Involuntary Downgrade Compensation

I need some advice from the road warriors. When I traveled in December to the US , I had a disagreeable incident which I have been trying to solve on my own to no avail. I would love some advice on how to proceed.

We flew to the US on US Airways in their Envoy class. I purchased the first leg GRU/CLT with TAM FF points. We then flew from CLt to MSY , also on US Airways. This portion was in First using point from United ( DH 's ticket ) and from TAM ( my ticket).

All return tickets were revenue tickets.

What happened? When I tried to print my boarding pass , I couldn't get a seat assignment although my ticket was confirmed. My husband could. Upon check-in at the airport , the agent also couldn't get me a seat.... He told me I needed to talk to the gate agent.

Being an early bird , we had lots of time to spare. We went to the gate which was empty. I went to talk to the gate agent who proceeded to tell me they were overbooked . Not only didn't I have my first class seat , there was no seat for me on the plane!

Due to massive amounts of people going to New Orleans for the same Hematology conference as my husband , all flights to MSY were completely full for the next 2 days.

The gate agent said TAM was somehow at fault ( she couldn't explain exactly why).

I was very calm but firm. She ended up getting a volunteer to be bumped from the flight and I was the last person on the plane way in the back.. I was very thankful to be able to get to MSY , but I used 70,000 points from TAM ( I Know! Absurd! But it was a second honeymoon trip and I had points expiring...).

I told them at the gate I wanted my miles back. They gave me a printout showing it was an involuntary downgrade and told me I had to talk to TAM.

I have called them to no avail ...then I went on Twitter. They now say they have passed the case back to US airways. It has been over a month with no real answer , just the run around.

If it were a EU ticket , I know I would have more rights (75 percent back to me). What should I do or expect? It's a lot of miles.

Thanks.

I don't have any idea, but if you don't get an answer here, ask in the appropriate forum on Flyertalk.

Thanks... I posted in the US Airways forum on FT. Hoping for some guidance!

You want US Airways to reimburse miles to your TAM account??? You complained to TAM, but they're now passing the buck to US Airways? Did TAM say they were asking US for additional information or that US would be the one who needed to compensate you? You did receive confirmation that you were ticketed on the CLT-MSY flight in first class, right? The flight was overbooked. That happens. You didn't accept being bumped to a later flight, right? If you had bought your ticket from US, you could ask them for compensation. But you didn't. Did you ask US Airways if there had been anything wrong with the booking on their flight made by TAM (e.g., in the class of service)? You say the US agent "couldn't" tell you what TAM had done wrong. What exactly did she say, and what does that have to do with fc seats being unavailable because the flight was overbooked? I'm confused.

Booking with ff miles can often be tricky. FF miles are seen by airlines as benefits, not the same as legal tender with the same legal rights involved as if you paid for the ticket with cash.

Good luck on getting something back. You booked through TAM. US Airways gave you a printout saying it was an involuntary "downgrade." US can't give you TAM miles. I haven't found either of these airlines great in customer service, but I think, especially given the fact that you're asking for miles to go to your TAM account, you have little chance getting any more help from US (you could still ask them to contact TAM on your behalf). IMHO, your only avenue for compensation is with TAM. If TAM says they can't help you, or just won't give you any miles back, you're likely out of luck. First check the terms and conditions of your ticket and see if your class of service was guaranteed.

I've taken US flights with UA miles, and will do so again soon, and have not yet had any problems. My wife has tons of TAM miles but hasn't been able to use them for international travel involving other carriers due to lack of availability.

Boa sorte!

Yes , I did have a seat assignment when the reservation was made ( at a call center). I later accessed my reservation on the US airways website and changed my seat to be next to my husband. The reservation was made in August for the flight in December.

I periodically check my flights for schedule changes etc. There was nothing amiss until I tried to print out my boarding pass at my hotel in Charlotte the night before my flight. I noticed there was no longer a seat assignment and it said for me to speak to a gate agent.

When I arrived at the airport , I was able to check in my baggage and go through security with my boarding pass. My reservation didn't "disappear".

The gate agent gave me a long story about TAM and something in Munich in November that was the cause of this problem. Quite frankly , I have no idea what they were talking about ...they were quite apologetic and worked hard to get me on the flight. But , as I said , there a lot of miles in play and a mistake was made. I want only what I believe is fair. I would be happy getting miles back from either TAM or Dividend Miles.

There seems to be a lot of finger pointing from both sides...the consensus seems to be that I had a First Class seat but someone messed up and now noone wants to take the blame. The Gate Agents really couldn't explain what happened because I don't think they really knew. And it was chaos at the gate a bit after we got there , with the flight seriously overbooked , the Tulane Basketball team on our flight and all the conference attendees ( 20,000 in all) . I ended up sitting next to a ref for the NBA , very interesting conversation.

No more US flights with UA miles since the merger.... :( . Sad about that as they are my go to airlines when going to the States. Looks like I will be swithching to American now with TAM and US now being part of Oneworld.

No more US flights with UA miles since the merger? Not true, at least on a number of domestic U.S. flights (e.g., PHX-SEA).

I think Munich may be a US Airways computer center. We had Munich mentioned as part of an explanation as to why part of our reservation (paid for with US) disappeared on the computer system (it was all fixed in the end). I think the gate agents don't have a way to know exactly what happened. Having someone accept blame isn't really material. You want TAM miles back. US can't restore them. Just what did TAM tell you? Did you ask if they could restore the miles if US supplied specific additional information? As I said, miles aren't the same as money, so don't expect monetary compensation.

No expectation whatsoever of monetary compensation. Just miles.

You are right about US/UA ...only after March 31st will that option no longer be available. A sad day!

This is exactly what TAM said in their most recent communication. "@TAMAirlines: @Kivibra Kimberly, o seu caso foi encaminhado à US AIRWAYS e assim que obtermos uma resposta te notificaremos. Obrigado."

People on FT suggested I call US airways and give them a "gentle nudge" and ask them if they could contact TAM . Will do that Monday.

No expectation whatsoever of monetary compensation. Just miles.

 

You are right about US/UA ...only after March 31st will that option no longer be available. A sad day!

 

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-March 31 is when TAM joins OneWorld. There are still a few US flights showing on the UA site for using miles on flights after that, though looks possibly like fewer than before and those may be gradually zeroing-out.

-TAM has apparently asked US for additional info. I think more productive than calling US would be calling TAM and asking them just what info they need. Ask them if you calling US would help (and, if so, get a case # of something you could give to the US customer relations office). No harm calling US, but I doubt they'll be able to quickly look up the communication from TAM. Again, it's only TAM that can decide to reimburse your miles. It may take quite a while for TAM to get back to you.