One of the biggest fears of travelling on points (particularly without any status) is that you may be regarded as a second-class citizen and could get downgraded from business class to premium economy. Even worse, you may be relegated to economy. Not many people understand what flight compensation you may be entitled to if you are bumped.
My experience is that downgrades can happen; unlike lightning, they can strike twice.
Many airlines overbook flights. When this occurs, you will receive preference based on the price of your ticket and your flyer status.
In this post:
British Airways Heathrow: Downgrade from Business to Economy
The first time this happened, my wife Julie was travelling on her own at Heathrow in BA business class on American Airlines points. She was at the bottom of the flight-status food chain.
The check-in desk let her know that they had good news and bad news. The good news was that she could get home to Australia. The bad news was that she was no longer in business class…she was in economy.
At that stage, Julie calmly and clearly explained that she had a 24-hour flight ahead and that she was in no hurry to get home. She asked the check-in staff if they had ever travelled for 24 hours in economy. As she had a business class ticket, Julie politely made it clear that she was not prepared to travel home any other way.
Finally, the penny dropped for check-in that Julie would not fly economy and they had to meet their EU obligations. Taxi and food vouchers were prepared and she was shuttled over to the Heathrow Hilton.
The great news is that Windsor is a short taxi ride from Heathrow. This historic market town is a wonderful place to spend the day. Plus, all you can eat at the Hilton, compliments of BA.
The next day, a business class flight miraculously appeared and Julie headed off to Sydney with pride intact.
British Airways Heathrow: Downgrade from Business to Economy – Again
When the next downgrade struck, Julie and I were two low-status frequent flyers (still on American Airlines points). Unlike the first time, we were transiting with bags in the hold. We were concerned when we didn’t receive our on-boarding passes for Zurich, so we fronted up at the transit desk looking for the next ticket.
At that stage we were told the good-and-bad-news story. Having learnt from our previous experience, we calmly asked them to remove our bags and either put us up locally at Heathrow or find us another flight.
In this instance, they put us on a plane via Hong Kong (which we suggested), leading to a hurried and incredibly confusing terminal swap. However, we did get a short time in the Virgin Lounge at Heathrow, which was outstanding. Great food selection and cocktails; another bucket-list item ticked.
The Virgin Atlantic business class flight and lounge experience from London to Hong Kong were very good (better than BA, but inferior to a modern Singapore Airlines, Emirates or Qantas business class). This difference is mainly due to VA’s herringbone seating that makes you feel like a meerkat.
We experienced the first class Qantas lounge in Hong Kong, and then flew Qantas to Sydney. The bad news was that our bags were delayed by 24 hours. This was a niggle; first off the plane, then queuing to report the lost bag and being last out of the terminal.
EU Regulation 261/2004 and Flight Compensation
One great thing about travelling in Europe is your right for flight compensation in the event of being denied boarding. EU 261/2004 puts the obligation on the airline to reimburse you if your flight is overbooked or delayed. It was this regulation that forced BA to accommodate Julie and to find us alternate flights of comparable value.
I have no idea on how Brexit will affect your rights. I can guarantee you won’t be better off.
Tip: If you get bounced to a separate flight, keep your tickets and attempt to claim the flight points and status credits. I was able to collect the VA points to Virgin Australia as well as Qantas. This is something you should not be able to do with a points redemption.
Summary: When travelling on points, you can be a second-class citizen. Make sure you have extra days in your itinerary so you don’t have to accept a downgrade.
