Passengers claim involuntary upgrade left them with a €3,505 bill on Aer Lingus flight

A Belgian family claims they were involuntarily upgraded to business class on an Aer Lingus flight and charged an additional €3,505, despite never giving explicit consent for the upgrade. At Denver Airport, ground staff heard the story and reassigned the family back to economy. The extra charge, however, remained. Their efforts to obtain a refund have so far been unsuccessful.

Brent Verheyen (24) and his parents, Erwin and Sabine, booked a trip to the United States last summer, purchasing three economy-class return tickets from Brussels to Denver via Aer Lingus. Shortly after booking, they received an option to bid for an upgrade to business class. They placed a bid of €50 per person, but the airline’s system immediately indicated that their offer was too low. The family heard nothing further regarding an upgrade—until much later in their trip.

While in the U.S., they received an email from Aer Lingus offering an upgrade, with the option to accept or decline. However, due to limited internet access at their location, they were unable to read or respond to the email. When they later checked in online for their return flight, they were surprised to discover they had been upgraded to business class—without their consent.

Aer Lingus had automatically charged an additional €3,505 to their credit card for the upgrade. At Denver International Airport, the family immediately raised the issue with airline staff. After reviewing the case, Aer Lingus acknowledged that an error had occurred and reassigned them to their original economy-class seats. However, the extra charge remained, and they were advised to handle the refund process through customer service upon returning home.

Despite multiple attempts to contact Aer Lingus via email and phone, the airline has refused to reimburse the family. Aer Lingus’ customer service maintains that the upgrade was accepted and that all upgrade offers are final and non-refundable. The Verheyen family insists that they never agreed to the upgrade and never flew in business class, arguing that the charge was applied in error.

When Aer Lingus refused to refund the charge, the family turned to their bank to dispute the transaction. However, their bank has declined to issue a chargeback, claiming that this is a commercial dispute rather than an instance of fraud. Seeking legal recourse has also proven difficult, as Aer Lingus is based in Ireland, meaning any legal action would have to be taken under Irish law—an expensive and complicated process for the family.

Consumer rights experts emphasize that airlines cannot unilaterally upgrade passengers and charge them extra fees without explicit consent. Additionally, if passengers pay for an upgrade but do not receive the service, they should be entitled to a full refund. The key question in this case is whether Aer Lingus can provide proof that the Verheyen family explicitly accepted the upgrade.

In response to this situation, Aer Lingus stated that they have clarified their “Upgrade Yourself” policy to the Verheyen family. The airline claims that the family initially submitted bids for an upgrade, which were later confirmed via email, and that these offers remained valid unless cancelled. Aer Lingus also emphasized that once an upgrade offer is accepted, the terms of the policy do not allow for refunds if the customers choose not to travel in the upgraded cabin. The airline encourages customers to review the full terms and conditions available on their website for more information.

Meanwhile, the Verheyen family continues to seek a resolution, hoping to recover the thousands of euros they claim were wrongly taken from them.