They make it seem like you should be grateful to just get a refund if your flight is cancelled. You don’t have as many rights in that situation which is why it is important to charge your flight on a credit card that gives you some travel protection.
D2 recently had a UA flight cancelled due to “air traffic control issues”. Basically, flights had been delayed that day and FAA rules went into effect that wouldn’t let departures be crammed too close together or go too late at night. So they cancelled her flight, which was on a smaller plane.
And then they told her, sorry, we’re booked for the next 3 days! She waited on a fruitless standby list and then flew out on a connecting flight the next morning. Phew. I plan on putting in a claim with the CC company for the cost of her dinner and the pillows she bought in the airport. We’ll see how that goes!
In general, I believe airlines try to use the reason for canceling the flight that doesn’t involve compensating customers or at least the minimal possible, like weather, even though the weather was because they held the plane at the gate waiting for other flights to land to fill up the flight that COULD have taken off if it left as scheduled instead of waiting several hours more while the storm rolled in. Glad your D was able to feed herself and make herself as comfortable as possible. Argh!
I only have 2 experiences with cancelled flights/ compensation:
Back in the days of Pan Am, I was flying from London to NY connecting to Providence to get back to school after winter break. Landed in what was the beginning of a big snowstorm, and the flight from JFK to Providence was cancelled. There were a bunch of us all on the same flight trying to get back to school. The airline found that flights were still going from La Guardia, but only to Boston–Providence was closed. So they put us all on a bus in the snow to LGA, and we had to run like the wind to our gate (they held the plane for us, and this was 1988 so security was a lot different!). When we landed they provided a shuttle to Providence, again in the snow…got to the bus station around 10pm, no taxis, so I had to drag my suitcase up the hill…that was an adventure! But there was no talk of compensation for the inconvenience, and I wouldn’t have known to ask. I don’t even know if it was offered back then.
3-4 years ago we flew Jet Blue to FL, and when we got to the airport to go home, the agent at check-in informed us there was a problem with the plane and the flight was indefinitely delayed. Right then and there she apologized for the inconvenience and gave us each vouchers for a round trip flight on any direct route. As it turns out, the plane departed just 2 hours late, and we certainly felt amply compensated for what turned out to be a minor delay. The airline was ahead of the situation and we felt well taken care of (and had a great trip to the Bahamas 6 months later).
I have usually encountered nice people when I travel on a plane (maybe once or twice a year), but some of these stories make me think of Ralphie visiting Santa in A Christmas Story:
I recall just one flight where H allowed all 4 of us to be bumped on an overbooked flight. I believe we each got vouchers for $600 apiece and seats on the next flight 2 hours later, plus vouchers for up to $20 apiece for food at the airport. We saw the folks on the flight we were bumped from at baggage claim in HNL. They were very salty, as they sat on the runway for over 2 hours, got NOTHING, and were very unhappy.
I think the way flights are often so filled, it is hard for airlines to accommodate when more than the number of people they need volunteer to be bumped together because the next flight is near capacity as well, so they can’t guarantee seats on the next flight and there is a domino effect.
I believe at least once our UAL flight was cancelled due to “mechanical problems” but really because the flight wasn’t full (nor was the next) and they wanted the next flight to be full with all of those on our flight and the next flight. We were surprised to each get a $150 or so gift certificate from UAL because of that delay. Our ride wasn’t pleased to pick us up at midnight instead of 4pm. Other passengers on our flight muttered about that timeslot flight SFO to HNL frequently being “conveniently” cancelled.
I have been stranded due to canceled flights quite often. Sometimes the airline has helped, sometimes we passengers have helped ourselves.
Maybe thirty years ago I got stuck in a small town when a commuter flight was canceled. There were about six of us going to the same place, so we all rented a van and drove together. Strangers who came together and found a solution.
Once a connecting flight was canceled due to weather. I saw it coming, so I went to the airport of the noncan celled, first flight, which was in my hometown, explained my problem very politely, and offered to leave a day or two later, once the snow had melted and everything settled down. The agent helped me out, and upgraded me and the kids to first class.
Usually the outcome isn’t so nice and neat. I’ve spent the night on airport floors and in scary hotels where I put furniture in front of the door, too.
I agree with the posters who have suggested the airlines get more creative in handling these situations. Offer more money for people to leave later, sure, but also be ready to put together groups on buses, etc. Heck, be ready to move airline employees on buses/trains/private planes if they have to be moved to a different place.
Once in 1980 or so, I was on a plane that stopped in Billings, MT while the snow started to build up. Our flight was SUPPOSED to leave, but they were waiting for the other planes to land to fill up our flight. In the meantime the snow just kept building until they finally cancelled our flight. They gave out vouchers to the hotel and its restaurant which was down a steep hill from the airport but the rental cars refused to rent out cars and all closed. We begged one of the car rental agents to take us to the hotel on her way home, so she took as many as we could fit in her car and I gave her a box of chocolate covered macademia nut candies for her trouble. We in that car were among the few passengers that didn’t sleep slouched over in the airport that night. The next morning we were able to catch a taxi back to the airport to catch our flight.
There are mechanical issues and then there are ‘mechanical issues’.
We were on a flight to Charlotte where we were to change planes. American Airlines. The flight was delayed and delayed and we sat there. The ‘mechanical issue’ was that one of the lav doors wouldn’t latch! I mean really, who cares! Tell people they’ll have to risk the lav door opening while they’re in there. Or close that lav. There were others. That hardly interferes with safe operation of the plane. We knew what the real problem was because our seats were close. Other people were just told it was ‘mechanical’ so they wouldn’t complain, I suppose.
Try airhelp. They contacted me last year about a flight we took 3-4 years ago. It was delayed by a few hours. They said they would facilitate a refund if I let them. They had all the info needed, which I didn’t. It’s been 3-4 years. I reluctantly agreed not sure what to think of them. A couple of months later I got a refund for over $1,000. I am guessing it was 100%. They took about 25-30% of the refund.
Years ago, when it took longer to “power off” your laptop, and not many people had laptops, H and I were flying together. We sat in the back where a flight attendant kind of “hung out” and chatted with us most of the time. I still remember her name was Judy.
When it came time to prepare to land, She mentioned to turn off the laptop. H began to power off, which took a minute or two (can’t remember if you had to close windows, first or what…but it took longer back then).
Suddenly this same flight attendant flew into a rage about H’s laptop. He kindly told her that he was turning off as fast as he could.
It was crazy! The same, nice Chatty-Cathy was now a #$%^&.
“The ‘mechanical issue’ was that one of the lav doors wouldn’t latch! I mean really, who cares! Tell people they’ll have to risk the lav door opening while they’re in there. Or close that lav. There were others. That hardly interferes with safe operation of the plane.”
My guess is the FAA would consider that a safety issue. In turbulence, that door could fling around. There is a reason everything is latched down on airplanes. I’m sure the airline would have loved to just take off and not delay if they could have. Delays are bad for airlines in many ways beyond irritating passengers on that particular flight - tying up a gate, delaying the arrival of crew and aircraft that could be needed elsewhere, etc.
There may be a health and safety issue as well in having a sufficient number of operating bathrooms per # of passengers, who knows? We have had flights where one or more bathrooms were out of service before. It can get pretty tough, especially on long flights with LOTS of passengers. I get most nervous about equipment issues if they say it’s something to do with the engines. We have been delayed by food/catering before. Most of us would simply say, please let’s fly anyway, but they wait for it anyway.
I’ve been on plenty of flights that were cancelled or delayed in circumstances that seemed just too convenient–for the airline. But one time was the worst.
S was a toddler, I was flying from NYC to Savannah, with a change in Charlotte. I deliberately chose flights with a short layover, give the difficulty of flying with a very small child, that would get us there by about noon. We had to get up at 4AM in order to get the CT limo bus to the airport. We got there on the early side and checked in. We were sitting in the gate area, when I became aware that they were checking people onto different flights. I went up to the desk, only to find that they had cancelled our flight due to the proverbial “mechanical difficulties,” and started checking latecomers onto the next flight, or even flights on other airlines WITHOUT making an announcement that the flight was cancelled to those of us already sitting there. Somehow, conveniently, ALL of us fit neatly onto their next flight, something like 4 or 5 hours later. Uh, huh. I was given a $15 voucher for lunch, and had to spend the next 4 or 5 hours at the airport with a toddler, and the new connecting flight had a much longer layover, so that I ended up getting to my destination not by noon, as I has painstakingly arranged, getting up at 4AM, but at something like 6PM. With a toddler in diapers. Mechanical difficulties my ass.
To add to this delightful journey, S had massive diarrhea in the airport, and I had to change not only his diaper, but everything he was wearing. Lovely.
United is dependent on hubs whose operations are easily disrupted by weather (e.g. Chicago O’Hare, San Francisco). So even if the weather is nice where you are, weather that disrupts operations at such United hubs can prevent the plane or crew your flight needs from getting to your origin airport.
I remember one short flight on a small plane where they announced that the only lavatory was out of order before boarding, and that passengers had a choice of free rebooking or taking the flight knowing the lavatory status. The toilets near that gate got a little more busy for a short while.
I remember another flight with a mechanical problem that was fixed (problem discovered and fixed after everyone had boarded), but it seemed like they were doing documentation for an hour plus after fixing it.
How do you remember which airline you were flying? I’ve had plenty of delayed or cancelled flights but I don’t remember which airlines they happened on.
This thread reminds me of a flight I took back in the early 90’s where there was hardly anybody on the plane. In fact I might have been literally the only passenger. I was too young at the time to wonder why they didn’t just cancel the flight! They must’ve needed to get the plane and crew to the destination city or something (it was the last flight out, IIRC). Thinking about it now, I’m actually kinda pissed they didn’t move me up to first class since I remember sitting by myself way back in my assigned seat in coach :))
I mostly fly on United because it serves most of the cities I fly in and out of. When I fly another airline, I remember it, especially if service was especially odd or I had to argue with the flight attendant about my seat. Within the state of Hawaii, I mostly flew Aloha until they went out of business and since then Hawaiian. There aren’t that many airlines.
I definitely remember the bad experiences. It doesn’t happen very often to me, so I remember. And then make further decisions on whom to fly accordingly.
Glad your D was able to feed herself and make herself as comfortable as possible. Argh!