SAS bad faith - redeemed

Woaa I'm so sorry this sounds super stressful. Have you considered leaving a review on google/facebook/linkedin/instagram? I know it can feel harsh, but often time its the best way to flag some attention on an issue. I would keep pushing, because you were not given adequate information at the start of this issue. I would also give there AI bot a try: https://www.flysas.com/en/support-information/contact. I read that if the bot can't help, they do transfer you to a real agent, as long as your conversation is during opening hours.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm#overbooked

You may find this of interest.

You are entitle to compensation, a lot of compensation. Joe's link above is what you should follow. Keep everything documented.

Yikes. That is not how things are supposed to go. Sorry to hear about your experience.

I try not to fly too much, but have still flown with SAS a good number of times. Never had any issues with SAS though.

Check the link to passenger rights posted by joe32F above. Those are the rules the airlines are required to follow.

Did they mention any appeal options when you received the decision from SAS? If so, I would appeal. If they don’t, I would appeal anyway. I believe it’s the German authorities who have to handle such an appeal case, as the incident happened in Berlin.

https://www.lba.de/EN/AirPassengersRights/AirPassengersRights_node.html

https://www.lba.de/EN/AirPassengersRights/Complaint_Form/Complaint_Form_node.html

As noted, you are entitled to compensation for being bumped. This assumes that
the airline is putting you on the next available flight as part of the rebooking process.
They may also compensate you as part of their goodwill, but you are also entitled to a
cash payment under what is known as EC261 regulations that apply across the EU.

Independent of this is the cost you incurred to purchase the new tickets. Here is
where things get a bit murky.

First question is, what happened to the original booking? Something must have
happened to it. If you were bumped, then the gate agent had to have done
something to mark you as bumped, and the reservation either canceled (which they
should not do arbitrarily) or moved to the next available flight, which you apparently
bought new tickets for.

The fact that you went ahead and paid for new tickets does not help your case, though
I can certainly understand why you did it at the time you did.

There are companies that will do the legwork for your EC261 claim in return for a cut
of the proceeds. It may be worth asking if they can do anything about the $1000 you
paid for the new tickets as well if you decide to go that route.

The amount of EC261 compensation depends on the distance of the flight and amount
of delay. It might be 200 or 300 EUR per person, which would pay of much of the out-of-pocket
cost.

If you live in an SAS hub in the US, it may be worth going there to see if they can do some
forensics on the original booking.

Am I the only one that thought you wouldn't be bumped once you have a boarding pass, not to mention the checked in luggage?

I think so cala. Remember the doctor who had to fly home to Louisville for patients from Chicago, but seats were needed for crew to deadhead, and nobody would volunteer their seats on a Sunday night. He was dragged out of his seat and off the plane by airport police, and injured in the process.
Conclusion: You can be bumped as long as the plane isn’t in the air. Here the crew member got a seat and the doctor’s patients could take a hike.

Our daughter-in-law and 2 granddaughters were bumped on a flight from Toulon to Paris a few years ago. She kept all of her receipts including phone records and rebooked train tickets. She was reimbursed for everything she had to purchase to get them to Paris that day plus the compensation for the supposedly cancelled flight which wasn’t canceled at all, they were simply bumped. She followed the rules carefully for EC261 and filled out the forms on her airline’s site. It wasn’t SAS but all EU airlines have to follow this rule. Please try to follow through with your EC261 claim rights.

Why is there not a simple and easy rule for the airlines to follow: Bump in reverse order of ticket purchase - last bought, first bumped. And along with this, a statement from the airline that as of when someone purchases their ticket the plane is full and their seat would be subject to bumping if no cancellations or voluntary change of earlier purchased tickets. Easy, transparent...why not?

I don’t think that is a very simple or fair rule at all. For one thing, those who bought a ticket at the last minute are most likely to be those with the most urgent reason to travel, such as an important business meeting or a family emergency. And they have paid the most as well. Plus what about the people having to change flights through no fault of their own, such as their original one being cancelled?

Are you staying those late-comers are more entitled to the trip? I plan my trips 6 months out, purchase my air tickets, make hotel and other transit other reservations as far in advance as possible. Yet it is fair to decide arbitrarily that my party has to be randomly removed? Why not then when a big ballgame is sold out bump out those who bought tickets early? Or SRO at show? If you wait to buy tickets then you risk being closed out. The problem is that the airline oversells by selling seats that are not available and creates this situation that they then handle unfairly. If I needed transportation late I surely would not buy ticket on a sold out fight with the expectation that someone else has to be removed for me to be allowed to go.

Go through the compensation process, but honestly, not just SAS, but any airline, if you are bumped, delayed, or cancelled, if you independently go off and make your own arrangements without prior consent of the airline, they are not responsible for those costs.

Not to take the thread too far off-topic, but there could be a gigantic thread on the
topic that Slate and Larry are starting to debate...

I will say that Larry's idea, as fair as it sounds on the surface, would probably cause
most airlines to go out of business, as bumping business travelers, who usually buy
later and have more need to get someplace on a schedule (and are willing to pay for
the privilege), would not suffer getting bumped very gladly in favor of leisure travelers
who paid a fraction of the fare they paid. Not to mention the amount of money the
airlines would lose.

It also ignores the question of airline status, which is also a major component of
airline business, since it has a direct correlation to loyalty.

Usually, airlines avoid this issue, of course, by incentivizing travelers who can be
bought to voluntarily leave the flight. Sometimes in the US, bumps occur when an
air marshal needs to fly at the last minute.

I suspect every airline has a secret algorithm that takes multiple factors into account
and spits out a list of unlucky flyers if a bump is required.

In this case, as Paul (and I) noted, the OP has caused some of their own grief by not
pressing for a more complete resolution at the gate, or, back at the counter in the front
of the airport. There had to have been contact with airline personnel just to get their
checked luggage back. OP has 1 post in the forum, so perhaps they are less experienced
with IRROPS dealings, and have left out details which would provide more insight.

Thank you, everybody, for your replies. Amazingly, I got an email from SAS last night saying that they will reimburse me for the the remaining $900+ ! No explanation as to what changed their minds now, after over 3 months. I lodged a complaint at www.IBA.de yesterday per broccolihaar, and also sent an email to the opinion page of the Copenhagen daily newspaper, Berlingsta, but I doubt these had anything to do with it as it was too quick. Anyway, for whatever reason, they did the right thing. Thanks again, everybody.

The newspapers don’t notify individuals/companies/organisations ahead of time if someone submits an opinion piece critical towards them, so Berlingske had nothing to do with it.

Regardless, I’m happy to hear it was solved in the end, despite the difficulties.

I’m happy too to hear you were compensated. Paul, It is the case that they compensate for tickets you’ve booked for yourself to get you from your departure to arrival location. Our DIL had to book train tickets when the airline said their flight was cancelled and the airline reimbursed them for the train tickets and all of their other expenses including the flight they weren’t allowed to go on. I think it took them about a month to get reimbursed once the paperwork was filled out online with uploaded copies of all of their receipts.

Edited to add: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/transportation/disappointed-in-hop-operated-by-airfrance-and-will-not-book-again

maybe since it has been resolved and you are happy - perhaps modify the title of the thread to reflect that?

I just want to say I agree with Slate and shoeflyer that the decision to bump passengers has to be more complicated that last bought, first bumped. As noted, airlines need those business road warriors who buy 40 last-minute tickets per year at exorbitant prices to survive. Airline algorithms for who to bump are quite complicated, and cost of ticket and frequency of flying with the airline certainly play a large role.

The bump experience also depends on which airline one flies. I fly Delta regularly. In the mid 2010's, I regularly took advantage of voluntary bump offers, often scheduling a flight that I thought would end up being full that had redundant flights to my destination after that flight; I made bank on Delta credits back then, and those credits funded multiple European flights. The oversell software apparently has improved. I haven't had an oversold offer in probably 6 or 8 years. When flights are oversold, Delta is very aggressive about making offers (often in AMEX gift card form in addition to Delta credit). Gate agents reportedly can offer up to $9950. Delta's involuntary bump number for most months, quarters, even a year often is 0 or 1. The trade off, of course, is that Delta is more pricey.