Your business class flight could be downgraded

[Banti]

We just returned from our first Regent cruise, around South America on Regent Voyager.  One of the main reasons we booked with Regent was that they promised business class seats on overseas flights.  Our flights from Toronto to Santiago were fine.  However, when we arrived at the airport in Buenos Aires for our return flight, American Airways told us we had been downgraded to economy because they changed to a smaller plane and didn’t have enough business class seats.  There were several Regent passengers who were downgraded.  After much protest we were put in premium economy, but for a 10 1/2 hour flight, that still was not very comfortable, and my legs were swollen for days after we got home.  On Monday we received an email from American Airways that a refund of $1062 each was being sent to Regent.  I would hope that will be passed on to us as we ultimately paid for it as part of our cruise fare.  By the way, we did check in online, with seats in business class, several hours before we went to the airport, but that didn’t seem to make any difference to them.

[Pcardad]

6 minutes ago, Banti said:

We just returned from our first Regent cruise, around South America on Regent Voyager.  One of the main reasons we booked with Regent was that they promised business class seats on overseas flights.  Our flights from Toronto to Santiago were fine.  However, when we arrived at the airport in Buenos Aires for our return flight, American Airways told us we had been downgraded to economy because they changed to a smaller plane and didn’t have enough business class seats.  There were several Regent passengers who were downgraded.  After much protest we were put in premium economy, but for a 10 1/2 hour flight, that still was not very comfortable, and my legs were swollen for days after we got home.  On Monday we received an email from American Airways that a refund of $1062 each was being sent to Regent.  I would hope that will be passed on to us as we ultimately paid for it as part of our cruise fare.  By the way, we did check in online, with seats in business class, several hours before we went to the airport, but that didn’t seem to make any difference to them.

What did Regent say when you called them and provided proof of your downgrade?

 

[Got2Cruise]

Yep. It is because the tickets were purchased bulk rate by NCL. 

[WNcruiser]

We took this cruise (Santiago-Buenos Aires) on Viking last month. This happened to several people on our cruise as well. They had confirmed seats from BA to Miami in business but were downgraded at the airport. We had booked our own air and had no issues with our seats.

 

I am guessing maybe the cruise got a discounted price on the airfare and that's why the cruise passengers are the ones being downgraded? Just another reason we NEVER use cruise air. 

Edited March 15, 2023 by WNcruiser

[forevertravel]

We had the same issue last year. We were booked on United from Newark to London. That morning I received text from United flight had been changed and to check at airport. At airport we were told there had been an issue and instead of the larger plane they now had a 357 with only 12 first class seats/ No matter how we pleaded we were put on Economy Plus. The worst flight of my life. Seats do not recline and the dinner was disgusting. I had a roll and two glasses of wine for dinner. I saw the email that a refund had been sent to Regent. We didn't get anything from Regent. I guess it's happening more and more based on what's posted here. We have business class seats to Europe this summer for our cruise and pray this situation does not happen again. Unfortunately, we have to use Regent air because unless we have miles the cost for business is a lot more than what Regent gets.

 

[Pcardad]

10 minutes ago, forevertravel said:

We had the same issue last year. We were booked on United from Newark to London. That morning I received text from United flight had been changed and to check at airport. At airport we were told there had been an issue and instead of the larger plane they now had a 357 with only 12 first class seats/ No matter how we pleaded we were put on Economy Plus. The worst flight of my life. Seats do not recline and the dinner was disgusting. I had a roll and two glasses of wine for dinner. I saw the email that a refund had been sent to Regent. We didn't get anything from Regent. I guess it's happening more and more based on what's posted here. We have business class seats to Europe this summer for our cruise and pray this situation does not happen again. Unfortunately, we have to use Regent air because unless we have miles the cost for business is a lot more than what Regent gets.

 

What did Regent say when you called them about this?

[jimdee3636]

If Regent/NCL is truly pocketing thousand dollar (or more) refunds from the airlines and not passing it along to the "downgraded" passengers, it's outrageous, illegal, and simply bad business. It's outrageous because it's a brazen attempt to get something for nothing. It's illegal because the FTC and many states have consumer protection laws forbidding "unfair and deceptive business practices," and this sure sounds like one. But it's also bad business because once this kind of news gets around, Regent's reputation will take a major hit.

 

I've cruised multiple times with Silversea and have been considering Regent, but I'm going to hold off booking anything with them until I see how this plays out.

[fizzy]

I wouldn't rush a final payment unless this is clarified. It wouldn't work for us. Very disappointing.

[rcandkc]

I have been on a domestic cross country flight when this happened…not for cruise.  Some in first class got bumped.  We complained.  We had bought our tickets and frequent flier.  They looked at the list and criteria? and we maintained our seats.  

[rcandkc]

I would expect compensation from Regent if my international business seat was taken from me. No question!

[Banti]

We have not contacted Regent directly, as we booked through a trusted travel agent, and I have sent all the information to her.  I am waiting to find out if she can get the refund sent to us.  If not, we will not book with Regent again.  I’ll post the results when I find out the outcome.

[mnocket]

Wow!  If I got downgraded on a 10hr flight I'd be furious.  As a new Regent customer (1st cruise in Dec) It's really disappointing to hear this.  If it happened to me, I'd immediately be on the phone with Regent and expect them to rebook me on another flight with BC - even if it meant I had to stay in a hotel overnight. However, it sounds like I'd be disappointed by Regent's response😕

Edited March 18, 2023 by mnocket

[Gpilon]

We always take the flight credit and book our own flights. More expensive but we are guaranteed we will always get exactly what we want and no “surprises”. And there are times we have been surprised as to how little extra we end up paying because of deals on AmEx Platinum with 5x points, minus deviation fees (always seem to be required), etc. We are doing a Splendor TA March 28, will spend a couple extra days in Lisbon and fly back from there. 

[Yankeeclipper1]

We usually take the credit and do our own. Usually works out IF you get to the airlines when they first open the seats - 331 days out.  Usually Business Class is never any cheaper than those initial offerings since there are so few seats - they only rise in price each couple of seat sold.  For example - we have Tahiti cruise 1/24.  I booked oneway First and BC from DC - PPT Delta/AF for $1700 the day it came open.  Waited for the return to open 15 days later (staying Pre and Post) for $2300.  Total $4000 against the RSSC $8000pp credit.  Sometimes it doesn't work for many reasons and we have taken Regent air and then upgraded to First - Barbados for example.  Also the airlines have the cruise schedules so to get the best fares you need to add a couple days Pre and Post and see who is coming in and out of port.  A little work but worth $8000 (total savings) to me.

[MsCrystalina]

First time on Regent in the fall . For the included air, I did not care for any of the routes or the brands they presented to me, so asked for the credit and booked on my own.  Have always done this but thought perhaps it would be palatable this time!   Same with the hotels- as single reject the offers  booked with the cruise line and book on own for much less. 

[Pcardad]

11 minutes ago, MsCrystalina said:

First time on Regent in the fall . For the included air, I did not care for any of the routes or the brands they presented to me, so asked for the credit and booked on my own.  Have always done this but thought perhaps it would be palatable this time!   Same with the hotels- as single reject the offers  booked with the cruise line and book on own for much less. 

A very viable option. The only downside is that if you book through Regent then they will work on your behalf to get you to the ship in the event of the delay. They are under no obligation to do so if you book on your own.

[papaflamingo]

8 hours ago, mnocket said:

Wow!  If I got downgraded on a 10hr flight I'd be furious.  As a new Regent customer (1st cruise in Dec) It's really disappointing to hear this.  If it happened to me, I'd immediately be on the phone with Regent and expect them to rebook me on another flight with BC - even if it meant I had to stay in a hotel overnight. However, it sounds like I'd be disappointed by Regent's response😕

I wouldn't sweat it.  We've not had a problem.  We do deviate so we can pick our flights, but not had any issues.  On our first cruise people did have a problem being downgraded in Papeete.  But that was because there were so many people and so few flights.  One couple decided to route via Aukland then back to the U.S.  But again, that was unusual.  

[forevertravel]

It's not Regent's fault if the airline changes to smaller plane and can't accommodate you. It'll be different if airline simply won't honor your ticket. We never reported the incident to

Regent (we did to our TA), nor did we expect compensation. We did get two travel vouchers from United because they put us on Economy Plus. Hopefully, we'll never have this situation again. I'm assuming America also gave travel vouchers to passengers who were put in economy instead of business. Air travel today has changed a lot.

[edgee]

4 hours ago, forevertravel said:

It's not Regent's fault if the airline changes to smaller plane and can't accommodate you. It'll be different if airline simply won't honor your ticket. We never reported the incident to

Regent (we did to our TA), nor did we expect compensation. We did get two travel vouchers from United because they put us on Economy Plus. Hopefully, we'll never have this situation again. I'm assuming America also gave travel vouchers to passengers who were put in economy instead of business. Air travel today has changed a lot.

Your post seems to miss the points that:

1. Regent guests are discriminated against by being among first chosen for the downgrade due to fare category Regent books them in.

2. Regent is not passing on to the passenger any compensation the company may be getting due to the downgrade.

The first point is a fact folks should consider when considering whether or not to book cruise line air. The second point, if true, is more of an outrage IMHO.

We have been planning to use RSSC air for our Rio to Santiago Antarctica cruise in 2025. We may now reconsider in light of this information.

 

 

 

[Banti]

My travel agent contacted Regent on our behalf, but Regent claims it is an issue with the airline, and not Regent.  They said it was not their responsibility, and they would not be passing the refund on to us.  We will not be taking any more Regent cruises.

[Techno123]

7 minutes ago, Banti said:

My travel agent contacted Regent on our behalf, but Regent claims it is an issue with the airline, and not Regent.  They said it was not their responsibility, and they would not be passing the refund on to us.  We will not be taking any more Regent cruises.

Did you pay using a credit card? Might be worth a claim through that Avenue 

[flossie009]

On 3/15/2023 at 5:55 PM, Banti said:

On Monday we received an email from American Airways that a refund of $1062 each was being sent to Regent.

 

4 hours ago, Banti said:

They said it was not their responsibility, and they would not be passing the refund on to us.

As you have written proof that a refund is being issued, the response from Regent appears to be outrageous. The money that AA will be refunding to Regent is yours.

Suggest you and your TA elevate the issue within the Regent hierarchy and make contact with their guest relations @Jennefer Teegen

I can only hope that the initial response your TA received is from a very confused junior Regent agent and that Regent will promptly forward the airline refund PLUS compensation for the discomfort & hassle you have experienced.

[pappy1022]

I understand that Regent doesn’t have total control over its “subcontractors” such as the airlines, tour operators, transfers, hotels, etc. but they are all part of the price we pay to travel with Regent. I also understand that “stuff” happens and when serious “stuff” happens and the product we paid for is not anywhere  near what we received, then IMO Regent should compensate the customer. If it is a chronic issue that keeps coming up, e.g. poor excursions, then Regent needs to change providers and constantly improve the products they make us pay for as part of the contract. We expect a 5 star experience with everything we pay for because we are paying a lot to cruise with Regent.

[papaflamingo]

16 hours ago, edgee said:

1. Regent guests are discriminated against by being among first chosen for the downgrade due to fare category Regent books them in.

 

 

Regent passengers are't "discriminated against," they're simply on the lowest price ticket for the flight.  Exactly WHO should the airlines downgrade?  The highest price ticket and frequent fliers, or those who are only on the flight because the cruise line put them there with a very discounted rate?

 

[edgee]

1 hour ago, papaflamingo said:

Regent passengers are't "discriminated against," they're simply on the lowest price ticket for the flight.  Exactly WHO should the airlines downgrade?  The highest price ticket and frequent fliers, or those who are only on the flight because the cruise line put them there with a very discounted rate?

 

The use of the word "discriminate" can be done in a non pejorative way, as in "an act or instance of discriminating, or of making a distinction." Perhaps I should have used the words, "are more subject to downgrading due to the fare category of their ticket."

 

The information in this thread has been helpful. Our 2025 Rio to Santiago cruise is showing a $5600 credit per person if one does not take Regent air. Currently business class tickets for that itinerary are showing a $5100 January fare for that route (in 2024.) So if fares remain similar for 2025, it will be a no brainer to purchase our own tickets and take the air credit from Regent.