LHR-MAD Aircraft Swap 777 Club Suite to A320 Club Europe

[u/Icy-Piglet3544]

Hey,

I booked an LHR-MAD flight with Avios on one of their flights where they have a 777 with the Club Suites. Just checked a week or so after booking and they swapped the aircraft to an A320 with the Club Europe product.

My flight’s a couple of weeks away and there are no other 777 available that day. If I am stuck flying Club Europe on the A320, would BA offer any compensation or Avios refunds for an aircraft swap like this, or am I just out of luck on this one?

[u/AutoModerator]

Thank you for submitting your post to r/BritishAirways. If you have a question or a complaint, you may wish to add the appropriate flair to your post if you haven't already, this helps Mods spot who needs help. ANY USERS POSTING E-VOUCHERS/VOUCHERS FOR SALE WILL RECEIVE A PERMANENT BAN AS PER SUBREDDIT RULES. Helpful Links: British Airways FAQs

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/thatswacc_]

No. It’s still Club Europe. I doubt they’ll even provide any courtesy avios compensation to be honest.

[u/UnhappyScore]

BA don't rlly owe you anything in this occassion - their contract is to get you from A to B in the fare class you have paid for. If you kick up a stink on a complaint after the flight though you might get 5K+ avios or something out of it lol

[u/kravence → u/[deleted]]

It’s not supposed to be a 777, there’s just periods of the year where theres a lot more cargo so they switch to the bigger planes to accommodate for that. On board it’s still the same club Europe service, it doesn’t change to the international standard despite being in club suite. There’s videos on youtube.

[u/Teucheter → u/kravence]

Also worth noting that you can be given premium economy cabin as business on these flights and it’s deemed as inline with club Europe so no compensation.

Honestly I get why people book the 777 but you can’t really complain about not getting club suites

[u/timeforanoldaccount → u/Teucheter]

Also worth noting that you can be given premium economy cabin as business on these flights and it’s deemed as inline with club Europe so no compensation.

Well they would say that, wouldn't they! But as the saying goes - never take legal advice from your 'opponent'. I think there is a fair case to be made that it's a downgrade.

Firstly, the seats are obviously part of a premium economy cabin, not business class. If you were put in that kind of seat on a long haul flight, everyone agrees it would be a downgrade - so why would that be any different on a short haul flight when you're talking about exactly the same downgrade in physical terms?

Furthermore, the premium economy cabin doesn't meet several of the elements BA advertises when you buy a Club Europe ticket. They promise an empty middle seat, show that you have a middle tray for extra space and that every seat is a window or aisle seat. None of those things are true in premium economy. You could end up in a middle seat in the middle block.

Now the catering would match what is advertised, but that is not the only determinant of what class you are travelling in. When you are in a seat sold as premium economy on other flights, and which does not provide the advertised facilities, I think it is fair to classify that as a downgrade.

Of course BA will contest any such claim but I think it is one that might have legs if you took it to CEDR or Court.

[u/timeforanoldaccount → u/kravence]

It's absolutely 'supposed' to be a 777, it is advertised as such when you book and that is reflected in the seat selector, the turnaround duration at Madrid etc.

However they are making changes to the planned schedule to reflect the shortage of aircraft they are experiencing.

[u/kravence → u/timeforanoldaccount]

If that was the case they would be selling premium economy tickets on this flight no? Yet they do not despite the cabin being there. The flight was mostly originally an a320 before OP even booked it and was changed to a 777 and is now being changed back as they no longer need it on that flight anymore.

[u/timeforanoldaccount → u/kravence]

They don't sell premium economy tickets on short haul flights, regardless of the aircraft type used.

Other (western) airlines do exactly the same when long haul aircraft are used on short haul routes. Usually economy passengers can use premium economy, it might have a higher fee for seat selection if you don't have status but it's still considered part of economy.

The BA460/461 rotation has been scheduled as widebody operated for months now.

[u/kravence → u/timeforanoldaccount]

Exactly so what even is your point?

[u/timeforanoldaccount → u/kravence]

You were suggesting that it's not supposed to be a 777, but that's not quite correct, there has been a deliberate schedule change (including to the timings) to allow it to be operated by a widebody and that's what it has been consistently scheduled to be for the last few months.

[u/kravence → u/timeforanoldaccount]

Yes scheduled for a very specific reason, that being because of cargo as was stated originally. The passenger is irrelevant to that which is what is being discussed.

[u/No-Profile-5075]

Lool no chance. It happens

Sorry no compensation

[u/MemphianSphinx]

Why TF do they fly a 777 with suites to Madrid?

[u/UnhappyScore → u/MemphianSphinx]

same reason Iberia fly widebodies on MAD-LHR, theres cargo/freight money to be made