Airline Policy - we only pay for half

[spydah]

This was news to me! A friend of mine was on a delayed flight (1 hour and a half), which caused her to miss the next flight. They had to stay overnight in Chicago and the airline would only pay for half of the hotel total.

Excuse me? It was the airline's fault that my friend didn't make the flight, shouldn't the airline pay 100% of their stay? I'm just trying to see what everyone's opinion is. Discuss.

[frep]

I think they should. I by no means travel much but last year when our flight was cancelled the airline paid for our hotel and meal for the night.

[msgumby]

Some friends of mine were flying and had two short flights with a layover in between (each flight about 1-2 hours with a 1-2 hour layover). They checked in at their depature location, got boarding passes for both flights, landed with plenty of time, but then couldn't find their second flight listed on any of the monitors. They talk to a representative from the airline, who says their second flight was canceled (weeks ago) and there is some glitch in the computer system that somehow allowed them to get boarding passes for a non-exsistant flight. They are able to book them on a new flight - the same day but 10 hours later. As "compensation" they each are offered a $5 food voucher for the airport...

[wodehouse]

These are the fruits of grinding the service provider (in this case, the airlines) down to lower and lower price points.

Also, in many cases nowadays the flight arrangements are made by the traveler at someplace like Expedia or Travelocity. The traveler picks and chooses the times. It's their responsibility to make certain that it is realistic to make the connection. My spouse has sometimes chosen flights with a very short connecting time...during which time we are supposed to go through Customs and Immigration, and Security again, at a huge airport like Pearson (Toronto) at holiday time...not realistic (but we did make that one). The traveler has to bear some of this.

Continental left us hanging in Shanghai because we were held on the plane while the health inspectors came aboard checking for bird flu. Missed our connection. Fortunately, Travelocity assisted pretty nicely (we had to cover the $80 in toll call). Continental...nothing.

[stl76]

If the delay/cancellation is because of FAA, then airlines don't pay for anything at all.

[moneymaven]

Depending on the circumstances, you may get some insurance from your credit card company to cover the expense. But this is exactly why I give myself plenty of time between flights so I can rebook if necessary. And I always buy trip insurance. Too many things have gone wrong in my travels.

[Deleted]

wodehouse got it right. In the US the airlines have no obligation if it's weather delay, and most of the time they will pin it on weather. Five out of my last 6 transatlantic flights have arrived over 2 hours late. Most recently, DH and I came back from Spain last week and were scheduled to land at DFW in time to catch the last flight from DFW to home- about 2 hours, which is a reasonable layover. Instead, I booked us at a hotel near the airport for the night and on a flight home the next AM. Good thing- we landed 3 at DFW hours late.

It sounds like your friend got some sort of "distressed passenger rate". When I came home from Zurich last December I didn't even get that. They handed me a coupon good for a very reasonable "distressed passenger rate" at a nearby Hyatt, but only after I asked for it. I had the sense to call Hyatt before heading over there. They were full up and AA was still churning out worthless coupons. I got a decent (but higher) rate for the Hilton O'Hare and fortunately my employer paid for it. And that's how they treat Business Class passengers- my round trip was over $3,000.

[spydah]

I see!

[Baby Fawkes]

Without knowing how much time they left between flights for a transfer it's hard to tell. I've been in lines at passport control many times and people have been getting all stressed out because they are going to miss their connecting flight as they only booked 30-45 mins between them.

My personal view is that if the person made all reasonable efforts to book with enough time they should be entitled to some help. As there are no legal requirements, the definitions of 'reasonable' and 'some help' are completely open to debate

I always leave a minimum of 2 hours between transfers in order to be safe and I find it hard to feel sympathetic towards people who don't consider lines at security or even the distance between gates when booking their own transfers.

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"In the US the airlines have no obligation if it's weather delay":::...

This happened to a friend of mine last Saturday. If it is an act of God, then God is responsible for paying the bill, not the airlines. As was said, they will try to pin anything on the weather.

I traveled last weekend, and the "non-existent flight" happened to my seat neighbor. THAT is totally ridiculous. Poor guy had to sprint when he found out the flight was canceled, and had he missed the alternative, who knows how long it would have taken.

But as was said earlier, people want to pay lower and lower prices for flights, so that plays a factor too.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

Stuff happens. Plan the best you can then go with the flow. An delayed flight, an extra hotel night or two (including the costs) should be built-in. I would hope they made the best of a night in Chicago and at least took the el into town and did something, saw some sights, ate some pizza. File it under "Now we know" and move on.

[8 Bit WWBG]

...:::"I would hope they made the best of a night in Chicago and at least took the el into town and did something, saw some sights, ate some pizza.":::...

I know this was a particularly bad weekend at O'Hare. My friend is from Chicago and while he was very tired, he did make sure to order some Giordanos to his hotel.

I suppose they were lucky they didn't get stuck ON the plane or tarmac and after 8 hours on the flight, get nowhere.

[Bluerobin]

A long time ago, the same happened to me. Airline paid for the hotel in full!

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

I'm from Chicago. I pretty much grew up where getting stuck at the airport was SOP. Either stuck in Chicago because the weather was crappy, or stuck someplace else because the weather in Chicago was crappy. They don't pay for weather delays, so I just got used to planning a couple extra hotel nights.

[Urban Chicago]

At least in Chicago, there's usually a direct flight to domestic destinations, so late flights don't usually cause a missed connection.

I feel terrible for DH's mother, that does a flight from Tampa to Boise several times a year. Usually minimum 3 legs, and almost always delayed on at least one leg.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

If I'm going to get delayed anywhere, I prefer it to be Dallas or LAX ~ both have great USOs and I've spent the night in both of them due to unexpected flight delays!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

At least in Chicago, there's usually a direct flight to domestic destinations, so late flights don't usually cause a missed connection.

Huh? I can't begin to count the number of nights I spent in Chicago from missing the last connection out to my domestic destination. I think that that airport is the worst for missing connections that I've ever flown through. I've probably overnighted 3x there, and once in Atlanta and Houston.

[Deleted]

May 17, 2011 15:43:31 GMT -5 Baby Fawkes said:

I always leave a minimum of 2 hours between transfers in order to be safe and I find it hard to feel sympathetic towards people who don't consider lines at security or even the distance between gates when booking their own transfers.

While I also book long connections, especially when I need to go through Customs or change terminals, not everyone knows what's involved and the airlines make it worse by allowing people to book tight connections. My own son, who should have known better, booked flights from Des Moines to NYC with a 35-minute connection in Minneapolis. In the winter. He made it. ;D

Last week we transferred through Madrid Airport, landing at the domestic terminal and connecting to our flight home at a satellite of the international terminal. It took us an hour to get from the door of our flight into Madrid to our gate in the International terminal, after taking a bus, going down 4 flights of escalators, taking a tram, going up 4 flights of escalators, queuing for Passport Control, and then finally through "security", where they gave us a really hard time. (Confiscated a corkscrew I'd carried on 20 flights, tried to confiscate DH's prescription cough medicine.) An inexperience traveler might have thought 90 minutes would be a sufficient connection and I bet the airline reservation systems would allow it. Add a half-hour delay on your incoming flight and you missed your connection.

(ETA: one more thing that happens. I've scheduled long layovers only to have the airline change their timetables so the initial flight goes out later or the second flight goes out earlier- chopping an hour or so off the safety margin.)

You really need to plan for the worst. And, of course, since I'd scheduled a 4-hour layover in Madrid, our flight out of Madrid left 3 hours late. Thank God for airline lounges.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I always leave a minimum of 2 hours between transfers in order to be safe and I find it hard to feel sympathetic towards people who don't consider lines at security or even the distance between gates when booking their own transfers.

That isn't always sufficient either. One of my flights was canceled out of Seattle, so I wound up on one that left an hour later. Next connection to my home left me with a 4 hour layover.

Not so, we wound up delayed for 3 hours and when I got to Houston, I needed to take the tram to another terminal. The tram was broken down on the tracks and nothing was going in or out, so wound up having to break security and go through the basement of a hotel to get to the next terminal - only to have to go through security again. I missed my flight and wound up needing to overnight in Houston.

Also consider that many destinations do not have any more than 1-2 flights/day that go in there, so your choice may be either a 1 hour connection or an 8 hour connection.

[Baby Fawkes]

In this case I'd argue that you definitely made a reasonable effort to allow plenty of time and I think that there should be some help provided. I understand planning for the worst (as I try to) but sometimes it's still not enough.

In my original comment I meant to say that the 2 hour connection time is for internal transfers. As I'm not a US citizen and I'm on Advanced Parole status with the immigration service (their terms always make me feel a little like I'm a criminal!) I plan for a minimum of 3 hours when landing back in the US if I have a connection. As others have mentioned though, sometimes things are just really bad and all the best laid plans are insufficient.

[mwcpa]

a few years ago my wife and I had to fly to FLA to attend to some family issues... we got to the airport, we had a direct flight, to find that our flight was delayed.... and delayed.... then canceled without a noted cause....

we had to get to fla.... the airline offered to put us on the first flight out in the am, it had 3 connections and would take 8 hours (a direct from nyc to fla is 3 - 3 1/2 hours tops).... not good enough as the family issue involved my wife's Mom's health and we had 3 appts the next day with various facilities.... we probed further, my wife was steaming.... as it turns out the plane had mechanical issues, (we overheard a conversation on a radio that one of the staff had on, we were never told this fact, the customer service staff never disclosed this until we called them on it)....

after waiting an hour a supervisor came over and told the clerk that we had to be put on the first available flight (same day) since it was "their" fault.... the clerk did not want to put us on the first flight since it was two seats in first class.... luckily the supervisor intervened and said we had to be put on that flight.... it was a delta flight to Fla, so first class is no treat, just a little bigger seat....

another time I got stuck in Pittsburgh.... the airline gave me and many others vouchers to a hotel that was full.... and then refused to do anything but call a cab for 20 of us to go to another one.... after i got home i wrote a letter to US Air, explained the situation, got reimbursed and I got a free ticket....

in my opinion generally the public is treated as cattle by these airlines....but that's the way it works with many big companies and their customer service (or better yet, lack of)...

[Deleted]

May 17, 2011 17:11:01 GMT -5 The Walk of the Penguin Mich said:

At least in Chicago, there's usually a direct flight to domestic destinations, so late flights don't usually cause a missed connection.

Huh? I can't begin to count the number of nights I spent in Chicago from missing the last connection out to my domestic destination. I think that that airport is the worst for missing connections that I've ever flown through. I've probably overnighted 3x there, and once in Atlanta and Houston.

I think that mich1 meant that if Chicago is your home airport, most of your flights to and from other places don't involve connections, so if you arrive late you're at least at your destination and not some "hub" city you didn't want to be in anyway. DH and I used to fly out of Newark and in that respect it was great. We now fly out of Kansas City and nearly everything involves a connection. There are no nonstops to Europe, period.

We still don't ever want to live in NJ again.

[Urban Chicago]

Huh? I can't begin to count the number of nights I spent in Chicago from missing the last connection out to my domestic destination. I think that that airport is the worst for missing connections that I've ever flown through. I've probably overnighted 3x there, and once in Atlanta and Houston.

Yes, but that means you don't live in Chicago right? If you live here, you can usually get a direct flight and obviously would not do a layover here.

[Clever Username]

I fly out of Chicago as my main hub.
Unless there is a huge price difference, I rank my flight choices thusly.
1. Direct Flight.
2. Stopover.
3. Transfer.
When browsing options online, they make things look so easy. They never are.

[Deleted]

May 18, 2011 10:34:22 GMT -5 Clever Username said:

I fly out of Chicago as my main hub.
Unless there is a huge price difference, I rank my flight choices thusly.
1. Direct Flight.

Be careful of the word "direct". The airlines use that to mean a single flight number but it stops somewhere. (What you called a "stopover" in your list.) That stop can mean changing airplanes and going to a different gate with exactly the same hassle as a regular connection. Why do they call it "direct" and give it a single flight number? Because they can. The term at the top of your list should be "Nonstop".

[oreo]

I was leaving from Baltimore and sat on the plane for around 8 hours (because of weather). Needless to say I didn't catch my connecting flight in Las Vegas and couldn't leave that night because my local airport has a curfew and planes can't land after a certain hour. I had been visiting family but drove 4 hours to get to the airport. I'm not sure if I was supposed to get it but Southwest put me up in a hotel in Las Vegas when we arrived and transported me to and from the airport. It was a horrible experience overall but it definitely could have been a lot worse and I'm thankful I at least didn't have to spend the night in the airport by myself!

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

I've had the best luck (customer service wise) from American Airlines and United.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

May 17, 2011 16:33:14 GMT -5 Urban Chicago said:

At least in Chicago, there's usually a direct flight to domestic destinations, so late flights don't usually cause a missed connection.

I feel terrible for DH's mother, that does a flight from Tampa to Boise several times a year. Usually minimum 3 legs, and almost always delayed on at least one leg.

Blah!

One of the reasons I chose South Florida vs. other places in Florida was proximity to a true international airport.

[AgeOfEnlightenmentSCP]

I always leave a minimum of 2 hours

between transfers in order to be safe and I find it hard to feel sympathetic towards people who don't consider lines at security or even the distance between gates when booking their own transfers.

I don't do transfers. Period. If it's required- I'll drive.

I've never had a transfer not be screwed up. Missed flights, lost luggage, you name it- they screw it up every time.

[happyscooter]

One of the reasons I chose South Florida vs. other places in Florida was proximity to a true international airport.

That plus you want us all to come down and visit you. ;D