Op-down from J to Y: No fare difference refund on Hong Kong Airlines

[ktamhkg]

Sharing a data point from a recent involuntary downgrade from J to Y with Hong Kong Airlines.

It happened on the KIX-HKG leg of a paid ticket. At check-in, we were told we had been downgraded from J to Y (ouch!). They offered HKD 800 compensation per pax on the spot, plus the fare difference to be claimed later. That made sense to us, but the compensation came with a legal waiver so we did not take it.

After we landed, we emailed HX and they replied that there was “no fare difference”, so no compensation was due. They brought up the HKD 800 offer again, but this time the paperwork included not only a legal waiver, but also an NDA. (I obviously didn't take it either!)

For context, we were travelling with an infant. Despite their published statement that passengers travelling with children will be given priority, it appears that it applies specifically to op-down due to overbooking.

I'm attaching their reply with personal info redacted, in case anyone is interested.

 

[muppet]

Unless you had an extraordinarily discounted business fare (like $2k return Australia-HKG-KIX) then yeah you’ve been ripped off.

Thanks for the data point, I have no advice sorry. Will be very frustrating for you to get your money back.

Assuming a $3-4k return fare, I’d say $3-400pp is more reasonable based on flight lengths etc. but may not be worth the stress persuing. If you never want to fly them again (which I assume) then you could try credit card charge back.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks for the heads up.

Was this sector part of a longer itinerary?

It might well be - given the way airlines calculate these things - there was little or no residual value in the overall fare for this one sector. Especially if the airline calculated the downgrade based on a full walk-up economy fare.

that sucks, but it might mean the HKD800 is about as good as it’s going to get.

 

[Dmac59]

Sharing a data point from a recent involuntary downgrade from J to Y with Hong Kong Airlines.

It happened on the KIX-HKG leg of a paid ticket. At check-in, we were told we had been downgraded from J to Y (ouch!). They offered HKD 800 compensation per pax on the spot, plus the fare difference to be claimed later. That made sense to us, but the compensation came with a legal waiver so we did not take it.

After we landed, we emailed HX and they replied that there was “no fare difference”, so no compensation was due. They brought up the HKD 800 offer again, but this time the paperwork included not only a legal waiver, but also an NDA. (I obviously didn't take it either!)

For context, we were travelling with an infant. Despite their published statement that passengers travelling with children will be given priority, it appears that it applies specifically to op-down due to overbooking.

I'm attaching their reply with personal info redacted, in case anyone is interested.

A very disappointing experience @ktamhkg
I haven’t heard of airlines utilising an NDA, but longer term AFF members may have knowledge of or experienced same.
Not sure about the “no fare difference” between your J ticket and your Y flight. Is it possible that the $ paid for your J ticket was during a sale and the price paid was in fact equivalent to Y Flex fare.

And welcome to posting on AFF @ktamhkg

 

[ktamhkg]

Thanks for the heads up.

Was this sector part of a longer itinerary?

It might well be - given the way airlines calculate these things - there was little or no residual value in the overall fare for this one sector. Especially if the airline calculated the downgrade based on a full walk-up economy fare.

that sucks, but it might mean the HKD800 is about as good as it’s going to get.

The ticket was a HKG-KIX roundtrip, but I bought it before the oil price hike (HKD 7,805 per pax). So you are right — the going rate for a full-fare Y class, less the J-class leg I flew, probably exceeds what I paid!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The ticket was a HKG-KIX roundtrip, but I bought it before the oil price hike (HKD 7,805 per pax). So you are right — the going rate for a full-fare Y class, less the J-class leg I flew, probably exceeds what I paid!

That’s sucks though.

Ideally they would refund the difference between the business and economy class fares at the time of booking, not on the day of travel. EU261 deals with that, and Qantas now has a similar downgrade policy of 75% of the fare.

IIRC in the USA they base the refund against the lowest fare paid in economy for that flight… whenever that was booked.

I know it’s not the first thing that people think of, but taking a screenshot of the available economy fares whenever you book a ticket in a higher class can sometimes be useful in circumstances like this. It may not work in jurisdictions where they don’t have have strong consumer law through.

 

[ktamhkg]

A very disappointing experience @ktamhkg
I haven’t heard of airlines utilising an NDA, but longer term AFF members may have knowledge of or experienced same.
Not sure about the “no fare difference” between your J ticket and your Y flight. Is it possible that the $ paid for your J ticket was during a sale and the price paid was in fact equivalent to Y Flex fare.

And welcome to posting on AFF @ktamhkg

Yes, it does sound odd, especially for a straightforward case like this one. The form is titled "Settlement Agreement and Full and Final Release of Claims." My guess is that it is a standard form designed for more elaborate complaints, but they use it for everything regardless.

 

[NM]

While it is common practice for many airlines to calculate fare differences using the full economy price and not a discounted economy fare that was available when the original business class booking was made, I believe it is wrong and the airlines should not be able to base the difference calculation that way. It should be based on the cheapest economy fare that was available at the time of booking or the cheapest fare actually paid by any passenger on the flight.

 

[Ansett Nostalgic]

File a consumer legal complaint in HK against HK Airlines.