Asking Airlines For Compensation When They Mess Up?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Some posters asked for examples and said I sounded rude, so I want to clarify. I am not rude at all. I worked in service roles myself and I know how hard those jobs are. I am nothing like the older man and his wife I saw recently screaming at a gate agent because they wanted seats they never paid for (they book basic econ without assigned seats) I would never behave like that.

Since people asked for specifics, here are examples from just the past month. I travel a lot on this airline, so issues come up and these occur usually in chat:

An agent told us our family of four would be moved to the same row. At check-in we were split across three rows even though the agent confirmed the change. When I explained it politely in chat, they offered some credits.

An agent told me the last row of first reclined normally. On that aircraft it did not recline at all and the seat map flagged it as limited recline. I reported the incorrect information and they issued some miles.

On a short international flight I upgraded to first and went to the lounge early to get work done. It was so overcrowded there was nowhere to sit for over an hour, and two of the bathroom stalls were out of service. When I let them know afterward, they refunded the upgrade.

I booked a flight because it had lie-flat seats. A week before departure the aircraft switched to one without lie-flat. I explained the issue in chat and they provided some travel credit.

In chat I am never rude or demanding, and when I send a follow up email I am not angry. I just explain what happened clearly and respectfully. My real hope is that this leads to better training and better service, which should benefit everyone, not just me.

OH my.

You're a major PITA, OP.

And I bet I travel, or have travelled, at least as much as you do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can only imagine what a conversation with OP is like. How many times do you think they work in how much better they are than everyone else?

I think OP is just waiting for an opportunity to score more miles like it’s a game. His wife must be so embarrassed to travel with him while he waits for his next “gotcha” moment. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can only imagine what a conversation with OP is like. How many times do you think they work in how much better they are than everyone else?

I think OP is just waiting for an opportunity to score more miles like it’s a game. His wife must be so embarrassed to travel with him while he waits for his next “gotcha” moment. Ugh.

I bet it’s not this. The points are never worth the disruption.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can only imagine what a conversation with OP is like. How many times do you think they work in how much better they are than everyone else?

I think OP is just waiting for an opportunity to score more miles like it’s a game. His wife must be so embarrassed to travel with him while he waits for his next “gotcha” moment. Ugh.

I bet it’s not this. The points are never worth the disruption.

Having no seat at the lounge is a major disruption? Or not being seated in the same row as adult/teen kids? These are minor inconveniences at worst.

[Anonymous]

Oh my...

...and what does being a "high level executive" have to do with an airline and their customer service?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP sounds exhausting.

...but they're a "high level executive." If they were really "high level," they wouldn't have the time or energy to squabble for hours with customer service and hang out on DCUM complaining about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP sounds exhausting.

...but they're a "high level executive." If they were really "high level," they wouldn't have the time or energy to squabble for hours with customer service and hang out on DCUM complaining about it.

Literally takes a minute to chatgpt an email complaint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP sounds exhausting.

...but they're a "high level executive." If they were really "high level," they wouldn't have the time or energy to squabble for hours with customer service and hang out on DCUM complaining about it.

Literally takes a minute to chatgpt an email complaint.

Yeah, I'm sure an airline will reply to an email complaint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Some posters asked for examples and said I sounded rude, so I want to clarify. I am not rude at all. I worked in service roles myself and I know how hard those jobs are. I am nothing like the older man and his wife I saw recently screaming at a gate agent because they wanted seats they never paid for (they book basic econ without assigned seats) I would never behave like that.

Since people asked for specifics, here are examples from just the past month. I travel a lot on this airline, so issues come up and these occur usually in chat:

An agent told us our family of four would be moved to the same row. At check-in we were split across three rows even though the agent confirmed the change. When I explained it politely in chat, they offered some credits.

An agent told me the last row of first reclined normally. On that aircraft it did not recline at all and the seat map flagged it as limited recline. I reported the incorrect information and they issued some miles.

On a short international flight I upgraded to first and went to the lounge early to get work done. It was so overcrowded there was nowhere to sit for over an hour, and two of the bathroom stalls were out of service. When I let them know afterward, they refunded the upgrade.

I booked a flight because it had lie-flat seats. A week before departure the aircraft switched to one without lie-flat. I explained the issue in chat and they provided some travel credit.

In chat I am never rude or demanding, and when I send a follow up email I am not angry. I just explain what happened clearly and respectfully. My real hope is that this leads to better training and better service, which should benefit everyone, not just me.

For those examples, complaints likely will have no impact on service quality.

Airline lounges are crowded everywhere these days. If it is not crowded, one got lucky. Airport space (sq ft) is inherently limited, so usually difficult or impossible for an airline to obtain more lounge space. Complaints cannot alter this reality either.

Airlines never want to do aircraft swaps, but they will happen unavoidably when unscheduled maintenance is needed on aircraft. Again, complaints cannot alter this reality.

Last row of any cabin is unlikely to fully recline. Yes, sometimes one gets lucky and it does fully recline. An actual frequent flyer usually knows this and plans accordingly. No, this is not knowledge a reasonable person would expect every agent to know or have immediately available to them.

If one does not have in-hand boarding passes indicating the group actually is seated together, then they will not be seated together. This is common sense that most flyers know. Again, on a (nearly) full aircraft the airline will not yank other people's seating just to accommodate a higher status passenger. This complaint also is unreasonable and unlikely to change anything.

OP has unreasonable expectations and complains about things airlines often cannot control.

I would never do as OP describes doing -- and I have lifetime status (and about 2M BIS miles) on a major US flag airline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh my...

...and what does being a "high level executive" have to do with an airline and their customer service?

OP is a legend in his own mind. Those lowly ticket agents quake at his mere presence and toss miles and credits at his feet to keep him happy, lest he send another complaint email to a chat bot.

[Anonymous]

Do you brag about doing this stuff in conversation with people? That is probably what your dh finds embarrassing. It comes across as annoying and entitled. Your kids are older. So what if you don’t get to sit together on a flight?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it’s perfectly fine to do what you do, hold airlines accountable and let them know what is wrong in a civil, factual manner. I did that for my parents when an airline completely changed their itinerary last min bc their flight was not full, resulting in them bouncing over across several airports for two days. They got a very apologetic and nice response and a full refund.

They told you that the flight was cancelled because it wasn't full? I seriously doubt that.

No, they told my parents' travel agent. And yes, I was very surprised they confessed to it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Some posters asked for examples and said I sounded rude, so I want to clarify. I am not rude at all. I worked in service roles myself and I know how hard those jobs are. I am nothing like the older man and his wife I saw recently screaming at a gate agent because they wanted seats they never paid for (they book basic econ without assigned seats) I would never behave like that.

Since people asked for specifics, here are examples from just the past month. I travel a lot on this airline, so issues come up and these occur usually in chat:

An agent told us our family of four would be moved to the same row. At check-in we were split across three rows even though the agent confirmed the change. When I explained it politely in chat, they offered some credits.

An agent told me the last row of first reclined normally. On that aircraft it did not recline at all and the seat map flagged it as limited recline. I reported the incorrect information and they issued some miles.

On a short international flight I upgraded to first and went to the lounge early to get work done. It was so overcrowded there was nowhere to sit for over an hour, and two of the bathroom stalls were out of service. When I let them know afterward, they refunded the upgrade.

I booked a flight because it had lie-flat seats. A week before departure the aircraft switched to one without lie-flat. I explained the issue in chat and they provided some travel credit.

In chat I am never rude or demanding, and when I send a follow up email I am not angry. I just explain what happened clearly and respectfully. My real hope is that this leads to better training and better service, which should benefit everyone, not just me.

For those examples, complaints likely will have no impact on service quality.

Airline lounges are crowded everywhere these days. If it is not crowded, one got lucky. Airport space (sq ft) is inherently limited, so usually difficult or impossible for an airline to obtain more lounge space. Complaints cannot alter this reality either.

Airlines never want to do aircraft swaps, but they will happen unavoidably when unscheduled maintenance is needed on aircraft. Again, complaints cannot alter this reality.

Last row of any cabin is unlikely to fully recline. Yes, sometimes one gets lucky and it does fully recline. An actual frequent flyer usually knows this and plans accordingly. No, this is not knowledge a reasonable person would expect every agent to know or have immediately available to them.

If one does not have in-hand boarding passes indicating the group actually is seated together, then they will not be seated together. This is common sense that most flyers know. Again, on a (nearly) full aircraft the airline will not yank other people's seating just to accommodate a higher status passenger. This complaint also is unreasonable and unlikely to change anything.

OP has unreasonable expectations and complains about things airlines often cannot control.

I would never do as OP describes doing -- and I have lifetime status (and about 2M BIS miles) on a major US flag airline.

OP here. Just to clarify, every one of these issues was documented in customer service chat. I did not invent expectations. The agent wrote that our seats would be moved together, wrote that the last row reclined normally, and wrote other details that were simply incorrect. When the airline provides wrong information in writing, it is reasonable to address it afterward.

On the lie-flat issue, I understand aircraft swaps happen, but selling one product and delivering a different one at the same price is a legitimate concern.

As for the lounge, this airline does not manage access well. Other airlines limit entry or provide overflow options. In this case there was literally nowhere to sit for an hour and half the bathrooms were broken, after paying for an upgrade. That is worth raising. If enough people speak up, the airline might improve the situation.

On seating, I was not assuming they would move others. The agent stated in writing that the change was made. If customers cannot rely on documented information, that is a training issue.

I am never rude or demanding. I just explain what happened and let the airline decide how to handle it.

[Anonymous]

OP, I think what you’re doing is fine. I’ve also worked in service jobs, for many years in fact, and my feeling was always that it’s about TONE.
I think as long as you are even-keeled, respectful, and grateful for their assistance, there’s nothing wrong with contacting the airlines about issues that occur, and do it as much as you want.

[Anonymous]

Even if you didn't mention you were a millenial we all would have known you were.

Exhausting. That entire generation is exhausting.