Travel Troubleshooter: Denied boarding in Spain, but Alaska Airlines won’t refund me

Q: I was flying home from Madrid to Seattle on Aer Lingus, booked through Alaska Airlines using miles. But the airline denied me boarding even though I had a ticket. I had to buy a new ticket on another airline, which cost me $3,244.

Alaska Airlines wants me to get a statement from Aer Lingus explaining why I was denied boarding. I’ve spoken to Aer Lingus many times and the airline has assured me that my case was being investigated and escalated. But it’s been three months. What are my rights?

A: This is a complicated case because it involves three airlines and an award ticket, but the bottom line is this: Alaska Airlines should have given you a usable ticket. And Alaska Airlines needs to make this right.

The three airlines are Aer Lingus (the operating airline), Iberia (the airline that handled the check-in for Aer Lingus), and Alaska (the airline that issued the ticket using miles from your frequent flier program).

Let’s start with the basics: An “involuntary denied boarding” happens when an airline overbooks a flight. The airline is required to compensate you, and the rules vary depending on where you’re coming from and where you’re going.

In the U.S., airlines must follow the Department of Transportation’s rules for denied boarding compensation. These rules are complex. Most passengers receive compensation equal to double the one-way price of the flight they were bumped from and a seat on the next available flight.

In the European Union, airlines must follow the EU’s compensation rules, known as EC 261. These rules are more generous, and they require the airline to pay you cash in addition to finding you a new flight. The amount of compensation depends on the length of your flight and the delay. Madrid, Spain, is in the EU, so your denied boarding is subject to EC 261.

Allowing you to book award tickets through Aer Lingus, which then outsources the check-in to Iberia, may benefit these airlines. But for consumers, it’s confusing. I don’t see how this kind of code-sharing really helps consumers, particularly when no one wants to accept responsibility for a flight that goes wrong.

My advocacy team and I struggled with this one because there were so many airlines involved. We reached out to Aer Lingus, which agreed that this case had been mishandled, but urged you to file a complaint with Spanish aviation regulators.

So we checked in with Alaska Airlines. It reviewed your case and agreed to refund the miles for the unused portion of your ticket and pay you an additional $3,244 to cover the cost of your flight home.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers. Contact him at chris@elliott.org or at elliott.org.