sent to the gate agent, who printed me out a coach boarding pass.

She gave it to me (without a word) and asked me to board. I showed her my confirmation for sear 2A. Her response was that I checked in too late and my seat was given away.

Background... I had SDCed last night and check in. There may have been a ticketing sync issue.

Anyway, I asked for a sup. sup came and told me there was nothing he could do. I asked about downgrade compensation. He told me I was get my miles back, nothing else.

I seem to recall this isn't true. Advice?

The gate agent, the one who at first wasn't helpful, felt really bad.

Final result, she got me in 2A, rebooked as a full Y fare.

So what's the current downgrade policy (out of curiosity)?

You should get refund of the miles plus distance based ecert compensation. For a transcon it's $500.

1. Three different issues: A) Refund; B) Compensation; C) Customer Service.

2. No matter what the circumstances, you are due a refund of the fare difference. Here that is the miles and you have already been told that you will receive those.

3. There is no compensation under the COC.

4. UA generally provides a customer service gesture in the form of an certificate for $250-500 depending on distance.

But, in order to be eligible, you must have met the deadlines for check-in and presence at the gate. In your case it is a little bit confusing as to whether you were checked in or not. If not checked in, the F seat is simply reassigned if needed and there is no CS gesture involved, just as if you had missed the check-in deadline for a Y seat and it had been reassigned.

I checked in about 10 hours in advance, and I was at the gate 25 minutes before departure.

I think what happened with my ticket was this. While in the UC, I called UA with regard to a different PNR (for the following day) that I also wanted to SDC. The agent mistakenly pulled up my PNR for the flight today (clarification: I gave him the right PNR, but he couldn't find it and looked at my list of itineraries instead. He then began to initiate the change. When he went over the new info, I realized he was talking about the wrong city pairs. I asked him to ignore and to retrieve the correct PNR. I have a feeling he finalized the change to my PNR today!)

Downgrade comp is listed here: Downgrade First-Business Class. You were absolutely entitled to comp under UA's policies.

I'm a little confused. They un-downgraded you? How did they get the F seat back?

I think my original seat was never actually given away. I'm not really sure. The gate agent escorted me on board. She had me wait in the jetway. Perhaps they removed someone from my seat?

Perhaps there is another FT post right now from someone who was downgraded last minute?

When I look online, my name does NOT spear on the upgrade list. But when I look at my PNR, it shows booked in Y (though actually booked in Q). And it shows 2F. Not sure if my miles will be returned or not.

Sounds like shena to me. Not sure how they get anyone but a nonrev out of that seat without a fuss.

Either 2A never checked in by T-30 or OP's kerfuffle occurred at or after T-15 and the GA simply off-loaded the guy with that seat assignment. (Presuming domestic). Or there was another no-show in F and 2A got that seat. Or there was a fuss but OP had boarded and didn't see it.

The "wait in the jetway" part sounds like the GA did evict someone from the OP's seat.

countdown to the LAX-??? thread "I was booted out of my F seat due to shenanigans". T-3 hrs.

Follow up:

I wrote the following letter to 1K voice while on the flight on the 14th:

Dear 1K,

On June 14, I flew LAX-BOS, PNR XXXXXX. Though I had "same day changed" onto this flight and checked in the previous night, there was a problem when boarding - somehow my seat was lost in the system and my confirmed upgrade had been given away.

I was not happy. But it was not the fault of the agents. They worked hard to ensure my reservation would be restored.

I especially want to thank the supervisor at LAX, John XXXX at gate 73. He was calm, confident, and assuring. Even though I was annoyed at the time, he maintained United professionalism, and I was truly impressed. Please convey my appreciate to him.

One procedure question.... When an involuntary downgrade occurs, what is the course of action? Obviously the miles are returned. Does United have additional considerations in place? I'm not sure if XXXXXXX was familiar. (but neither am I!)

Thank you again, United, for being my carrier of choice!

Anyway, I got a call today from a UA Corporate Exec in Houston. She was appreciative of my feedback and apologetic of the situation, offering either 10,000 miles or a $300 voucher. I told her that even though I had been downgraded, they still found a seat for me in F. But she said that she didn't like the way it was handled, and I will be compensated.

A very nice touch!

nice letter, but suggest you edit to remove employee name

Whoops, thanks for that. If you can edit your quote (that quotes mine) as well.

Maybe I'm missing something ... the sup gave you wrong info and you later think he was professional? :confused:

This is how you "complain" effectively!
 

ZRS70, your note is a wonderful example of how to raise an issue politely without turning off the reader. ^ You compliment the GA, who ultimately addressed the issue and worked to get you what you wanted/deserved, while also raising the question of what "normal" compensation would be for a downgrade. Thereby achieving your goal without flaming any staffer.

Pay attention ranters and yellers (you know who you are). This is how it's done. ;)