Bumped from Choice Seats - Aer Lingus

ironclaw

Hi All,

I'm wondering has this ever happened to anyone. Its happened me a few times now. Outline is like this:

- Booked an economy ticket in advance, few weeks before I go online and book an exit row.

- Few days before departure, I get a renewed booking confirmation but the seat has changed but to another 'choice seat'. Basically, a seat in the first 20 or so rows of the aircraft but not an exit row.

- Contact EI who basically play a party line and say there is nothing they can do than show up on the day and hope the desk agent can put you back in the Exit row.

I had enough of it this time, so I went online and booked a refundable fare. Turns out the exit seat I was bumped out of was still available and bookable, as were many others. So not only was I bumped out of the seat I paid for, they were being resold. To add insult to injury, I couldn't even select myself to be put back into the seat nor could an agent do so in advance.

Has this happened to anyone else? I looked over my past issues here and it appears to be happening on the low cost fares or fares booked far in advance.

Locker10a

How strange, I’ve never experienced this, you should issue a formal complaint on their website detailing your whole experience or experiences. See what they say.

TheDriver

Concur with above. You've tried the call centre and it doesn't make sense so a clear concise report on social media might get an answer quickly

California Dreamer

My inbound TA flight last month was changed from a 200 to a 300. My emergency exit row was changed but the row number stayed the same. I got a €20 refund when I complained.

sdanseo

EI are very active on Facebook, might be worth a mention there. Have seen several complaints resolved this way, on the face of it at least

Locker10a

sdanseo wrote: »

EI are very active on Facebook, might be worth a mention there. Have seen several complaints resolved this way, on the face of it at least

I’d personally use that as a last resort, often they refer you to their formal complaints form anyway, see how you get on, I hate making public complaints where everyone can see your business, but that’s me personally.

Stephen Strange

Locker10a wrote: »

I’d personally use that as a last resort, often they refer you to their formal complaints form anyway, see how you get on, I hate making public complaints where everyone can see your business, but that’s me personally.

Unfortunately, with a lot of companies it's the only way to get things sorted these days, hence the success of the TalkTo forums on here.

notharrypotter

Booked an economy ticket in advance, few weeks before I go online and book an exit row.

Curious. Usually exit row seats have extra legroom and attract a fee.
Did you pay extra for the exit seat?

Stephen Strange

notharrypotter wrote: »

Curious. Usually exit row seats have extra legroom and attract a fee.
Did you pay extra for the exit seat?

They said they did in the OP

notharrypotter

Stephen Strange wrote: »

They said they did in the OP

Not quite.

So not only was I bumped out of the seat I paid for

They did not specify they paid a premium for an exit seat.

[ I couldn't even select myself to be put back into the seat/QUOTE]

Leads me to suspect they they paid extra for a "choice seat" (what ever that is) but not for an exit seat.

ironclaw

Thanks for the replies folks. Frankly, I don't want a refund. I want the seat I booked, so a refund after the flight is a lukewarm response in my book. I have notified them on each occasion, its always been the same response.

notharrypotter wrote: »

Not quite.
They did not specify they paid a premium for an exit seat.

Sorry, I may not have been clear. I booked an exit row and paid for it (70EUR). I was reassigned to a 'Choice Seat' which I believe costs between 30 and 50EUR. That was the kick in the teeth as I was told a Choice seat was of 'equal value' and 'just as good' Which is isn't as Choice seats are only closer to the front of the plane (Useless in most cases) and don't give any more room, unlike say United where you get a little more pitch or legroom.

The_Wanderer

Anytime I have flown T/A in economy with EI I have booked a choice seat. Never had the experience that you had.

My favourite was the two rows of economy between business and the gallery on the -300's before the business cabin upgrade saw that area swallowed into the new business cabin. Was always nice and quiet.

billy few mates

I normally try and avoid the exit rows as they can often be freezing compared to the normal fully insulated seat rows, especially at this time of year.

the_pen_turner

billy few mates wrote: »

I normally try and avoid the exit rows as they can often be freezing compared to the normal fully insulated seat rows, especially at this time of year.

I love them for that reason. any flight over an hour gets really hot

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

California Dreamer

billy few mates wrote: »

I normally try and avoid the exit rows as they can often be freezing compared to the normal fully insulated seat rows, especially at this time of year.

Is there a difference in the exit rows temperature at 35000 ft during the summer or winter?! :rolleyes:

billy few mates

the_pen_turner wrote: »

I love them for that reason. any flight over an hour gets really hot

I sat by the emergency exit one long flight a number of years back in the middle of winter and after an hour or so my whole lower body became cold soaked and my leg was practically aching with the cold. I had to ask the FA for a couple of extra blankets and pillows to stuff between my leg and the sidewall. The guy opposite me had to do the same, it was really uncomfortable.

billy few mates

California Dreamer wrote: »

Is there a difference in the exit rows temperature at 35000 ft during the summer or winter?! :rolleyes:

Yes.

California Dreamer

billy few mates wrote: »

Yes.

Would love to explain that one to me if you wouldn't mind.

the_pen_turner

billy few mates wrote: »

I sat by the emergency exit one long flight a number of years back in the middle of winter and after an hour or so my whole lower body became cold soaked and my leg was practically aching with the cold. I had to ask the FA for a couple of extra blankets and pillows to stuff between my leg and the sidewall. The guy opposite me had to do the same, it was really uncomfortable.

I havnt experienced it being freezing but have noticed a nice refreshing temperature there . although it is a while since I was on a plane in the depths of snow and ice so that could be it

la ultima guagua

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

As I understand it, OPs original post suggests that this was not the position

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

la ultima guagua

After he had been bumped from it the seat was still available and bookable.

If it was not available then it should have shown up as such.

faoiarvok

California Dreamer wrote: »

Would love to explain that one to me if you wouldn't mind.

Seems logical enough that air will leak out through door seals more than through rivets etc in the rest of the fuselage, causing some cooling thanks to Boyle’s Law

JCX BXC

I wouldn't be happy with this at all, I'd request the full 70 quid back or an immediate change to the exit row.

bkehoe

faoiarvok wrote: »

Seems logical enough that air will leak out through door seals more than through rivets etc in the rest of the fuselage, causing some cooling thanks to Boyle’s Law

I believe the confusion from people questioning this is with regard to why people seem to think its worse on flights in winter than in summer when the outside air temperature is going to be around -55 degrees irrespective of the season!

billie1b

Happened me on my return from CDG, my wife and myself booked and paid extra for seats 1E and 1F for both journeys, outbound jouney was fine, inbound journey to DUB we were getting our boarding passes and the check-in agent told us due to two last minute airport bookings by gold holder pax our seats were given to these pax and our seats would be changed. My wife kicked up a fuss about it, nothing was done, ended up her in seat 27D and me in 9B. Was not a happy person on the flight home.

slavetothegrind

never happened to me yet but i always book an exit row.....so concerned.

People are saying that the Airline has the right to do this?
Sell you a service and renege on the contract?

Wonder was this only possible as you didn't check in online?

billy few mates

California Dreamer wrote: »

Would love to explain that one to me if you wouldn't mind.

bkehoe wrote: »

I believe the confusion from people questioning this is with regard to why people seem to think its worse on flights in winter than in summer when the outside air temperature is going to be around -55 degrees irrespective of the season!

Because of the design of the fuselage around emergency exit cut outs and doors you end up with more ‘metal’ structure than other areas of the fuselage with normal stringers and frames which are easier to insulate. Metal is a good conductor of heat (and cold) so it stands to reason the more metal (aluminium in this case) you have in an area the the more likely it is to retain the cold, especially as the design of the structure in these areas doesn’t lend itself particularly well to be properly insulated.
While the OAT might be a constant year round figure of -55C the added problem you get in winter is a phenomenon called ‘cold soaking’ where an aircraft doesn’t really get the opportunity to thaw out (or warm up) properly. If an aircraft spends long hours cold soaked at -55C in the cruise and then a short turnaround in sub zero temperatures followed by another cold soaked cruise followed by another sub zero short turnaround etc etc then that airframe is going to be cold soaked for extended periods.
Inside the cabin the air conditioning and pax breathing air will have a temperature of approx 25C, where that air meets the cold skin at -55C you get condensation, that layer of condensation freezes and forms an ice layer on the inside of the skin. At other times of the year that ice layer freezes and thaws with every flight cycle or takes a time to build up and become noticeable, in extreme temperatures it never gets the opportunity to thaw. If you’re sitting in an area with reduced insulation it can feel like you’re sitting with your leg resting beside a block of ice. It’s a well known problem and some aircraft manufacturers offer modifications or options where additional peripheral heaters are added at door cut outs and overwing exits to take the chill out of these zones. Many operators who do super long range cruises over polar paths or extended ops in cold regions install the heaters as standard, operators in this part of the world tend not to.
Hope this explains it?

irishrover99

Its hasn't happened to me with with Aer Lingus but it happened with Etihad.
When i booked my seat i was told over the phone that they couldn't confirm the seat with the bassinet at the front of the cabin for my Daughter but they provisionally put our names down for them and that we should be ok once we turn up early at check in.
When i turned up at the Airport our boarding passes showed that our seats had indeed been changed and we only had the bassinet for a half of the legs on our journey.
When we boarded the plane two of these rows were taken up by groups of Men without babies and one of the cabin crew flipped off about it when she asked me why we hadn't a bassinet.
She then asked a guy who was sitting beside us to move so we could have the four seats in the middle of the plane and let our Daughter sleep.
It seemed the cabin crew couldn't really get why this had happened either.

Riskymove

slavetothegrind wrote: »

never happened to me yet but i always book an exit row.....so concerned.

it has happened to me twice with Aer Lingus when a different plane was used to that originally planned

when I spoke to Cabin crew they said I would have cost refunded but obviously not having the exit row was my bigger concern.

in the end there were spare exit row seats so i ended up there anyway

trellheim

It seemed the cabin crew couldn't really get why this had happened either.

well they would say that !

More likely a high-status in the FF programme got to book the seats they wanted

Locker10a

trellheim wrote: »

It seemed the cabin crew couldn't really get why this had happened either.

well they would say that !

More likely a high-status in the FF programme got to book the seats they wanted

On board Crew have absolutely no idea about, check in, seating, re-seating, bumping low fare pax for status holders etc. It’s all done by reservations or ground staff who have access to that system. Crew don’t and can’t access that system

goingnowhere

They don't bump seats for FF, seats for FF are done the day before departure while under airport control. There is one scenario where Aer Lingus will bump you off a flight to make room for a FF, very rare these days but it has been done.

Its the strange business of aircraft changes messes with the seats. The website will not let you change a seat if one is allocated to you.

The up sell of seats for choice and exit rows is through datalex which doesn't really show up in Astral (i.e. it knows you have seat X but isn't sure why...)

The cabin crew do have a list of who the FF are as its noted next to the passenger name and seat number on the manifest.

If you don't get the seat you paid for you get demand a refund, simple as

devnull

The same happened to me twice before, once on one of the ex Spanish aircraft where there was a massive difference between the exit rows and the tighter seats down the back for someone 6ft3 like me was a nightmare and once on an A320.

If you, as I understand, paid extra to reserve a specific type of seat and they do not provide you with such seat, you would be well within your rights to ask them to refund the fee that you paid for such seat.

They may not be keen on doing it, but you should get it refunded if you play your cards right, I did both times.

Locker10a

devnull wrote: »

If you, as I understand, paid extra to reserve a specific type of seat and they do not provide you with such seat, you would be well within your rights to ask them to refund the fee that you paid for such seat.

.

This would be standard with all airlines where aircraft changes etc happen

devnull

In my case there was no aircraft change.

My seats were simply allocated to other people when boarding.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

plodder

Sounds like a major PR fail that they would do this. It's bound to raise questions about whether they would go further and bump you off the flight completely, to make way for a more valuable passenger.

Fred Swanson

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trellheim

Ryanair do not refund seat picks

Arbie

2 years ago I was sitting in my seat 1F when a flight attendant asked me if I would mind swapping with a passenger who had special needs. I said no problem at all. Off I went back to 6B.

Passenger was in fact a "celebrity" who then sat in an empty 1st row. I was a bit peeved so I asked the flight attendant why she had fibbed - she rolled her eyes and told me seats could be reallocated at any time, hard luck.

It was LHR-DUB & I had only paid a small amount for the premium seat, but you can see why I was annoyed. When I complained they refunded me the seat fee, took about 2 months. Have not flown with them since.

As an aside, the celebrity was drunk as a skunk.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

plodder

Arbie wrote: »

2 years ago I was sitting in my seat 1F when a flight attendant asked me if I would mind swapping with a passenger who had special needs. I said no problem at all. Off I went back to 6B.

Passenger was in fact a "celebrity" who then sat in an empty 1st row. I was a bit peeved so I asked the flight attendant why she had fibbed - she rolled her eyes and told me seats could be reallocated at any time, hard luck.

It was LHR-DUB & I had only paid a small amount for the premium seat, but you can see why I was annoyed. When I complained they refunded me the seat fee, took about 2 months. Have not flown with them since.

As an aside, the celebrity was drunk as a skunk.

It makes a mockery of the rules that are supposed to be there for safety (or other genuine operational reasons). If a drunk celeb has to be put up the front, to be baby-sat then they should have just denied them boarding.