I am an industry professional working for a large tour operator so I travel quite a bit (mostly internationally) and have long contended that the best domestic airline in my opinion (out of the flagship carriers anyways so exlcuding Southwest and Jet Blue) is United. Yes, the do have lengthy delays sometimes but do know how to treat customers well in such cases) all the while contending that the worst airline in the United States just HAS to be Delta. I recently flew them on my return journey from a business trip to Providence, Rhode Island. It started when I checked in at the desk in Providence when the agent told me my flight was delayed three hours and that I would miss my connection in Atlanta back to Seattle and most likely would have to overnight in Atlanta. I requested she check any other airline flying from there to re-route me to Seattle (I didn't care how I just wanted to get home) but she said everything was 100% sold out. I found out from a Continental rep that there were in fact seats back to Seattle.
Well we finally landed in Atlanta hours late and they ended up putting us up in a a shaddy motel that stunk of smoke. Needless to say I don't like Delta any more than I did before those flights.

Posted By Mauricio on January 28, 2008, 12:11 PM

We have delays both with Delta and with Canada Air. Both airlines did their best to accomodate us.

Posted By E. Donald Crapps on January 28, 2008, 12:17 PM

Something I'd like to post:
Last summer I was going from San Francisco to Shannon Ireland through Chicago. The flight was delayed taking off in SF due to announced 'mechanical difficulties' on the plane. When we finally go to Chicago the connecting flight to Ireland had left, stranding me In Chicago for 24 hours. When I went to the United customer rep for a voucher for my stay in Chicago for the night, she said the cause of the delay was the weather, and that they were not bound to compensate me for my being hung up. This was a simple lie. When I asked to get my bag back for my unexpected stop-over, she said they were unable to do that. It would be too much trouble for them. United Airlines at work...lying and then being dismissive towards me. This was a true life experience. A real eye-opener. The friendly skies?

Posted By Steve Weingarten on January 28, 2008, 12:18 PM

I was recently delayed 7.5 hours, though there were flights on other airlines which would reduce the flight time. Delta happily gave me 2 $7 meal vouchers for my time. yippie. I was delayed 2 hours on the return, but that wasn't long enough to warrant even a meal voucher. Given the small number of re-routed passengers, I suspect the 'mechanical difficulties' were between the gas pump and their bank account.

Posted By Soward on January 28, 2008, 12:20 PM

My wife and I recently flew on US Air and was delayed in Las Vegas. We arrived around 1:00 am and the next flight to our desitnhation wasn't until 9:30 the next morning. US Air offered (on their own) to put us up at a nearby hotel and also provide meal coupons. It was a reasonable response on their part.

Posted By Ray Miller on January 28, 2008, 12:24 PM

Aloha Airlines cancelled our direct flight to Kauai from Maui. We waited 3 hours for the next connection, but had to fly to Oahu. We made that connection, but 3 in our party did not have a set on the plane we got on. They flew stanby on the next plane out and got in 2 hours later. Wish I would have known about Rule 240, as we wasted the entire day in 2 airports because of mechanical problems on the first flight.

Posted By Marlene on January 28, 2008, 12:48 PM

In August of 06 we were scheduled to fly home on Jet Blue from Seattle to New York. When we arrived at the airport, we were waiting at the gate and told that our flight was delayed several hours due to mechanical problems. The several hours turned into several more hours and we and the other waiting passengers were not able to switch to later flights due to all later flights being full. After a while we were told that our airplane had been repaired but that the flight crew was no longer available because their 8 hour time period had expired. By this time it was 10:00 pm. Jet Blue gave us a voucher for the Marriott Hotel, money for food and told us we would be able to fly out to New York at approx 6:30 am the following day. Jet Blue also refunded the cost of our airfare. I thought this was more than fair. However, we were also victims of the February 2007 JFK-Jet Blue fiasco. Jet Blue pretty much slamed the door in our faces and told us to go away on this trip. We were stuck in NY City and thought we were lucky when we managed to get overnight accommodations (at our expense) by the airport at a dump of a hotel that appeared to rent by the hour. When we paid for the room in advance we received a hand written receipt. The room was awful! And we were stuck. About all Jet Blue would do is issue a voucher via email for a partial credit towards our next flight. Not so nice this time.

Posted By Maria on January 28, 2008, 12:53 PM

We managed to fly ahead of a horrible storm from Columbus, Ohio, to Newark, NJ. After our two-hour sechuled dlay over, we were informed our flight was cancelled due to weather, and we would be put on a later flight. Understandable, however, the bad weather did not hit NJ for another six hours. It was another eleven hours before we departed NJ. There were no compensations awarded to anyone because it was "an act of God." Several hours later it was discovered that a luggage tram had rammed into the landing gear some twelve hour prior.

The guilty airline was USAir. Their attitudes were accusitory, as the accident had been our faults. The ground personnel were far from accommodating and helpful. The greatest insult was lying about the cause of the delay.

It was 2:00 am before we departed NJ. It was not a good trip.

Posted By Randa Ford on January 28, 2008, 1:07 PM

Because of a storm, my wife and I recently spent 9 hours and 15 minutes on the tarmac at SFO on AA Flight 1990 before taking off for Miami. The crew was positive and generally helpful. Our only major complaint was insufficient food and beverage service. Fortunately, we always allow an extra day of travel when connecting with a cruise, so we didn't miss ours, unlike many of our fellow passengers.

Posted By Steve Postle on January 28, 2008, 1:08 PM

Flew Delta to Cayman Islands. Flight delayed because of weather. We missed our connection out of Atlanta. Told they would not be able to fly us to the Caymans for 3 days. Atlanta accomodations would have been on our own

Posted By Susan on January 28, 2008, 1:12 PM

Whenever I am delayed and approach an airline employee for help, I read the employee's name tag (e.g. Mary), and say "Can I have your full name, Mary? If I write a letter to complain about my experience, I want to be sure I include the names of everyone who has been helpful." I always have a pen handy, and I write their name down. I do this because I need this person to help me, and this has the effect of putting that airline employee on my side from the very beginning. Starting with a complaint has the opposite effect, often with bad results.

Posted By Ed Schofield on January 28, 2008, 1:21 PM

Hi Sean
Actually, Northwest's contract has a Rule 240... look on page 114!

I don't think it's quite fair to say 240 doesn't exist. It's more accurate to say that it's been watered down by some airlines, and that for many newer post dereg airlines it never existed. But to say that it really doesn't exist isn't quite true.

Posted By George Hobica on January 28, 2008, 1:31 PM

I travel rather frequently. 2007 was no exception, and literally EVERY flight I took throughout the year (domestic or international) exeperienced delays or cancellations...regardless of airline. (It just wasn't my travel year, I guess.) I'm a generally patient and understanding person, and took each delay in due course, especially since I knew the poor person working at the gate wasn't responsible for my delays. In each instance--with Delta, Continental, US Air, United, Northwest, British Air, and two different South African airlines--I believe I was treated as fairly as possible, often by being moved onto the next available flight or by being put up in a hotel (even when the delay was weather related in one instance). Only once was I stuck overnight in an aiport, but so were hundreds of other passengers because of winter storms, so all of the hotels in the area were full (I called as many of them as I could think of). Even in that instance the airport workers kindly brought blankets around to those of us who were stranded and tried to help us be as comfortable as possible. I guess what I'm trying to convey is that though I DO believe that the airlines could do much, much more to ensure that their staff are better trained to treat their customers with greater respect and to give better options when there are significant delays or cancellations, patience and kindess on the part of the traveller goes a long way too. On one international flight, I volunteered to be bumped from the flight (which was overbooked, an unfortunately common problem with Delta) in exchange for a business class flight out the next day. There were many people screaming at the gate clerks, and I felt sorry for them, so I just waited patiently for them to rebook me. As I waited, I realized that I'd miscalculated my time and really shouldn't have taken the bump, but I didn't say anything because they'd already given my seat away. When they rebooked me, they realized that they couldn't get me on the connecting flights I needed the next day, so they managed to re-route me that same evening in first class, and got me into my destination an hour earlier than I was originally scheduled to arrive...PLUS they unexpectedly gave me $400 in travel vouchers because I was, "so nice". I know that's a dream result, but it just goes to show you that a little kindness really can go a long way.

Posted By Kathy on January 28, 2008, 1:41 PM

Hi, George,
Thanks in particular for your correction. I linked to that contract in the blog post, and I used Adobe Reader's search feature for "240" and it didn't pop up. (Probably because in the document is says 0240 and 240NW.) I do see it now on page 114. Thanks again for catching the oversight. I stand by my statement that most gate agents are not going to act any differently if you whisper "rule 240" to them.
Regards,
Sean
Blog editor

Posted By Blog Editor on January 28, 2008, 1:43 PM

In my experience, befriending tha gate agent goes miles and miles. I was vacationing with my wife to Cabo San Lucas, from Chicago- a hurricaine smacked in San Jose Del Cabo and closed the airport (why they didn't cancel the flights as opposed to delaying multiple times and haveing us wait and see, I don't know) anyway after spending the night in Dallas a symapathetic agent booked us as an "involuntary reroute" to Cancun! - I was able to move my hotel reservations and enjoyed my abbreviated vacation

Posted By jasonmitchell on January 28, 2008, 2:30 PM

My wife an I have had many experiences with delays, weather delays and over bookings. While flying USAir out of Milwaukee thru chicago to Albany NY we were delayed due to weather. We went to the ticket counter and waited while the couple in front of us berated and badgered the customer service person and received no satisfaction. We went up to the counter after they left and politely asked if there was anything they could do for us.(there were no flights out that day) The customer service person said to wait while she went to talk with someone. She came back and gave us vouchers for a hotel and meal tickets along with tickets for the next day. She also provided transportation to the hotel and back the next day.
Another time on Delta we got to the gate early and decided to check with the gate personal about our flight. We were told we were not on it. I had written tickets with seat assignments. THey ended up giving us $800. and seats on a later flight.

We have had other experiences and have found that a kind word and politeness always pays. Although sometimes you have to be persistent and not take the first no as the final decision.

The worst experience was on American when we flew nonstop to LA (a 6 hour flight) with no food and only one drink. We were willing to buy food but there wasn't any available.

Posted By Norman Merritt on January 28, 2008, 2:53 PM

Myth? Well, yes and no. As you note some carriers have a rule 240 in their carriage contracts but the value to me is in the failure to carry provision, not in delays. Two years ago, United could only re-schedule us on a flight two days later due to bad weather. This was not acceptable and we declined to fly. Using rule 240 and 260 of United contract, I had our money fully refunded on our 'non-refundable' tickets within days. While not useful for delay, these rules in the contracts are quite useful when the rescheduling is unacceptable to you.

Posted By Jim on January 28, 2008, 3:05 PM

Last September we traveled on Continental for the 1st time in a long time. We travel by air many times a year.
Our first flight was delayed, there were quite a few passengers making the same connection. There was an extremely slim chance of making the connection, two terminals away (same airline). We all got there in time to watch the gate pull away from the plane. Come on, with delays all time and everywhere would 5-10 minutes to seat another 20 travelers been so hard? We were offered "distressed travelers" rates at some not great hotels. When we called on our own they were the same rates. No less there was one agent helping all of us. The poor people at the end of the line were probably kept there at least another hour.

Posted By liz lyons on January 28, 2008, 3:05 PM

Just this past Nov. 2007, I was scheduled to fly to Sao Paulo, Brazil out of San Francisco at around 12:20pm on American Airlines with a connection in Maimi. But due to some electrical problems within the airplane cabin, the flight was delayed and we did not leave SFO until 5:00 pm. I had an 1 1/2 hour wait in Miami before my connection flight to Sao Paulo but now with the delay I would miss that flight along with about 40 Brazilian who were also on my original flight from SFO.

American Airlines was very generous as when I arrived in Miami late that night, their Customer Services provide me with transportion to and from my hotel, hotel room and tickets for four meals (as my rescheduled flight was not until the next evening). Upon returning home from my week in Sao Paulo, I received e-mail from American Airlines saying that they were crediting me 3000 frequent flyer miles for the delay in my origianl flight plan.

Posted By Allen P Chuck on January 28, 2008, 3:22 PM

My family and I often fly JetBlue, even though the word JFK causes heart palpitations. I have learned several important lessons when changing planes at JFK.
1. Always leave at least 2 hours for connections.
2. Always treat the gate agent or customer service agent politely and with respect. If you have poor luck with one gate agent, find another one, sometimes at another gate. I spent one night at JFK, and almost spent another if not for a wonderful gate agent in Orlando. My MCO to JFK leg was delayed, meaning I would not make my JFK to BTV connection. The gate agent gave me 2 tickets, one of which was for a flight due to leave JFK at the same time my flight was due to leave MCO. When I questioned her about it, the gate agent said, "trust me, I worked at JFK." When I arrived at JFK, the flight she had given me one of the tickets for had not taken off. The person in front of me asked the gate agent if the flight was full and was told they weren't even taking standbys. I walked up to the agent, handed him the ticket given me by the gate agent at MCO, and asked in a confused voice, "Am I on this flight." Several keystrokes later, I was issued a boarding pass and got on the flight. The gate agent in FL was a saint!
3. If a flight attendant or gate agent is especially helpful, get their employee number and send a complimentary e-mail to customer service. The employees get bonuses for good customer service. It only takes a few minutes, but may earn you some good "karma."

Posted By Jim Stillman on January 28, 2008, 4:03 PM

NW was particularly good when we were stuck in London because part of their crew had food poisoning!! They arranged an alternate pair of flights thru a different city, which actually got us to LAX an hour earlier than we would have on our booked flights.
Also, some years ago I found a way thru the crowd at the check in counter when a flight was unduly delayed (because they couldn't close the door on the plane!) I went across the lobby to a pay phone and telephoned to see what could be done about our connecting flight from
Denver. The agent at the counter who answered asked where I was and I told him I would wave to him. He was so impressed he invited me to the end of the counter to handle the matter ahead of others. As it was, they held the connecting flight to Grand Junction, which I think was because there were four of us and that was about 1/3 if their full passenger load. That was Frontier Airlines, which is no longer in business as such.

Posted By Dick Seibel on January 28, 2008, 4:05 PM

Two experiences with American in last 12 months:
- Dallas airport closed for a few hours due to sand storm (!) on a Satruday evening when we were scheduled to fly from Dallas to Philadelphia after a business trip. American kept putting us on stand-by for 8 flights for the whole of next day till we discovered that our names were always pushed back as transit passengers got priority. Although this was our return flight to go home, we did not have priority as we were boarding in Dallas. Expecting similar drama for the following day, we paid for a South West flight on Monday to get home.
- Scheduled for a business class flight to Buenos Aires from JFK- flight cancelled at 10 PM (few minutes before boarding time) and rescheduled for 8 AM next day. No offer of meals or accommodation for the night. Later on American gave some frequent flyer miles as compensation.

So, shit happens- all airlines would do utmost to avoid doing anything (especially true for US carriers) with few exceptions like Singapore Airlines.

Posted By P Mohan on January 28, 2008, 4:08 PM

We recently experienced a flight cancellation with Delta. Their plane had to turn around from Colorado, therefore not making it to Saint Louis, where we were waiting to board to connect in Atlanta on to Germany where we live. There were no flights to anywhere in which we would make a suitable connection to Europe of any kind. After a lot of work, the gate agent re-booked us through Cincinnati to Frankfurt, two hours from where we live. Even though we had to incur the charge of a rental car with a one-way drop off, we got home when we needed to. The gate agent was really helpful and great under stress. She gave us a voucher to buy dinner for our family and a whole handful of beverage coupons for the plane. She was unable to assign us seats on the transatlantic leg; however, once in Cincinnati, the boarding agent saw on the computer what had happened to us, and bumped our whole family up to first class. It was fantastic. They totally treated us right and really made up for the problem. I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss Delta. I would definitely fly with them again.

Posted By Erin Pauken on January 28, 2008, 4:27 PM

My son flew US Airways from Houston to Japan via Chicago in a study abroad program through his school. His flight from Houston to Chicago was delayed about 20 minutes due to weather. Twenty minutes could be made up in the air. It wasn't and even though my son logistically could have made his flight to Tokyo he was told he would have to be on the flight the next day because his bags could not fly without him. The problem is he had $10.75 in US Currency, about $100 worth of Wan(?) and his debit card. He is under 21. No hotel voucher for weather delays and no renting a room to anyone under 21 esp. with a debit card. I did not want my son to spend the night at the airport then face such a long flight. In addition, once he got to Tokyo he had a flight to the north island so this was a long journey to begin with. So I spent the next few hours talking faxing assuring what ever the hotel is in the airport that if I were trying to rip them off it would not be for the cheapest room they had for my son and his computer. OK, now he is a day late so he now misses his flight to Hokodato so now I get to try and talk him through getting a hotel in Tokyo as I had to rebook his flight for the following day as they were booked up the day of his eventual arrival. Strangely we thought we had everything figured out. He has his debit card and pocket change for both countries. This was very unsettling as the purpose of his studies was to learn Japanese. He did say that the personnel in Japan were very nice although unhelpful. He was looking for guidance with his post flight itinerary changes such as a hotel close to the airport they might suggest but, it was of no concern to US Airways as his flight was done. He has since studied in Beijing and Seoul and gratefully has not experienced anything like his first trip to Asia. Oh yes..., US Airways did upgrade him to business class on that flight.

Posted By Robert's Mom on January 28, 2008, 4:43 PM

I was going to India on Air India flight from Newark, NJ. Due to technical difficulties, the flight got cancelled. We were given vouchers for motel and meals and were told that we could catch the flight next day. One day delay changed to three days with no confirmation on departure day. The flight time from Newark to India is 24 hrs and my vacation was for 9 days. I had to cancel my trip even though I was visiting my sick mom because there just wasn't enough time left. Air India refunded my ticket but no compensation for cancelled trip. Worst service ever.

Posted By B. Dattani on January 28, 2008, 4:47 PM

My mother came to visit me at DFW for Christmas. She had a flight on USAirways on DEc 26 to visit my sister in BOI, with a connection thru PHX. She had a hard copy of her reservation, showing a noon departure from DFW, arriving in BOI at 4 PM. I dropped her off at the airport and checked her in at 11 AM. When I drove 1 hour home, there was a call to come and pick her up. As she was boarding the plane the ticket reader, kicked her out and the agent told her to come back at 6 PM, she had beeb rebooked. Problem is , she had the reservation for 2 months, and USAirways, failed to tell her about it. When I ask to speak to an agent, she explained that they had changed there holiday schedule, and if she had left at noon, as planned, she would have misconnected in PHX, enroute to BOI. If she came back at 6 PM, she would be guaranteed to go straight thru, arriving at 11 PM, or 1 AM, body time. I ask to see their contract of carraige, and they refused. I ask them what they were going to compensate my 73 year old mother, and they replied that since they hadn't cancelled the flight, they weren't going to do anything. After relating not only my inconvience of driving back and forth to the airport for four hours, my sister, having to sit at the BOI airport for six more hours and the inconvience to my elderly mother, they gave us a coupon for two sandwiches. i told them that they could keep their sandwiches. They gave me a phone number of customer relations to complain to, but when I called, I got a voice message saying that it was full. I WONDER WHY?

Posted By jeff smith on January 28, 2008, 5:07 PM

My family and I flew Aero Mexico from Chicago to Mazatlan over Christmas. Our flight left Chicago late and we missed our connecting flight out of Mexico City to Mazatlan. Aero Mexico booked us on the first flight the next morning and put us up in a very nice hotel and bought us dinner. I highly reccomend Aero Mexico.

Posted By Roxanne Evans on January 28, 2008, 5:32 PM

Great experience: Lufthansa - we flew from Venice to Chicago via Frankfurt (and our flight from FRA to ORD was the last flight of the day). Our flight from VCE to FRA was delayed due to weather in Frankfurt. We we rebooked to United flight early next morning and got vouchers for 4-star hotel and meals. Have to note that the purser on the flight to FRA was making announcements about flight delays and rebooking of ALL transit passengers throughout the entire flight to avoid the unnecessary anxiety.
Pretty good experience: United - we flew from Chicago to Buenos Aires via Washington Dulles. Our flight from ORD to IAD was delayed so we had only 15 minutes to make a connection. The gate agent helped us, and they didn't close the door until we boarded (by the way, our luggage miraculously also made it on the same flight).
Bad experience: American - we flew from Chicago to Las Vegas for a weekend to relax and meet with the old friends who were in Vegas for a few days. About 3 hours before our 7:00 flight there was a ground stop at ORD for about 20 minutes due to thunderstorm - and American promptly cancelled all their remaining flights from ORD for the rest of the evening (although by the time the flight was scheduled to take off the storm had ended and the sun was shining, and ALL other airlines were flying). They couldn't rebook us to any other flight that night so they booked us on their flight to LAX next morning with connection on United from LAX to Vegas (and no accomodations were offered - good thing we live in Chicago so we just spent the night home - of course, taxi rides back & forth were at our own nickel). Then the flight to LAX was an hour late so we missed that connection as well, which was a story by itself because American's gate agent at LAX made us get our luggage and run over 4 terminals to United although we only had 35 minutes before United flight was to depart so it was clear at that time that we wouldn't make it. So we had to come back to American, and they rebooked us on their next flight - so all together it took us about 28 hours (and some exercise running with the luggage between the terminals at LAX) to get to Vegas (and our friend was gone by then). When I filed a complaint, American's customer service responded that they couldn'd do anything against mother-nature (unlike ALL other airlines that were flying that evening - must have been an exceptionally strong microburst over at the American concourse at ORD - but American didn't even bother to respond to this comment).
(Sort of) bad experience: American (again): we flew from Miami to Chicago. Arrived at the check-in on time, checked-in and werer told to promptly proceed to the gate - just to find no aircraft at the entire American's concourse. Turned out, they had the systemwide computer outage that morning so no American's flight took off... Our flight ended up about 3 hours late - not even an appology (which was kind of sad because that was our connection on our flight from Lima - and that one was on LAN - by the way, one of the best airlines I've ever flown; if anyone flies to Latin America - this should be one of the first choices, Mexicana being another one).

Posted By Al on January 28, 2008, 6:36 PM

--Recently on American Airlines and had a flight canceled in Dallas with ice storms and they were wonderful about information,transportation to and from the provided hotel and helpful to everyone. I do think the whole hotel bill should be paid when it is not the consumer's fault but paying half was fair with the bad weather....would fly again as always with them.

Posted By Christy on January 28, 2008, 8:25 PM

I had a USAirways flight last year that was delayed for several hours in Phoenix. The flight crew gave various reasons for the delays, which kept getting longer and longer. We ended up being delayed for eleven hours. Before we finally departed we were told that USAirways would contact us about compensating us for the delay. A few days later I got an email offering a $250 voucher and 10,000 qualifying miles. When I checked my account I saw that I had received 10,000 bonus miles which don't qualify for elite status, so I emailed about that. In the end I received a $250 voucher, 10,000 qualifying miles, and a further 10,000 bonus miles.

I felt good about it, but I wish the crew could have given us more truthful reasons for the delays as they were happening.

Posted By ted on January 29, 2008, 1:05 AM

in dec 07 we flew united dtw to kona , because of weather we missed all connecting flights.they got us on all but 1 out of sfo..there were no more that day to kona, so they sent us to lax andthen to kona on american. they were really nice and i would probably fly with them again.

Posted By barbara james on January 29, 2008, 6:01 AM

I want to echo what Jim said earlier about being nice to gate agents and finding another agent if you don't get the response you think you should get. My husband works for an airline, so we usually fly standby. We get to know the gate agents very well during our wait to get on the plane. There's been several times I've been told there's been no seats on any flights for an entire day, but have easily been able to get on a flight when I do a little research (check the departure boards), have lots of flexibility, and politely ask someone else. From the many postings, there's lots of varied responses from the same airline. Some of the agents may not know all the rules, or if there's been a lot of delays, not have the patience to help you out. But someone there usually will.

Our first experience with New Yorkers was at JFK, trying to rebook our connection after missing it due to weather. The man in front of us in line was very rude to the agent, and she quickly informed him that she had no responsibility to book him on a flight. We thought we had no chance, but after asking nicely to get on the next flight, were quickly rebooked with a smile. So we discovered that New Yorkers aren't necessarily rude, just not willing to put up with other's rudeness.

FYI -- when we've been delayed on Delta, the flight attendant unofficially told us that she can serve free alcoholic drinks.

Posted By Maureen on January 29, 2008, 12:25 PM

On June 8, 2007, we were on our return trip home from Israel on Continental. We arrived in Newark NJ when the airports had a computer glitch. All flights were cancelled and we couldn't make our connection to Ohio. The airline gave us a room voucher for the night at a hotel and also a meal voucher and put us on the first available flight the next morning. I feel that we were treated fairly and appreciated the "extra day of vacation"

Posted By Myrna on January 29, 2008, 9:24 PM

Our group of 12 was caught in last February's JFK ice storm. We were returning from a two week tour of Egypt, and arrived in plenty of time to catch our Delta flight to Seattle, under normal circumstances. When we got to the domestic terminal, however, the lines were out the doors, and the blizzard was raging. We were actually lucky we didn't make it to the plane, as we would have sat on the runway for hours, as the flight never did leave that day. Once we got to a ticket agent, the earliest flights we were able to get were two days later.

We went back to the much nicer international terminal, and camped out on the floor, using the rugs and scarves we bought in Egypt as our mattresses and blankets. (Other tourists took pictures of our encampment all night as we tried to sleep on the cold terrazo floor.)

By contacting our travel agent and spouses with internet access back in Seattle, we were able to get a reservation on SunCountry the next day, but had to pay $450 each to make the flight. Nine months later, we did get a refund of $100 each from Delta (or Egyptair) for the NY/Seattle leg of the journey we didn't use.

Posted By Carol on January 30, 2008, 12:17 AM

On a recent return flight from Greenville-Spartanburg airport, our Northwest Airlines flight was delayed a few hours due to weather issues in a connecting city. This meant that we would most likely miss our connecting flight. The ticket agent booked us on the next two connecting flights from that city to be sure we'd get home that day. While we did not receive any compensation (the delay was only 2½ to 3 hours,) we felt that the ticket agent was very courteous and helpful. By the way, if one has to be stuck in an airport, Greenville-Spartanburg has a lovely one with an outside garden/patio that was very enjoyable!

Posted By UIrsula Miller on January 30, 2008, 9:05 AM

Bad weather caused a United flight cancellation, but I found United extremely helpful in getting the 4 of us to our destination within an hour of expected arrival - and this was during the Christmas holidays! (Plus that, they gave 5000 extra Mileage Plus miles to all 4 accounts - I think that was because we were the only ones not screaming at the United representative.)

Posted By Maggie on January 30, 2008, 4:32 PM

We were delayed in Honolulu due to a mechanical problem, actually had to fly back to Honolulu after being in the air for about 30mins. We were given meal vouchers,and when we were still unable to leave after about 8 hours, Alaska Airlines gave us more meal vouchers, and bussed us to a very nice hotel. The agents were wonderful! We were also given complimentary miles - twice! Same thing in Juneau, Alaska. First, a delay due to mechanical problems, then a second delay due to the weather. We were given meal vouchers and stayed at a hotel for the night.
DR

Posted By Debi Roesch on January 30, 2008, 6:55 PM

I can tell by the other comments there are pros & cons with all the airlines.I have always used Delta Airlines & they have always tried their best to get us on the next available flight when there is a delay.When they could not we were put up in a hotel with meal vouchers. I have learned in life not to sweat the small stuff.If there is a delay, then that is where you are suppose to be at that period of time.Most of the time people (agents or not)will be nice and treat you with respect if you are nice and treat them with respect.

Posted By Rick Ellis on January 30, 2008, 7:02 PM

While flying on Northwest Airlines from Cancun, Mexico to Chicago Ohare we ran into weather delays. We could not land in Chicago as all but one runway was closed and we were running out of gas. We diverted to St. Louis. On the way, Chicago invited the pilots to return to OHare as the runways were now open. Of course we didn't have enough gas so we continued to St. Louis. We sat on the runway for 2 hours in St. Louis and returned to Chicago where no gates were available due to the stranded planes. We were sitting on the ground for hours before we finally parked at a gate and deplaned. All in all the 2 1/2 hour flight was over 10 hours. We finally got a gate at midnight. We received Nothing from Northwest-no hotel voucher, food voucher, nothing. In fact all restaurants were closed (we had left at 11:40 a.m.). The flight attendant did suggest we call and book a hotel while in flight. That saved us from sleeping on the floor of the airport. No arrangements were made-no one rescheduled us and no one answered the phone at the ticket counter when we called from the hotel at 1 a.m. The following morning we did get rescheduled home after standing in line with a zillion other people at the ticket counter. I was not impressed.

Posted By Gail Saukas on January 31, 2008, 10:24 AM

This year I had three experiences with Midwest Airlines. The first was a cancellation out of Toronto Pearson. They provided overnite lodging and vouchers. The second was a cancellation from Milwaukee to another WIS. airport. They provided ground transportation. The third was in November. Midwest again provided ground transport after flying me to an alternate airport.
At Toronto, the staff went above and beyond in trying to arrange flights for the next day.

Posted By CM Penker on January 31, 2008, 10:33 AM

Two of us flew Continental from Salt Lake to Hilton Head, SC on frequent flier seats. Returning we flew through Houston. Our flight was canceled. Seats were tight on all flights. They said they couldn't get us out on anything but FF seats and they weren't available for 48 hours. Only option was to buy first class tickets for $750 each. I was flying out of Salt Lake in three days & had to get home. There were open seats on several Continental planes but they wouldn't let us upgrade. Continental wouldn't copensate us for a thing and couldn't find us any other way to get home.We ended up purchasing seats on US Air for $350 each for the next afternoon. You can be we won't fly them again!

Posted By Donaree Neville on February 1, 2008, 12:11 PM

$665 "clerical forfeiture": I cancelled a $ingapore Airline$ SIN->TW flight, with assurances, after confirming a nominal future- rescheduling penalty. Singapore Airline$, however, would not provide a cancellation confirmation# or tracking# (as do many U.S. & UK airlines), but finally agreed to email a cancellation confirmation. I received no email-- called and learned, to my horror, that I had been reported "no-show".

Lotu$ Travel-$ingapore (the ticket vendor, also on Singapore's Travel Advisory Board) imposed a $665 fare forfeiture based on $ingapore Airline$' apparent lack of records and my failure to call Lotu$ Travel $ingapore (at 23:20 Saturday night, prior to altered travels, notwithstanding my detrimental reliance on $ingapore Airline$).

$450 saved: Travelocity.com, on the other hand, saved me from a similar "lost records" forfeiture with Emirate$ Air following a HK->IST flight cancellation (with similar assurances). I listened, a bit awe-strick, through Travelocity.com's 3+ calls, until they located an Emirate$ supervisor willing to search out an employee's undecipherable cancellation notes-- and I recovered my $450 (in refund). I would have lost another $450 without Travelocity.com's intervention.

$ingapore Airline$ and Emirate$ Air apparently do not follow "best practices" (as in the US and UK) in databasing flight cancellations and issuing cancellation confirmation numbers. I got the impressions that neither airlines equips their employees to database cancellation requests with nearly the same care or tools as used for managing new ticket purchases-- almost like managing fiduciary money in bad faith--- without issuing receipts. The two airline$' purported management decisions against use of cancellation confirmation numbers, moreover, begs this question-- are these airlines subtly promoting penalties and fare forfeitures?

Lessons:
1. From perhaps their respective less consumer- protective "non-West" cultures, $ingapore Airlines, Lotu$ Travel $ingapore, and Emirate$ Airlines treat your money as Their Money. How many others have donated?

2. Travelocity.com, Expedia.com, etc. stand behind their customers during travels, while matching low prices and issuing timely and more reliable records.

Posted By qaz wsx on April 17, 2008, 6:35 AM