Reimbursement question on Lost Upgrade due to Hurricane

We booked our flights to Europe via Princess Air and paid extra for upgrades. The departure flight was canceled due to Hurricane Irma and we were re-booked by Princess departing a couple of days later on a different airline. It was a full flight and the only seats available were in economy. Our return flight remained as originally booked and we did get our upgraded seats.

 

Our agent told us to contact AON with whom we are insured and they informed that they only reimburse in the event we would have had to purchase new tickets due to the missed flight.

They told us that it was the responsibility of Princess to reimburse us the unused portion of the upgraded seats. This makes sense since we paid for the tickets with a Visa card and the statement clearly shows that the payment for the upgrades was made to Princess.

Our agent is having a difficult time understanding this and seems unsure of how to proceed with Princess. I wonder whether anyone else has had a similar experience and what the solution might be.

It'll be interesting to know if any refund is forthcoming. Generally, with involuntary airline downgrades in the United States, the way such a refund is computed is as follows:

 

+ How much you paid on the day you paid for your flight

- How much a full-fare coach seat costs on the day of the flight

= Refund you get

 

Of course, the price of an airline ticket is often a lot more expensive on the day of the flight than when you purchase your flight, so this math works in the carrier's favor: They end up giving you a "break" by not charging you more for the privilege of being downgraded.

 

Best of luck and please let us know if you do get any compensation for this.

If I were your agent I would be a strong advocate for your position. You paid Princess for a service which was not provided, much in the same vein as paying for certain class of cabin and through extraordinary circumstances, being involuntarily downgraded. If your TA does not even grasp the situation.....ouch. Does your TA have a supervisor or someone higher up in the food chain? If so, insist on speaking to them. If your TA cannot/will not pursue a refund for you, then you will have to go to battle (metaphorically speaking) for yourself and keep pushing. Be a squeaky wheel. You are entitled to the difference between what Princess charged for your upgraded one way seat and what they would have charged for a one way economy seat. Princess was effectively your TA for the air.

 

 

Then find a better TA for future bookings.

We booked our flights to Europe via Princess Air and paid extra for upgrades. The departure flight was canceled due to Hurricane Irma and we were re-booked by Princess departing a couple of days later on a different airline. It was a full flight and the only seats available were in economy. Our return flight remained as originally booked and we did get our upgraded seats.

 

Our agent told us to contact AON with whom we are insured and they informed that they only reimburse in the event we would have had to purchase new tickets due to the missed flight.

They told us that it was the responsibility of Princess to reimburse us the unused portion of the upgraded seats. This makes sense since we paid for the tickets with a Visa card and the statement clearly shows that the payment for the upgrades was made to Princess.

Our agent is having a difficult time understanding this and seems unsure of how to proceed with Princess. I wonder whether anyone else has had a similar experience and what the solution might be.

 

this is one of the main reasons I prefer to have the air arrangements in my own hands. Instead of being someone to go to bat for you, it becomes just another person (s) to get in your way. Now you must explain, beg with both Princess and the TA when you would be in the same situation without those 2 if your ticket was bought from the provider. I find that filing under trip interruption gets me further than the airline or the cruise line. My TA is usually on the ball and will help with lots of things but I frankly do more air arrangements than she does -- studied it more. FWIIW! I have lost upgrades and early bird seat selection and early boarding even when I am doing my own air arrangements. In this day and age of rudeness to your customer and take it or leave it hospitality standards, they usually say if you don't want the middle seat available then someone else will -- take it or leave it. They also claim that the paperwork says that you take the seat -- you give up all your other "contracted rights" stuff you paid extra for. I was fuming about this on a recent flight from IAD to LAX middle seat last flight out that would make my 14 hour flight to Taipei after 6 hour delay for "broken part". I was frustrated, out of breath from the run and generally NOT happy. The lovely calm lady next to me was on her way to Australia. She was "dealing" very well in the non-reclining seat next to me a plus sized lady! She had FIRST CLASS tickets for the other flight. End of story -- could not get a trip interruption because they flew the flight 11 hours late with 23 passengers.(and 2 hours after my next flight). So much for customer rights. Guess it goes on as long as they have the limited seats and flights that are now standard to get flights to the 90% full standard for profitability. Pursue it anyway -- if we bother them enough maybe something will happen Yeah right!

It'll be interesting to know if any refund is forthcoming. Generally, with involuntary airline downgrades in the United States,

 

I think part of the reason they get away with it is because technically it's a voluntary downgrade.... you could insist on waiting and flying in the upgraded class of service you paid for, but most would rather just get there, especially if heading to a cruise or other time sensitive event. So they "voluntarily" give up the upgrade to get a seat ASAP.

I think part of the reason they get away with it is because technically it's a voluntary downgrade.... you could insist on waiting and flying in the upgraded class of service you paid for, but most would rather just get there, especially if heading to a cruise or other time sensitive event. So they "voluntarily" give up the upgrade to get a seat ASAP.

Good point. I suspect that that formula I outlined is labeled as the one for "involuntary" downgrades because some passengers would consider the OP's flying in coach as an "involuntary" downgrade even though, as you point out, there may have been an option to switch to a flight later in the week in the correct class of service. Regardless, some part of it, either the change in timing or change in class of service, was involuntary, and as so that formula for involuntary downgrades comes into play.

I think part of the reason they get away with it is because technically it's a voluntary downgrade.... you could insist on waiting and flying in the upgraded class of service you paid for, but most would rather just get there, especially if heading to a cruise or other time sensitive event. So they "voluntarily" give up the upgrade to get a seat ASAP.

This. OP - I know nothing about your tickets, but often, if you voluntarily accept a downgrade, the airline owes you nothing.

At least the OP finally made it out of Tampa, but I guess the OP would call this another "Princess Air Screw Up."

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2542130