The final legs of my extended trip were Aer Lingus from London to Los Angeles via Dublin, but my journey at Heathrow began with a major snafu.
Downgrade? Aer Lingus Claimed I Was In Economy Class, But My Ticket Showed Business Class
I showed up to the counter to check in for my flight and was told that I was in economy class for my first segment from London to Dublin. That made no sense at all based on what I had booked:
In fact, I originated in London (where I had to pay a hefty UK Air Passenger Duty) only because I was able to book business class on the first segment as well, which was operated by an Airbus A321neo with lie-flat seats. The flight from LHR-DUB is only 280 miles, but I figured the extra ~$250 was worthwhile so 1.) my entire journey home was on one ticket, 2.) I would not have to spend more miles/USD for the flight to Dublin, and 3.) so I could review both the A321 and the A330 (that would operate my flight from DUB-LAX).
I was not about to accept a downgrade on the first segment. Thankfully, both Aer Lingus and United Airlines operate out of Terminal 2, and I arrived early enough to deal with it. First, I went to the Aer Lingus desk and explained that my United booking showed I was in business class on the first segment. The agent was rude and unsympathetic, saying it showed as economy class in her system.
So I went over to the United ticketing desk just a hundred feet away, where another apathetic agent took a look at the ticket and said, “This is an award ticket. We can’t touch it.”
Thanks…
I returned to the Aer Lingus desk and asked what booking class it needed to be booked in such that I could be seated in business class on this first flight, and was told “I like India” class.
Once more, I returned to the United desk and asked if they could move me to I-Class, and was told no.
So I called the Premier 1K desk, where I reached a gem of an agent. She listened to my summary of the problem, acknowledged that she should rebook me in I-Class, put me on hold, and within five minutes came back and said the itinerary had been updated.
She insisted on staying on the line with me, where I returned to the Aer Lingus check-in desk. The agent saw the updated booking (oddly, the ticket was never reissued) and handed me a boarding pass with a seat in the business class cabin (what Aer Lingus calls “AerSpace”).
Kudos to the amazing United agent…it’s what I will miss most when I lose 1K status next year.
The Fault Appears To Lie With United
Looking back, here’s what I can gather:
- United has a coding error on intra-Europe Aer Lingus segments – it books into “U” class, charges business class prices, shows business class on united.com and the United mobile app, but in the Aer Lingus system, U-class is not business class on intra-Europe segments
- Aer Lingus actually does not have a formal business class on its intra-Europe flights, but instead offers an “AerSpace” section that offers seating in the front of the plane (in this case on the A321neo, in a “real” business class seat), plus a complimetnary beverage and snack from the buy-on-board menu
So it seems that United needs to clean up its coding on Aer Lingus to avoid such confusion and wasted time in the future. Thankfully, my snafu turned out okay…
It seems like this could be ripe for compensation under EU laws.
True. He should stick it up their arse.
Good idea. It was nearly an involuntary downgrade. We really need better air passenger rights legislation in the US, like EU/UK 261 and Canada’s APPR. And bring back Rule 240 (get you on a competitor’s flight if they can’t.) The unfortunate reality is that the airlines pay millions to lobby against that (blame A4A). We deserve better.
By the way, this was a major issue on SAS until it re-launched its intra-Europe business-class product. SAS before and after joining Sky Team had connecting flights on business-class itineraries marketing as business-class even though it was something called SAS Plus.
FYI, they still have SAS Plus instead of business on any domestic flights with the boxed meal instead of plated, no blocked middles, etc. Found out the hard way after booking OSL-TOS last month.
“The agent was rude and unsympathetic, saying it showed as economy class in her system.” And, “This is an award ticket. We can’t touch it.” Classic. A deeply sarcastic “Thanks…” really is the only response for us passengers.
Good on that 1K agent saving your day. Would Premier Platinum really have meant you get screwed? Like, status or not, United should make the fix on this, either way. Not everyone is gonna be as capable as Matt Klint.
This actually represents the reality of lack of customer service in the overall travel industry. Matthew has a top status with United and all he gets is “This is an award ticket. We can’t touch it.” ? Imagine someone that has no status. I mean, even if they could not touch it, the minimum expect would be for them to make a call to United on his behalf and try to help. Customer service used to be a proactive thing and now you are lucky if you don’t get arrested because they call the police on you.
Mhm. I’ve been a 1K, Diamond, Executive Platinum, and Mosaic over the years. When things go wrong, all we get is a slightly shorter wait time over phone. That’s it.
This sounds like a Josh Cahill situation aon his flight from Paris to West Africa where so many seemed to criticize him but your situation is just proof that third party situations (whether it be a Booking.com as was the case with Josh or United Airlines as with yourself) shows it can happen to anybody!
The difference is that United told me “it shows up as business class in our system,” while I think with Cahill the OTA reached out and said there had been a coding error and he was booked in economy class, yet he decided to ignore it and play it up, blaming Air Côte d’Ivoire. Here, I did not blame Aer Lingus, nor would I have had grounds to do so. Big difference, wouldn’t you say?
The difference is that you, Matt, handled it better than Josh; otherwise, no, not that different; you both got screwed by an error that you shouldn’t have had to deal with.
Wow! …a lot of work to claim your free coffee in an otherwise single class service!! I’d have got you a Starbucks if I’d realised the stress levels created on a short connecting hop of less than a whole hour. You say it’s not an Aer Lingus issue but headline “Aer Lingus tried to stick me in economy” ? Emotive and damaging to Aer Lingus?
Well, Aer Lingus did try to stick me in economy even though my ticket, issued by United, said business. But this was an A321neo with flat bed seats and I review these sorts of products for a living, so it was rather important…
I’ve had this happen as well. I was flying IAH-LHR-DUB on a UA ticket with a connection to EI. Same issue upon arrival at LHR and same lack of sympathy from the LHR based UA agent and EI agent. My connection time was short, so I would up just flying in Y. This happened to me in 2021, and I’m surprised they’re still doing it. I was only offered 1,000 MP miles when I complained after the fact.
Still weird to me that a member of the AA/BA/IB JV still has the relationship with UA, especially after they “ended” their partnership in late 2023? Not that I care if UA and EI end their partnership or not, but you’d think IAG would prefer that inventory within their own JV (much less having people credit EI flights to MileagePlus) and you’d think UA wouldn’t want to give income to a competing JV… ?
I get that it’s award booking but it still seems surprising since I thought most of this had ended in late 2023 but I suppose it was just the actual codeshare
Of course Aer Lingus were right because there is no business class service offered on any flight between the UK and Ireland or indeed on any of their short haul routes. If you don’t believe me, try going to their website and booking business class on one of their short haul routes. If you try instead to book for example LHR-DUB on the BA site, you will see business offered on BA operated services but only economy on EI services.
On some routes Aer Space is offered which on an A21N is the business class seating at the front of the plane while on an A320 (CEO or NEO) it’s row one only with the middle seat blocked and it’s never extended. Aer Lingus do not allow other airlines – even BA to book Aer Space seats, the only way to get one is to book with them directly.
Had you been flying on an A320, the chances are the four Aer Space seats would have been taken and you’ve have been able to experience Aer Lingus economy service which is what you were booked in. As the service was operated by an A21N, the only one in the day that is, they were able to seat you in an Aer Space seat otherwise, even with your Untied booking, you would have been in economy.
Aer Lingus may have been right, but I wasn’t wrong.
Zing!
Your issue is with Untied, not with Aer Lingus who did no wrong. I trust you’ve addressed it with them because if the same thing were to happen a second time and the service was operated by a A320 you would be seated in economy or off loaded, there would be no alternative and again, the fault would not lie with Aer Lingus.
In the travel sector, empathy should always be at the forefront of customer service… It’s an obvious reality that seems easy, but is difficult to carry out properly.
The importance of always arriving at the airport early enough is once again proved… In this messy situation, of course, it is the UA Premier 1K desk agent who gets all the praise.
As you are a avid traveller you need to do your home work. Aer lingus does not offer any kind of business class level in Europe you were bought for a free sandwich and drink oh dear they seen you coming. Do your home work. Offer advice. not gripes
I know Aer Lingus does not offer a business class, but I don’t think I am wrong to think that I would be seated in AerSpace, which of course, on this particular aircraft, happened to be a real business class seat. As was pointed out above, SAS did the same thing, but at least you were seated in “Premium” class (the best available) on the intra-Europe portions, not in economy class.
Makes me think of this, though:
Regardless of whose fault it was, there is no excuse of the lack of polite customer service from agents of both airlines at the airport.
It’s very peculiar that UA still maintain a frequent flyer programme relationship with one of their arch rivals on the N. Atlantic routes, so I’m not surprised that their systems don’t seem to talk too well to each other. Of course there’s no excuse for the behaviour that you encountered, but my suspicion is it comes with the territory of the minimum wage rising to a full 67% of the median- there’s nobody who aspires to be a shift manager on £32k in London in exchange for dealing with unsociable hours and irate customers, and most of those who get those jobs certainly won’t try too hard to hold junior staff accountable and risk seeing them leave and going through the painful process of selecting replacements and doing the associated paperwork.
In other news, it looks like there’s a court ruling on segment sequences which can have massive implications on the European airline industry. It’d be good if you could look into the case and post about it. https://www.drboese.de/blog/bundesgerichtshofs-lufthansa-agb-zur-couponreihenfolge-unwirksam-lufthansa-knickt-vor-dem-amtsgericht-duesseldorf-ein/
Interesting legal development. Will examine.
Intra European on most legacy carriers is a joke ” upfront”. You just happened to be booked on an a/c that had an actual biz cabin but the booking scheme was not able to pick up on that nuanced equip. differential. Fell thru the cracks if you will.
I would have taken the economy and saved 250$ in UK APD
The call to 1k desk would have been better spent saving that useless fee.
Indeed, Matthew would have been entitled to statutory EC involuntary downgrade compensation as well as a much lower rate of UK Air Passenger Duty. Sometimes letting the airline make an expensive mistake is the better option (though I appreciate he needed to the seat for a product review)
I’m not sure I would have been refunded the APD, though.
And you could argue that I still did not fly in business class on that flight…I just sat in a business class seat.
Didn’t see a seat assignment on either of your posts. Seems like BS to me.
What do you mean?
It means he’s insinuating that you’re lying for some reason although perhaps I’m simply being uncharitable.
“So I went over to the United ticketing desk just a hundred feet away, where another apathetic agent took a look at the ticket and said, “This is an award ticket. We can’t touch it.”
I’m surprised you didn’t get the same treatment Lucky did and Marriott and get handed a bag of nuts as a thank you for your loyalty…
So many bitter angry fliers here
United had a coding error. No one intentionally screwed anyone. United fixed the booking and he got the seat he wanted.
@1990 is always so bitter and angry wanting to be compensated for absolutely everything. No wonder airline employees roll their eyes at you.
A request here that I’d love to have covered: What compensation do you get if you’re downgraded in a situation like yours where you’re on an award ticket issued by another airline? I hit a similar situation last year where Turkish downgraded me from business to PE on the MLA-IST leg of a MLA-IST-ZRH ticket. Turkish credited around $300 to my account as compensation with no fuss but I had no clue about how much compensation should actually be.
I booked an Aer Lingus itinerary through American earlier this year and thought your situation might be similar. I had reserved a seat (which I could only do over the phone), but about a week before the flight I noticed it had been changed to an economy seat. Ever since SQ once switched the aircraft type on me and put me next to a toilet, I always double-check!
I called the Aer Lingus contact centre, spent another hour on hold, and they restored my original seat, although they couldn’t explain why it had been changed in the first place
Is this Youtube video based on your article? Seems like it.
How odd!
Come on.
All that fuss and time for such a short flight???
We deal in first-world problems on this blog! 😉
So this guy who calls himself an expert never bothered logging into his reservation on Aer Lingus and just passively accepted what United showed him in their system? That’s on you buddy, you could have caught this the minute UA issued the ticket.
Spot on, well said!
I cannot believe that he did not choose seats before his flight. Who shows up at the airport without a seat assignment? Even when flying in F I do online check in so I can see any ticketing problems 24-48 hours before the departure.
EDI-LHR_EWR a few years ago, the check in agent insisted we had economy seats when we had paid first class seats. It took 45 minutes of me showing him my printed confirmation, logging on to my BA account AND calling BA to get our boarding passes.
I had a similar situation only this time worse – ticket was booked as Business with EI from LHR – JFK via DUB, however, the first sector from LHR – DUB was actually on BA metal under an EI codeshare. Now BA does have business class but couldn’t seat me in it because EI had deliberately booked me in economy. I phoned EI to say they should reticket me in business and spoke to the rudest customer service person ever, who told me as there is no business class on EI short haul flights I shouldn’t have expected to get a business class seat, even though that is what they had sold me! My formal written complaint to this day has not been replied to 11 months later. I could sue but it’s too much hassle, just won’t ever fly with them again.
You should at least file a complaint with UK and Irish regulators.