phkc070408

OP: When the pursar came by in the middle of the flight and "requests" you to move, was it a "do you mind helping us out?" or was it a professional "direction?" If it were me, I would have held my ground, as "I paid for this seat too, I'm already here. I prefer not to move, Thank you," and only moved if you were instructed to. This might change the path you should take.

Maybe some of our more experienced FTers can help me out, but if the plane was on the ground and OP was told he was downgraded, does he have the right to refuse the downgrade and wait for the next available flight with space in the desired class? While I don't recall the COC stating that you can, I don't recall it stating that you can't either.

If A. OP was not given a choice to downgrade, and B. Downgraded passengers are permitted to refuse the downgrade and wait for the next available flight with space, I would think OP is entitled to at least half of the round trip ticket refunded.

EDIT

I believe findark identified the proper compensation.

MSPeconomist

Could the "FAs aren't allowed to upgrade revenue passengers in flight" rule apply here? OP was ultimately given the PP seat by a GA, who is supposed to be responsible for seating issues. There's an argument that it was improper per see for the FA to attempt to upgrade one passenger and downgrade another customer during flight (as opposed to "upgrading" a non rev into an open premium cabin seat).

BTW, IMO it would be improper for a purser (or FA) to ask someone who had paid for a premium cabin seat whether the customer would mind helping out by moving to a lower cabin than that which was purchased. Of course any reasonable and rational customer would mind, assuming that they understood the question properly. The purser/FA should understand that and also understand that it could be difficult for the victim to resist, especially if the request were perceived as a command, which is extremely likely given all the well-publicized laws about obeying cabin crew.

raehl311

I think the purser is in a bad spot here; the manifest says so-and-so should be in a seat and that so-and-so is sitting in E- looking at the app that says he should be sitting in PP. The purser can't win, and I'd say he's obligated to follow the manifest. (After all, what if it's the GA doing the shenanigans? If it comes after the flight, at least the purser can point to the manifest and said he followed what the system says.)

If it were me erroneously in PP, I probably would have gone back to E- but not before having a conversation about downgrade conversation. The 250 ETC, if in addition to the regular 500 for never being assigned a seat in the first place plus fare difference would feel fair to me.

It does seem extremely poor of United, however, to allow a 1K to end up in E-.

OP, what did UA tell you was going to be your compensation when they assigned you an E- seat? I definitely wouldn't have gotten on the plane without knowing that.

Is UA obligated to ask for volunteers to downgrade, like they do with IDB? If not, SHOULD they ask for volunteers?

malgudi

I did ... but was told it was "locked down" and would have to be done at the airport.

Ticket was SFO-EWR-BRU-ACC all on the same PNR. I'm returning the same way as well (but now see that I have an assigned E+ seat for EWR-SFO). Will see how this goes

It was a "do you mind" request. He showed me the manifest that had the other person in the PP seat. Probably the other person gave him grief (I would've done the same, so I figured I'd rather move and deal with it later). The other thing was that I absolutely needed to be on this flight to make the connections

That's what I assumed (purser in a bad spot)

This happened in the air, so I didn't have the chance to ask UA about downgrade compensation. fwiw, the purser has logged the details as it transpired (and also gave me his contact info). I confirmed all of this at the Polaris desk in EWR and will follow up for additional compensation + refund of the difference.

Couldn't call the 1K Customer care as they are closed for the weekend, but hoping this would be a straightforward call with them on Monday as they can read the notes to see what transpired.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

raehl311

But you had originally boarded in E-? What was the promised compensation for that?

malgudi

Ah! Since the flight hadn't closed yet, the GA said there was still a chance I might be in PP and he would come by with paperwork for compensation if I ended up in E-.

MSPeconomist

When the GA was moving you around, did he GA ever hand you one or more new boarding passes? I suspect the answer is no.

Where did the purser's manifest show that you should be sitting? I'm guessing not in the seat of the person who was given your PP seat by the purser (but you were too nice to suggest additional musical chairs in flight). Do you have any idea when that person was moved into your PP seat on the app? Also, was the purser's manifest printed or electronic and possibly updated/finalized by the GA after departure or even continually updated in real time. [BTW did you check the seat map or your boarding pass toward the end of the flight, just in case the GA corrected the mistake later?]

I'm wondering whether the GA could have simply confused names when assigning you the seat on the record after departure. Then the other person happened to look at the app sometime after takeoff, asked for the purser, etc., with or without really believing that he/she really should have been sitting in PP. The GA seems to have intended for you to be in PP, so I don't really see any evidence of shenanigans, but IIRC the new person in PP wasn't sitting in a seat that you had been given previously, so even with the pressure of time, it's hard to imagine a GA upgrading some random person incorrectly after departure unless there was a reason for the confusion (and I suspect the purser would have mentioned similar names).

ADDED: Often in these situations, cabin crew make a point of taking especially good care of the downgraded individual or a customer who solves a seating problem of this nature by, for example, offering premium cabin beverages/snacks or (wouldn't have worked here) a bottle of wine to go. I assume that nothing like this was offered to the OP, not that out would compensate for the downgrade and general mess.

malgudi

whipwhitaker

Can anyone confirm that this is true??

malgudi

In all the chaos, I wasn't added to the upgrade list until very late ... by that time First had checked in full. As you can imagine, I just wanted to get to EWR to make the BRU connection (used a GPU for SFO-EWR-BRU, the TATL upgrade came through 2 weeks ago).

This was a giant cluster on so many fronts. will be speaking to Customer Care later today.

MSPeconomist

Good luck and please report back of course.

ani90

You used a GPU for Y to J or Y to PP for EWR-BRU?

For SFO to EWR is it then that the GPU cleared to PP but you were not assigned a seat? Did you ever have a seat on SFO-EWR before you applied the GPU?

malgudi

Since the entire SFO-EWR-BRU was on PP, used the GPU to J.

It never showed SFO-EWR as clearing the upgrade. Fell off the upgrade list after I checked in ("as I didn't have a seat"). Added back just before boarding once I had an E- seat

Never had a seat on SFO-EWR from the time I booked, which is why I started this thread

ani90

Wow. Real appalling service from UA on several fronts. So basically they sold you something they didn't even have. I wonder then what if E- was sold old them they would not accommodate you? Still sounds fishy to me that a 1K buys PP and on waitlist for J ends up (initially) thrown into middle seat in E-. Looks to me like a series of errors by UA.

One way round this would have been to call 1K desk and ask them to split the itinerary and change it from SFO-EWR-BRU-ACC to a two legged journey SFO-EWR as first and then EWR-BRU-ACC as second leg. That way the passport requirements would have been stripped from SFO and you will be able to check in online. You would lose your GPU ability for SFO-EWR but at least you would have high chance at getting your PP seat between t-24 and t-3 (when you ended up checking in). I had to do this few months ago out of necessity flying SFO-EWR-XXX but had a six hour layover in EWR. XXX needed a Visa so like you won't let me check-in. But I did not have my passport as was going to go to NYC where I live and change bags and clothes and grab passport in those six hours. Only way I could check in sans passport was if the SFO-EWR was separated from rest of itinerary which they did. Of course they would still check the bags through to ACC once you show your other itinerary (and passport at the airport).

malgudi

Update:

I got the $500 downgrade compensation + a bit more "for the inconvenience"

Fare refund will have to wait until I'm done traveling, at which time I can request online.

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions

Does it make sense to file a DOT complaint? Just so it shows up against UA?