Hi All, I have booked an itinerary through Aeroplan on Air Mauritius. Now, this is supposed to be A330-900neo with 1-2-1 configuration in J. However, since last month, AM has been flying more or less A332s with 2-2-2 config (mostly due to weak demand). They are yet to change my aircraft for my flying date, which is a month out.
My question is, I know that Aeroplan refunds some points if you get downgraded in your cabin. But do they also refund some points if you fly an inferior product vs what you booked at the time (2-2-2 vs 1-2-1). Has anyone any insights/experience on this?
I am not aware that any airlines refunds for aircraft change. Only no that e.g. Qatar lets you rebook for free if you book Qsuites and there is a change to a non-Qsuites plane. As a result, Qsuites vs non-Q suites price differences have increased.
No, they will not refund the booking for a partner airline due to aircraft change, you are still in the cabin you booked.
Being downgraded to a lower cabin class is objectively different from getting an inferior product in the same cabin class. There is no reason why Aeroplan would be inclined to refund any points since you are still booked in the same class of service, and especially so given that this is a booking on a partner airline. If you're that much disinclined to fly that flight, I think your best bet is probably changing to a different flight with the 339s closer to your date of departure.
While I sympathise with your situation, your contract with the airline is for a specific cabin and not a specific seat. This is an infamous issue even on paid tickets, where last-minute aircraft swaps to an inferior product are commonplace.