Your Rights As A Passenger When Downgraded From Business Class

Oftentimes, vacations begin and end with your flight. The journey to your destination and back can set the tone or be the cherry on top of your trip. The last thing you would want is an issue with your travel plans, and while unfortunate, it does happen. Whether it be flight delays, cancellations, or seat downgrades, it can really throw a wrench in your vacation. Imagine reserving business class on a Delta flight to check out its new designer features, and when you show up to the airport, you find out that the airline moved your seat to coach. While there are ways to make economy seating more comfortable, it's not what you paid for ... nor what you were expecting. However, there are ways to get compensated as long as you know your rights as a customer.

The U.S. Department of Transportation says that a passenger is entitled to a refund of the full airfare if they were involuntarily downgraded and decided not to take the flight or any form of compensation from the airline (i.e., vouchers and travel credits). However, if the customer still takes the flight with the downgraded seat, then the airline is only responsible to refund the difference between the two tickets. Downgrades are generally uncommon, but they do happen, and if you are unsure of how to navigate these unchartered waters, you could get taken advantage of.

There are a couple of reasons why seat downgrades happen, and depending on the issue, it is important to record it and build your case against the airline that wronged your service. CNN states that it could be a broken seat, the pilot may need to rest and use your reserved seat, or the flight could have been overbooked. Anton Radchenko, the CEO and founder of AirAdvisor – a company that helps you fight for flight compensation — told CNN that the most common reason for downgrades, however, is overbooking. In fact, I recently took a flight where another passenger was booked for my seat; our tickets both read 35J. I was seated with my carry-on already stored in the overhead bin when the attendant told me they moved my seat. While we were both solo travelers flying coach, the man didn't mind making the switch, but had we been in business class with one of us needing to move to an economy seat, we both would have been upset.

Radchenko says to document everything, such as taking a photo of your new seat, keeping record of your boarding pass, and flagging any communication from the airline. These can all be used to create a claim for a refund. Quinn English, founder of Frequinnt Flyer, told Travel + Leisure that you can have better odds at avoiding a downgrade if you book a higher fare class or travel with a companion under one booking, as solo travelers are more likely to get bumped. So, what's the difference between the luxury classes? Check out our feature that breaks down business class versus first class seating. However, he did say that downgrades are so uncommon that it's often not worth paying for a higher fare class.