flight delay
 

Hi all

On a recent trip to the USA,
My family of 4 were flying from Orlando to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Manchester (uk)
The flight from Orlando left on time 16-40, While in the air the captain came on and said Atlanta airport had been closed because of bad weather..
What should have been a hour flight turned into 2 and a half hour flight..
So on our arrival at Atlanta we missed our connecting flight to Manchester (uk) it left at 19-05
Delta who we were flying with put us on the next available flight which was the next day at 19-05 (24hours later) at no extra charge..
They also found us a hotel for the night in Atlanta (we had to pay for that)
Can we claim anything for the delay??

Thanks for any advise
Phil

Probably not, unless you have trip interruption insurance to cover it.

Who would you make a claim against?

When the delay is caused by the airline (broken plane, for instance), they give you meal and hotel vouchers. When the delay is caused by what they call an act of God, they don't give vouchers. It sounds like they treated you pretty well when they took the time to find you a hotel.

Thanks for the replies

Never had to make a claim before, so that's why i was asking the question, too see if anyone knew what was the best thing to do.
24 hours delay is a long time to be delayed, just wondered if i could get anything back..

>>just wondered if i could get anything back..<<

basically not -- since it was weather related. If it was mechanical they would have paid for your hotel . . . weather and you are on your own.

Only if you had trip insurance that covers delays.

You were lucky and treated very well since I think Delta was only obligated to put you on the next flight, not to reimburse you for hotel or food as clevelandbrown said.

This past February we got stuck at JFK for 62 hours due to a massive snow storm which traveled up the east coast. It was a double whammy because we were flying Delta. The storm hit Atlanta first (Delta's main hub) and then it hit JFK. Although Delta tried very hard to help us get to Chicago there just weren't any open seats on any flights regardless of airline which were actually getting out of JFK. No reimbursement or vouchers were given so we had to pay for our lodging and food. In the future we will definitely avoid connections along the east coast during the winter!

No. Bad weather is not the airlines fault. Would you prefer they have flown you through bad weather and taken the chance that the plane might or might not of crashed?

What is it with everyone wanting compensation.

MissGreen, I hope you are not including me with "everyone wanting compensation". We clearly did not expect compensation for food and lodging. I only mentioned it to let the OP know they were very fortunate to receive food and lodging during a weather related delay.

And no, of course I would not want to fly if there was a good chance of crashing. However, the bigger planes were flying in and out of JFK...just not the smaller ones.

ovenbird, you have misread what the OP said. They were not reimbursed for anything, just given some assistance in finding a hotel. And Miss Green I agree with ovenbird that you are being unduly harsh. The Op was not 'expecting' compensation, just enquiring politely whether he might be eligible for something. No rants, no laying blame, just a straightforward recounting of events followed by a question. No need to get all snarky.

Yes, I did misread what the OP said. FWIW, I would have no qualms flying Delta again...just not to/from the east coast in the middle of winter. The Delta agent we interacted with at JFK was extremely helpful and pleasant even though she had to work an extra shift and deal with a lot of unhappy customers. She certainly has my respect.

I got stuck in VA in that Feb 2014 blizzard, too. I didn't want compensation; I just wanted to get out of there. In the end, when we could finally get out of the hotel parking lot, AA did me a solid and got me on a couple of US Air flights back to Dallas.

Hi all

Thanks for the replies..
Reading some of your stories on here, I think i got of lightly.
At least i got to stay a extra day in the USA as part of my holiday...
I will be using Delta Airways again without a doubt ( i'm looking to come back in November) America is a amazing country..