Reply To: BA Avios downgrade from First to Club without any compensation!

[Magarathea]

Hi Richard
At the end of the day if you want to take the trip and BA are no longer offering the First class cabin, you have to accept the Club world downgrade. Accepting this will NOT affect your ability to claim for the 75% EU / UK 261 reimbursement. Of course, BA will not volunteer to pay this and you are very likely to have to take them to CEDR or MCOL. I have never been through MCOL but have been through the CEDR process 3 times for downgrading by BA on 241 reward flights and have received a 75% cash reimbursement on each occasion. BA will come up with all sorts of excuses including

• This does not apply to reward bookings.
• They told you in advance so it does not apply.
• The passenger could have changed their flight to a different one with no downgrade.
• You did not turn up at check in with a First class boarding card so it does not apply.
• The companion voucher passenger’s ticket was “free” so no reimbursement for them.
• They may have already given you the difference in Avios cost and that is all you are due.
• BA can’t provide reimbursement in cash as it was paid for using Avios.

The above is of course all nonsense and just trying to get you to give up!

The test in EU / UK 261 Article 10 is “If an operating air carrier places a passenger in a class lower than that for which the ticket was purchased, it shall within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), reimburse … 75 % of the price of the ticket” for flights greater than 3500 km. You are likely to be due the reimbursement in CASH less the government and airport fees and charges but including the BA carrier imposed charges all as per the Mennens v Emirates judgement. The Avios cash value can be calculated using the up-to-date price BA sells Avios for on ba.com. BA will dispute the relevance of this but CEDR understood it in my cases.

This is all a bit of work but worth it in the end. Get a copy of EU / UK 261 which is easy to read and follow.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Enjoy the trip.