Compensation after engine fire, 2 day delay
 

Hi, I am looking for some guidance in what is reasonable compensation for a recent flight issue. This is on behalf of my brother (I would have handled it at the time-they have just gotten back from the trip and are ready to deal).

On an Atlanta to Cancun flight an engine caught fire, they had to backtrack to Mexico City where they had a scary landing, met by fire trucks etc.

They were given a hotel voucher for one night but there were no flights the next day. They ended up paying for their own room the 2nd night and then flew on. So they lost 2 days of their vacation, had to pay for a hotel in Mexico City, and paid for 2 days of an airbnb they didn't use.

Any advice on how to approach this 'not in the moment' and what to ask for would be greatly appreciated.

Personally I would be happy just to have survived, the rest can be claimed from travel insurance. Claiming compensation from the airline wouldn't be on my agenda.

First of all, like you, I think they should have dealt with this at the time. You say they are "ready to deal." I don't think they have a lot of leverage to make a deal at this point.

Airlines promise they will get you to your destination. They don't have to promise when, and they take no responsibility for expenses incurred at your destination. The lost two days of vacation and the lost nights at the airbnb, they won't pay for.

For an event that is clearly the airline's fault, they will pay for a hotel and meal expenses before you board the plane. If I were your brother, I'd have pressed for a second night's hotel voucher. The engine fire was still the original reason that prevented them from getting to Cancun. He may be able to ask to be reimbursed for the hotel that night in Mexico City, but I doubt they'll do that when they didn't make the arrangements. He can try; I kind of doubt he'll get anything more. The airline will probably throw some frequent-flyer miles their way. Best case scenario might be a couple hundred dollars voucher good toward a future flight.

Let us know how it turns out.

And he just told me there was an additional 8 hours in another airport before they got to Mexico City (they actually made the landing in Tampico).

Did they have travel insurance on the trip?

As I understand it, one of the 2 missed Cancun nights has already been covered by the hotel voucher. They should certainly ask for the second as well. But I cannot imagine the airline giving 4 nights reimbursement for 2 nights missed (hotels plus Airbnb), maybe some incidentals as mentioned above.

I think I like your brother.

I think they did-I suggested he look into that first.

Thanks for the advice!

I think your brother should be entitled to have the second night covered too if there weren't any onward flights and he had no choice but to stay over in Mexico.

Expecting the airline to cover the lost nights Airbnb in Cancun - that's a bit more tenuous, you could try but it might be stretching it a bit. How far would you take that? Say he'd had activities booked and paid for in adavnce, like a diving trip, or restaurant reservation where they bill no-shows. Would you expect the airline to cover that too? Could they reasonably say that delays are not uncommon and you shouldn't have plumped for something non-refundable without insurance?

If it were me I'd continue to pursue the total costs of my unexpected stop over in Mexico, but beyond that I'd probably not take it any further.

I just think they'd have a much better chance pursuing the insurance company (as long as they took out a policy on this trip) than from the airlines.

It might be tough to get anything, now the event is over, and your brother accepted vouchers and used them.

We were grounded in San Francisco once, on our way to Hawaii. We made sure to get hotel voucher, transport to the hotel, and meal vouchers.

Plus, I pressed United regarding the hotel room we were paying for in Hawaii that night. United contacted the hotel, and got that night's lodging waived.

They can do things if you make them. Probably too late now, though.

Next time, look up the federal regulations which govern these things.