Paid for business class air ticket but shifted to economy class; should the airline refund the difference

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She said in a post on X, "@airindia, how dare you give my mom's business class seat to someone else on a long-haul flight from Delhi to Washington DC?.

According to Saumya Brajmohan, Partner, Solomon & Co., a 110 year old law firm, in view of the rapid expansion of air services within India and especially on international routes to/from India and with an ever-arising increase in the volume of passenger traffic, it has been noticed from time to time that airlines downgrade passengers..

According to Brajmohan, the decision of downgrading of the travel category of an airline passenger can only be taken by an airline and usually such downgrading occurs due to factors such as unserviceable seats, change of aircraft, overbooking, etc...

As per Brajmohan, if a passenger is downgraded, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has in Section 3 of the Air Transport, Series M, Part IV of its rules titled 'Facilities to be provided to passengers by airlines due to denied boarding, cancellation of flights and delays in flights' brought in an amendment effective from February 15, 2023 which, includes reimbursement to be provided to passengers who have involuntarily been downgraded in the following manner:..

Airline Operators are obligated to display such policies on their website and ticketing documents and adequately inform the passengers about their right to claim reimbursement / compensation from the authorised officials or agents of the airlines..

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