Canton judge does not book upgrade: economy stays economy

Canton judge does not book upgrade: economy stays economy

Father, mother and two children are about to fly back to Amsterdam after two weeks of vacation on tropical St. Maarten, with a stopover in Paris. Because the family values extra legroom, larger entertainment screens and more luxurious snacks, they opted for Premium Economy tickets. To their dismay, when they check in at St. Maarten, they find that they have been downgraded to “regular” Economy tickets for the flight to Paris. The family does not board the plane alone. In fact, once back in the Netherlands, they also take their case to court.

Despite the compensation of €375.00 paid by KLM, the family does not leave it at that and sues KLM-Air France. The cantonal court must then judgments about the downgrade.

An escape through the legal arguments

The family claims that they had booked seats in Premium Economy class for the entire return flight. For the flight from St. Maarten to Paris, they were then placed in Economy class. According to them, this is a lower class than Premium Economy class. The family therefore believes that on the basis of the regulation (EC) no. 261/2004 entitled to 75% refund of their ticket price. The article of the regulation reads as follows:

“Article 10 Placement in a higher or lower class

(...)

If the operating air carrier places a passenger in a class lower than that for which a ticket was purchased, a refund shall be made, in accordance with the provisions of Article 7(3), within seven days, of

a) 30 % of the ticket price for all flights of 1500 km or less; or

b) 50 % of the ticket price for all intra-Community flights of more than 1500 km, except for flights between the European territory of the Member States and the French overseas departments, and for all other flights between 1500 and 3500 km, or

c) 75 % of the ticket price for all flights not covered by (a) or (b), including flights between the European territory of the Member States and the French overseas departments.”

For all the flights, the family paid as much as a total of €6,999.88. The portion that saw on the flight in question was €2,607.00. Of this amount, therefore, they claim 75% return, which amounts to a claim of €1,580.25.

KLM then argues that the family booked seats in Economy class and were also transported in Economy class. According to KLM, the article from the regulation refers to an upgrade or downgrade between Business class and Economy class. The percentages are also based on those different classes, since the price differences between Business class and Economy class are significant. This is not the case between Economy class and Premium Economy class, according to KLM.

Canton judge does not book upgrade: economy remains economy

In its ruling, the district judge considered the following:

“The carrier's argument succeeds. While it is true that the passengers have sufficiently substantiated that they were transferred from premium economy to economy class, the carrier has extensively substantiated that premium economy is an option for additional comfort within economy class and not a separate class per se.”

The district judge rules: economy remains economy. The family's claim was rejected. The family must pay KLM's legal costs, amounting to at least €510. A turbulent landing for the family, you might say.

Whether the family books a real upgrade next time and flies Business class is unknown at the time of writing this blog.