Downgrade: How much compensation do I receive from the airline?
Looking forward to luxury and preserved wood class?
We will show you how to defend yourself against a downgrade and what your rights are! Have you treated yourself to the luxury of enjoying your flight in Premium Economy, Business Class or even First Class? But when you get on the plane, the nice stewardess tells you that you will unfortunately be accommodated in the "normal" Economy Class, i.e. in the wooden class, on your flight today? You have become the victim of a so-called downgrade. You are right to be annoyed, because you must have paid the airline significantly more for your ticket than if you had only booked business class from the start.
What is a downgrade?
Downgrading is defined as the passenger being transported in a lower, ie in a worse, transport class than the passenger is entitled to according to the ticket booked.
What rights do I have to downgrade?
In this case, the affected passengers will benefit from article 10 of the passenger rights regulation. Art. 10 of the regulation regulates, inter alia, the so-called "downgrade". This refers to the typical case of a downgrade. Art. 10 of the regulation stipulates that the airline carrying out the flight has to reimburse a passenger a certain portion of their ticket price within 7 days if the airline carries the passenger not in the booked class but in a lower class. The amount of the refund depends on the distance of the flight involved. For a short-haul flight (up to 1.500 km), the passenger will receive 30% of his ticket price back from the airline, for intra-European or 3.500 km (medium-haul) flights, 50% refund and for all other flights from 3.500 km (long-haul ) It is even 75% ticket refund for the passenger in case of a downgrade!
By the way: If you have been the victim of a double demotion, unfortunately, you will receive the refund amount from the airline simply, not twice.
How do I calculate the amount of my refund on multiple flights?
The amount of the refund will be calculated based on the price of the ticket for the flight concerned. Problems in the calculation, there is when a ticket price for return flight was paid together or a flight consists of several flights, in which the downgrade but only a partial flight concerns.
If a total price has been charged for round-trip flights and, for example, only the entire return flight is affected by the downgrade, the fare must be halved in case of doubt and only half of the fare for the amount of the refund must be used.
However, if a flight consists of several legs and only one of these legs is affected by the downgrade, the individual ticket price for the affected route is hard to find out. In these cases, a proportionate calculation must be made according to the flight distance of the routes in relation to the total route.
What do I do if I am affected by a downgrade?
If you are affected by a downgrade, contact us! Sir Lawyer Michael Gabler specializes in flight compensation and travel rights and helps you enforce your claims against the airline.
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