Real eye-opener on vouchers and such if your flight is cancelled
Today’s Wall Street Journal has an article beginning on page D1 about which airlines offer what if your flight is cancelled or delayed.
One airline, for example, offers a discount voucher (it won’t pay for a full meal) if your flight is delayed for more than four hours (you have to have waited the four hours) or cancelled and if your ticket entitled you to complimentary meal service during the flight. Yikes! Most airlines offer $5 and$10 meal vouchers, not good for alcohol. Neither amount will buy a meal at any airport I know.
There were plenty of complaints about rooms, when flights were cancelled or delayed overnight. Airlines tend to use inexpensive lodging near the airport. Often, these hotels are not staffed and equipped for a deluge such as happened when American grounded all its MD-80s. One passenger reported the hall in her motel being lined with room-service trays on the floor from one end to the other. Some airlines say that paid-ticket first class passengers and elite-status frequent travelers get better hotels and meal vouchers; some airlines deny it.
Another problem is that airlines book blocks of rooms when problems loom. That means you may not be able to get a room yourself, even though rooms are empty at the time. If you try a hotel in this situation, tell them you’re stranded from a particular airline and ask if they are blocking rooms for you.
The sad fact is that discount airlines (now bankrupt AirTran was the most generous, in fact) sometimes give more than ‘full-service’ airlines, and I’m unable to spot an instance when the discount lines are stingier.
I’m back to their being two statuses: if you have a personal assistant hired to help you out and you’re stranded, you will fare better than if you are left at the mercies of the airline. Personal assistants cost money, of course.
One final thought. Louise and I were stranded at home when our plane was out of commission and we missed the first day of our vacation at a nonrefundable hotel. I asked for an upgrade to first class on the next flight, but was told there was nothing that could be done. I asked for a supervisor and was given an email address. I emailed and asked for an upgrade. I was again told nothing could be done. I escalated and got vouchers good for a hundred dollars apiece on a subsequent flight. Shrug - I was told I’d get nothing, but I continued to press politely for some accommodation. I can’t stress often enough how well politeness works. 3 months ago