(Commercial) Flight delayed 2.5 hours, only to leave on time - Any Customer Recourse?

MarkH

MarkH

Line Up and Wait
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MarkH
I know this is off topic, but on the off chance someone here knows more about passenger protections for flying commercial, I thought I would ask here.

A friend was scheduled to fly today, but the flight was delayed 2.5 hours so he stayed home (40 minutes from the airport) instead of waiting in the airport an extra 2.5 hours he just decided to leave later.

43 minutes before his flight was originally scheduled for departure, he receives notification that it was going to leave on time. If he made it to the airport in time, he would not have made it through security.

He is contacting the airline about getting credit for ticket so he can rebook to tomorrow. Does he have any legal protections or is he at the mercy of whatever the airline is willing (or unwilling) to do?
 
Happens often. Not sure about the details, but many times it says something to the affect of “remain in the gate area, as things change quickly”. Again, possibly his details were different.

I don’t even trust my own schedule when they show a delay. Many times they tail swap and you are close to on time.
 
MarkH said:
I know this is off topic, but on the off chance someone here knows more about passenger protections for flying commercial, I thought I would ask here.

A friend was scheduled to fly today, but the flight was delayed 2.5 hours so he stayed home (40 minutes from the airport) instead of waiting in the airport an extra 2.5 hours he just decided to leave later.

43 minutes before his flight was originally scheduled for departure, he receives notification that it was going to leave on time. If he made it to the airport in time, he would not have made it through security.

He is contacting the airline about getting credit for ticket so he can rebook to tomorrow. Does he have any legal protections or is he at the mercy of whatever the airline is willing (or unwilling) to do?
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??? How can the OP be off topic?
 
MarkH said:
I know this is off topic, but on the off chance someone here knows more about passenger protections for flying commercial, I thought I would ask here.

A friend was scheduled to fly today, but the flight was delayed 2.5 hours so he stayed home (40 minutes from the airport) instead of waiting in the airport an extra 2.5 hours he just decided to leave later.

43 minutes before his flight was originally scheduled for departure, he receives notification that it was going to leave on time. If he made it to the airport in time, he would not have made it through security.

He is contacting the airline about getting credit for ticket so he can rebook to tomorrow. Does he have any legal protections or is he at the mercy of whatever the airline is willing (or unwilling) to do?
Click to expand...
Did the airline tell your friend that the flight was delayed 2.5 hours? Or did he deduce that because the plane which was supposed to make up the flight was going to be 2.5 late arriving?

If it's the former, then he may have some recourse. If it's the latter, then he's out of luck.
 
MarkH said:
I know this is off topic, but on the off chance someone here knows more about passenger protections for flying commercial, I thought I would ask here.

A friend was scheduled to fly today, but the flight was delayed 2.5 hours so he stayed home (40 minutes from the airport) instead of waiting in the airport an extra 2.5 hours he just decided to leave later.

43 minutes before his flight was originally scheduled for departure, he receives notification that it was going to leave on time. If he made it to the airport in time, he would not have made it through security.

He is contacting the airline about getting credit for ticket so he can rebook to tomorrow. Does he have any legal protections or is he at the mercy of whatever the airline is willing (or unwilling) to do?
Click to expand...
This airline doesn't need to do anything in this case. Sometimes, they find they can swap tail numbers so they can leave on time. If it's a ground stop that is lifted, they can leave on time.
See the post below- I have heard that statement about remaining in the gate area. With UAL platinum status, I've noticed this sort of thing is common.

Kritchlow said:
Happens often. Not sure about the details, but many times it says something to the affect of “remain in the gate area, as things change quickly”. Again, possibly his details were different.

I don’t even trust my own schedule when they show a delay. Many times they tail swap and you are close to on time.
Click to expand...
 
Friend should read the contract of carriage that came with the ticket. If friend did not cancel or change prior to flight departure, friend is likely left to goodwill of the airline for any recourse.
 
My recent airline trip on Frontier...I think it was both legs.... was delayed some hours...but since it was rescheduled and left on the new schedule, was called "on time". I wonder if that's not what they meant....
 
my recent allegiant flight was delayed twice and eventually cancelled*. each time they announced the delay they said that could change for better or worse and folks should stick close. my guess is every airline has something written somewhere, juuuuust enough to cover their arses around exactly what you're talking about.

*in this case I live a couple of miles from the airport allegiant flies out of. in talking with the check-in person, she said the plane was stuck in FLL and they were waiting for it to come back to get us. so I went home and got a quick nap in, knowing that I could track when the plane leaves FLL so I'd know when to get back to the airport. unfortunately that never happened but it was nice to be able to run home and chill for a while instead of hanging out in the airport with dirty stinky people.
 
Some airlines are more honest than others. We stopped flying USelessAir when we were delayed for hours in Philadelphia because of crew problems, scheduled to eventually get to Burlington after midnight. When the time came to depart they cancelled the flight because BTV was NOTAMed closed after midnight for scheduled runway work. "Sorry, not our fault. ATC is to blame. Get your own room for the night." If you see "US Airways" and "Philadelphia" in the same sentence, don't book it. :cool:
 
Especially if you are flying out of the airline's hub, its best to stay close. I've had this happen a number of times - original plane or crew is delayed but at a hub it is easier to find a replacement for either. Doesn't happen often but enough times I can't assume the delay will stick
 
Which airline was it?

I've experienced delays getting "pulled back in," but it's often a matter of a 60-minute delay turning into 30 minutes, or similar. Announcing a 2.5 hour delay, then moving to back on-time makes me wonder if there is more to the story?
 
Just had a similar thing happen to a coworker.

She got the delayed flight notice and mentioned she was going to use the extra time to get some work done at the remote office before heading to the airport for her return home.

I mentioned she might want to do her work at the gate just in case.

Got a text a short while later sending me a thank you because the flight changed back to “on time”.

It coincidentally was no longer a full flight.



I always wait near the gate.
 
eman1200 said:
my guess is every airline has something written somewhere, juuuuust enough to cover their arses around exactly what you're talking about.
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Exactly.

Here’s the buried Jet Blue note, for example.


Other important info
  • If your flight is delayed or cancelled, JetBlue will contact you by email and an automated phone call
  • For delays, we suggest you arrive at the airport for the originally scheduled departure time. If conditions allow, the estimated departure time could be moved up. The flight is not able to wait for customers who are not there.
 
I had this happen on United.

Arrived in Houston from London late, and then we were held on the ramp for a gate (ended up over 45 minutes). I got emails that my connecting flight was delayed due to late arrival of the airplane. Then delayed more, and I am thinking great, I will not miss it.

Then I got the email that they replaced the plane and it would leave on time. I may have made it, except my bags (with PRIORITY tags) were the LAST TWO to be delivered. But I got a room and meals on the airline.
 
Just happened to me this month,a delay waiting for a pilot to have enough crew rest. This caused us to miss our connecting flight. So the airline rebooked the passengers to a flight six hours later. After arrival. Because of several delayed flights was a three hour wait in line to check baggage. Rented a car and drove home. Waiting to see what the airline will do to make it right. AA not my favorite.
 
MarkH said:
I mean off topic from our standard type of flying.
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Quote from the masthead of this forum:

Hangar Talk

Open forum for discussion of any topic you like, aviation related or otherwise.

Nothing is off topic in this forum. Apparently those that have been posting their thread titles in some version of this format for the ten years I've been a member here:

[NA] Subject [NA]

Which stands for "Non Aviation", have not bothered to read and understand that. You may post whatever subject you wish.
 
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