Question: I’m having a problem with an involuntary downgrade. I bought a ticket on Virgin Atlantic Airways last March to fly from New York to London in premium economy class. When I arrived at the airport, Virgin canceled my flight but rebooked me on the next flight out on British Airways.
When I was issued my new ticket, it was in economy class. I tried to explain I should’ve been booked in the same class — in this case, World Traveller Plus — but British Airways wanted to charge me extra for it.
I’ve complained to Virgin that I should’ve at least been issued a partial refund, but haven’t heard anything. Any insight you have would be greatly appreciated. — James Simon, New York
Answer: Virgin should have either put you in the British Airways equivalent of premium economy class or refunded the price difference between the tickets.
But that’s easier said than done. Even though Virgin’s premium economy and British Airways’ World Traveller are essentially the same products — they have roughly the same amenities and services, including in-flight entertainment, meals and seats with about the same amount of space — the airlines treat the products differently in their reservations system.
It turns out you were holding a discounted ticket for Virgin Atlantic’s premium cabin. When the time came to transfer your ticket to British Airways, the airline bought you a seat in the equivalent class for that fare — which was economy class.
That’s understandable from an airline’s perspective, but I think someone should have taken the time to explain why you were being downgraded. Virgin Atlantic could have also found a way of making this up to you, either by crediting miles to your frequent flier account or by offering you a flight voucher.
Instead, you were unceremoniously sent to the back of the plane. And when you asked for compensation, you were ignored.
How could you have prevented this? I think the ideal time to resolve a problem like this is at the ticket counter, not after you land. When you saw the involuntary downgrade, you should have protested the seat reassignment politely, but firmly. As far as I can tell, Virgin’s customer contract doesn’t specifically address a downgrade such as the one you encountered. However, the fine print seems to suggest that you should be sitting in the class of service for which you paid.
I contacted Virgin on your behalf, and a representative promised to offer you $250 in ticket vouchers or 25,000 miles. It also assured me your frequent flier account would be credited with the miles, as if you had flown on Virgin instead of British Airways.
Too bad the story doesn’t end there. A month later, you had received nothing. I contacted Virgin again. It didn’t respond. So you threatened to take the company to small claims court.
Finally, the airline sent you a belated apology, depositing the promised 25,000 miles into your account and crediting you with the miles for the flights. Better late than never.
✓ Get the latest travel news, tips and commentary from Elliott’s E-Mail, the subversive newsletter from industry gadfly Christopher Elliott. You’ll travel like a pro. Sign up here. It’s free.
Sign up for my 
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Airlines sell these weird tickets that are coach tickets but book in Premium. So when there are irrops, you end up in coach. That hardly seems fair. If I wanted a coach ticket, I would have saved myseld a bunch of money and bought a coach ticket. They should reclassifiy these tickets as premium tickets to prevent customer confusion.
At the time of purchase, was there a difference between a discounted economy ticket on Virgin and the discounted premium class ticket on Virgin (that he purchased)? If so, Virgin owes at least that difference to the passenger, and as cash, not “vouchers”.
It doesn’t matter what the dollar amount is at the time the transferred ticket; if you booked 4 seats at $100 each, and the cost of another airline’s ticket is $200, would it be okay for the airline to say “We’re only going to get you 2 seats, nothing else”?
Some merchants seem to forget that as a customer, you are buying a certain product. This is something completely different from spending a certain amount of money. When replacement is necessary (for whatever reason), a replacement of the *product* should be the matter at hand, not a replacement of *equal value*. A customer can not be held responsible for the pricing policy of a company.
Jasper, i agree with you 100%. It is not up to the customer to care what the airline sells their seats at in whatever class. Based on the story, I could have bought a first class ticket for $100 on xyz flight, but then been downgraded to economy because I only paid $100??? Heck no. I contracted for a first class seat and that’s what I expect. It is not my fault if the airline didn’t collect enough money. That would be like me selling something on auction, then going back later and saying that I was giving you something different because I don’t think you bid enough.
And shame on Virgin for dropping the ball and making the customer threaten a lawsuit.
Jasper, you really put it best! That is the most sensible argument I have seen thus far.