Who is responsible?

[Chairsin]

So we were supposed to fly PHL--IAH then IAH to TUS tonight. Found out while in the United Club our first flight was delayed due to a crew delay and the new departure time would put us into IAH after out next flight departed. Fine, they endorsed us over to an AA flight that would get us into Houston with 1/2 between flights. After our AA flight sat on the runway a few minutes it started raining with some lightening. After some time we were told we had or been given a new flight plan but needed to return to the gate to pick up more fuel. As I now sit on the plane as we refuel it is clear that we will miss our connecting flight in Houston and as there are no later flights tonight on any airline we will obviously be spending the night there. My question is UA will try to say not our problem we turned you over to AA. And will AA say not our problem this is a weather delay. Are we in a black hole?

 

 

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[CruiserBruce]

Well, I don't see how UA could be responsible for AA's delay...

 

Weather is under no one's control.

[FlyerTalker]

First off, just what do you want UA or AA to do? And what kind of "black hole" are you talking about?

 

Next, if there are thunderstorms, most times the airport gets shut down - at least ground activity at the gate for sure. So every flight would have the same issue, and this is beyond the control of AA (or UA for that matter).

 

IMO, UA already went beyond what was necessary by endorsing you over to AA. They could not know that AA would be unable to get you to IAH.

 

Luck of the draw. Sometimes it hits the fan. This is one time.

 

You will be rebooked onto another flight the next day, when there are available seats. Given that IAH is a UA hub, I would wager you might be back on UA for your return.

[Mr. Click]

As long as the airlines can blame the weather they are not responsible for anything more than finally getting you to your destination. No meals, no hotels, no rental cars. As soon as you get to IAH head for the AA service desk and they will be able to tell you how to get your bags back and what to do about getting to your final destination.

[slidergirl]

As long as the airlines can blame the weather they are not responsible for anything more than finally getting you to your destination. No meals, no hotels, no rental cars. As soon as you get to IAH head for the AA service desk and they will be able to tell you how to get your bags back and what to do about getting to your final destination.

 

Do not wait to get to the desk! Get on the phone! You can be on the phone while you are in line; no need to wait until you get to the front of the line to ask about re-accomodation on another flight.

 

As for the rest, well, stuff happens. It's just life and you gotta roll with it. If your new flight is not until tomorrow, call the surrounding hotels and ask if they have a "distressed traveler" rate they could offer because of your situation. The sooner you do this, the better the chance of getting a nearby room.

 

Good luck!

[waterbug123]

If you had stuck with UA and waited for the crew, you would have gotten to IAH and missed your connection. You would have had to wait at least for the next flight, and probably would have gotten stuck in the same weather situation that your new AA flight got stuck in. So it sounds like a good chance you were going to spend the night in Houston regardless.

 

Had you stayed with UA and arrived at IAH delayed, you could argue that the weather delay was subsequent to the initial crew delay and maybe plead your case for a hotel voucher, but you probably threw any chance of that away when you accepted having your ticket endorsed over to AA. You are now an AA pax and their only delay has been due to weather which they can't control. Therefore they owe you nothing except the next available seat, whenever that may be. Unfortunately, sometimes things just happen and this is one of those times.

 

Note: Even if you stayed with UA and tried to argue for a hotel voucher at IAH because you were initially delayed due to crew issues, I should add that that wouldn't automatically be possible just because it was a crew delay. That argument assumes the crew delay was theoretically something within the airline's control, like not having a back-up FA available for one who got sick. If the crew was delayed because of weather somewhere else (ex. they were flying into PHL on a flight from DCA and there was a weather delay at DCA) then that possible argument goes out the window as well.

Edited October 31, 2016 by waterbug123

[SFCAcruiser]

... Are we in a black hole?

 

 

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Your question has been answered by other posters. Since you mentioned you were sitting in a United Club, it made me wonder if perhaps you used one of the Chase/UA co-branded credit cards. If so, travel interruption expenses are generally reimbursable through Chase.

[Chairsin]

Thanks to all who posted a reply.

 

I thought I would let you guys know what happened in case our experience is of use to others in the future as this does appear to be a bit of a gray area in practice if not in fact.

 

First of all SFAcruiser yes I do have the United Club card. And frankly I had completely forgotten about the travel delay benefit that comes with this card. Thank you for the reminder.

 

To clarify our original flight PHL-IAH was delayed by the crew issue such that we not only would have missed our connecting flight on to TUS but there were no other (nonstop) flights after that last night to TUS. So had we stayed on our original flight we still would have spent the night in Houston.We only reluctantly accepted the flight on AA as the 30 minute layover seemed tight.

 

When we finally arrived in Houston I had a text message from United stating that they had booked us on a flight from IAH-TUS this morning. That was great but we still wanted to see if they would pay for our hotel that evening. We had trouble finding a United customer service desk that was still open at that late hour. I did try calling United's 800 number Customer service line and after a long hold was told I needed to speak with an agent at the airport. I replied I would be more than happy to if i could find one. No help there. I finally found a United service desk with an agent by the baggage claim and explained our situation to her. At first she seemed adamant that United had no responsibility to put us up in a hotel for the night as the delay was caused by AA. I then reasoned that if we had come in on the United flight we were originally booked on we still would have missed our connecting flight as the crew issue preceded the weather issue. Without the crew issue we would have taken off well before the weather because a factor. She agreed to take a look at our records and found that United had already issued a CSV (customer service voucher) for a hotel room (actually two rooms because my husband was under a different record locator number). She secured authorization to give us the voucher even though we flew in on AA and that delay was weather related (in which case I certainly understand they have no obligation to pay for a hotel room). So in the end it all worked out. Whether any of this was SOP or they bent the rules is hard to say. But it does show that it pays to be persistent especially in matters like this whether there is a grey area.

[TruckerDave]

It's is nice to hear UA did you right. I can only chuckle at the response you might have gotten on flyertalk from the UA haters who seem to live for nothing other than bashing UA. :p

Edited November 5, 2016 by TruckerDave