Travel Solutions: Can I get the fare difference refunded after I was downgraded?

A few days later, I received an email from American that it had refunded the fare difference between first class and economy class, and advised me to contact my travel agent.

When I returned from our vacation, I contacted the travel agent at AAA, who had arranged our tour through Pleasant Holidays. The AAA travel agent contacted Pleasant Holidays, which had no record of a refund from American.

Over the course of a few months, I followed up with AAA and Pleasant Holidays on the status of this credit to no avail. Finally, I reached out to one of the American executives who you list on your consumer advocacy site. The airline contacted me a day later and referred me to a website to check the status of the refund. That website indicated that a refund had been completed.

I still don’t have our refund, though. Can you help me? — Thomas Sennett, West Hartford, Connecticut

A: If you get bumped from first class to economy — that’s called an involuntary downgrade — you should get a prompt and full refund of the fare difference. Looking at your case, I can see the problem.

You have a tour operator and an agent involved. A good travel agent can fight for your refund, but the bureaucracy of getting the money from the airline to the tour operator to the travel advisor and finally to you — well, that’s probably why it’s taking so long.

You had a thorough and very helpful paper trail that made this case relatively easy to resolve.

I see you also availed yourself of the company contacts for American Airlines that I publish on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org. Nice work. I also have contacts for AAA in case you ever need them.

I contacted AAA to find out the status of your refund. It reached out to Pleasant Holidays. The company found your money, and you received a check for $1,611 from the carrier.