Involuntary downgrade on final leg?

[SSR BAQ]

Hi just come back from a DUB-NYC NYC-MAN 241 booking in CW. The LHR – MAN leg kept getting cancelled and in the end all I could get near my initial travel date was a later flight with an involuntary downgrade to ET. This was booked a couple of days before hand. I asked the person on the phone to note it was involuntary – the flight was only 1hr 20mins later arriving so I doubt I’m owed anything for the lateness but is there anything I can claim for the downgrade on this leg even though it’s a redemption and technically a ‘free’ add-on flight to the long haul?

[NorthernLass]

I think you get 35%-ish (?) of what you paid for that leg in compo. I’m assuming you were charged £25 RFS fee for one-way in CE and 0 avios so it wouldn’t be very much. You might be better off putting in a complaint for all the messing around, the actual downgrade and loss of lounge access and you’d probably get 10k or so avios.

[Lady London]

I agree with @NorthernLass. On short haul particularly domestic (I think BA counts DUB as domestic in most ways), the fare component for the domestic fare to hub (London) is zero to very small and IIRC you’d only get 30% of whatever that worked out to, as the reimbursement for downgrade you’d be techically entitled to claim, under UK EU 261.

Far better to write a short note to BA instead and ask if they could make you feel better about being downgraded and the multiple cancellations, any chance of some avios for next flight.

I think you’d be lucky to get 10,000 on short haul – I will take a bet they’ll toss you 5000 or so which is worth about what you might get, I suspect.

On long haul flights things can be worth pursuing but on short haul the nice way may yield more.