Just curious as to where this happened ie were they flying ex JFK for the QF108 flight to LAX then connecting to QF12 to SYD or did they checkin at LAX from the get go for the QF12?
They were in LAX and flying on QF16.
The other questions that spring to mind are:
a) Did they already pre-allocate seats for all their flight at the time of booking or did they leave it until the airport?
They waited until check in.
b) Did they checkin late?
They checked in more than 2 hours before departure.
c) When you say they missed the flight, they were checked in with economy boarding passes so did they tell the ground staff they weren't going to travel unless they were in J and were then offloaded?
I mean that by the time they had checked in and tried to remedy the situation, the other QF flights to Australia had closed.
d) Did they actually checkin the 9 bags first then find out they were in economy once all the bags were sent off?
They checked in the bags and were given Y BP's at check in.
e) Did a duty manager or supervisor speak to them about why they were downgraded, what the compensation would be & what alternate arrangements were available to them in business class?
They knew nothing of why they were downgraded until they were on board. Mr was offered USD$700 cash, they were offered J seats on the next days QF16, but after 8 weeks of travelling and having appointments on Monday, they just wanted to get home on that flight.
Sure it's not like we all have a right to know but I think it's helpful if we do find out why as everyone is naturally curious as to what happened & learn from this example as to whether there's any thing people can do to minimise this happening to them.