I was attempting to fly to Shanghai, connecting in Paris. Not another European city.For the benefit of people reading this thread
DoT isn't consumer oriented. A claim wouldn’t have done anything. There is enough wiggle room enabling an airline to escape responsibility for the airlines confusion.
The OP was attempting to fly to a European city, connecting in Paris, on a European airline. The "goodwill" payment is what he was entitled to under EU regulations. He was denied boarding despite having the required documentation. EU doesn't give airlines an out for being confused.
The "goodwill" payment eliminated the need to file a complaint, appeal and possibly paying someone to handle the appeal process.
Evidently the consumer advocates didn't think to file an EU claim
We did file an EU261 claim. That’s what was denied originally because they stated we did not product any proof of onward flight or even mention an onward flight. It was basically a he said she said situation and the airline was calling us liars. The advocate didn’t believe based on prior similar cases the airlines would cave as they can be very stubborn in these cases but I can be very persistent and thankfully finally found someone that actually listened to me, and believed us, and finally approved the claim.