inconvenienced by airline--Am I entitled to compensation?
 

My Delta flight on Christmas day from DFW to Munich was cancelled. Delta is going to put me on another flight (this time the layover will be in Cinncinati instead of Atlanta)but I have to leave DFW at 10:00 instead of 1:00 and my layover in Cinn. is 4 hours. The bottom line is that I will be leaving earlier and arriving in Munich later. Am I being knitpicky or Am I entitled???

As a serious answer, there is neither government reg nor airline tariff calling for compensation for that. <BR> <BR>More generally ... why the heck do so many people feel that if life provides the least little incovenience somebody outght to pay them. <BR> <BR>Get serious about life! Go take a look at what some folks here and more abroad have to put up with everyday. <BR> <BR>I hope you survive your terrble ordeal. <BR> <BR>Sincerely, <BR> <BR>Aaargh

Life is too short to follow-up on all these perceived evils. It seems as if the entire United States is always blaming whatever happens on someone else and then all the attorneys want to sue them. All the people who give you poor service in their own job responsibilities are the same ones that demand perfection from all companies. Just take the flight, enjoy Europe and leave the airlines alone. All the airlines do when they have to pay off customers is raise the fares to get the money back. <BR> <BR>You will now probably receive 22 posts after this one from people telling you how to gouge an airline for freebies. Good luck. The attorneys are already multiplying too fast. This will just get them breeding faster.

I'm not trying to sue anyone. I just want to see if Delta can do something because they really did screw up my plans. What if it's snowing in Cinn. and we're delayed even longer?(we were scheduled to fly into Atlanta). We have limited time in Europe and I have a Europass that I am planning to use almost immediately after I get to Munich. My itinerary is extremely time sensitive and this could @##%-up everything. What about the train reservation that I have already made? Hotel reservations? Now, maybe you'll see it my way unless you are more tolerant and easy-going than me and possibly others. I really would like to hear from others. Maybe I am an uptight little bastard. You tell me.

Uptight you are. Hard to tell about little and bastard over the internet. <BR> <BR>Suppose it does snow in Cincinnati ... or Columbus or Toledo or Munich? Who you gonna' sue then? <BR> <BR>Train reservations screwed up? Surely you took into account that you would be flying in the winter at holiday time and didn't make arrangements that assumed everything would be perfect? <BR> <BR>If I were European I'd implore you to stay home. As an American, please ... stay in Europe once you get there. <BR> <BR>

Dear JD: Count your blessings! If you've never flown out of Cinncinati you don't know what you have missed: a smaller, clamer airport, gates close together (so in airport hiking is reduced), good duty-free shopping. So stop sniveling and enjoy your trip. Joan

This is so easy for you pitiful people to say when you won't be having any fun here in the States while I am living up in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Italy. (if I make it) oh yeah, How many skymiles should I request for my troubles? Should I request a good rogering from one of the female flight attendants? Maybe I should ask if I can take a bath in the ice cream that the first class passengers will receive. Any ideas, feel free to let me know---I have a feeling you will anyway.

- <BR>JD: <BR> <BR>The best laid plans . . . . etc, etc. <BR> <BR>Weather last week & this has been wacky; since Atlanta keeps on getting slapped with very wintry weather, it may not be such a bad thing that you're leaving out of Cinncinatti. AND I hate to continue on this downer, but Troy Dungan (local weather guy in dallas) is making noises that WE may be the recipient of some kind of cold wet stuff on Christmas Day. <BR> <BR>Believe air carrier ticket is a the 'contract' agreeing to get us to our destination (safely) and as to the nitty, gritty, there's a something called " ???? of carriage"; can't remember its' exact name that itemizes all the whys & wherefores of what this agreement. I'm not an attorney, but believe the changes that Delta has made to your ticket are probably within this realm of agreement and it's unlikely you're entitled to an addl compensation. <BR> <BR>Have you checked if Delta has any other flights out of the US (departing NY, for instance) that would get you into Munich closer to your original time? Since they cancelled your flight of preference, it seems you may be able to "counter" with a better itinerary if such exists.

JD, <BR>I'm guessing DL rerouted you to arrive MUC at 9:55 on DL76, instead of 8:40? <BR>So you're complaining about arriving MUC 1:15 later and the leaving DFW 3 hours earlier? <BR> <BR>If you've travelled before (internationally), your complaint would qualify you as a nitpicker - you should know better than to make "time sensitive" travel plans and also know that s&^t happens. If this is your first trip to Europe, consider this a learning experience. <BR> <BR>My advice: <BR>1. Take it in stride. <BR>2. Change your train reservation. <BR>3. Be prepared for more s*&t happening. <BR>4. Enjoy your trip...if you can. <BR>

To answer your original question. You are not "entitled." And whining or demanding will get you nowhere. However, you might try politely asking for some compensation, such an an upgraded seat on the flights to which you are currently assigned, or an upgrade coupon for some future flight.

Entitled? I believe you are. Like to be compensated? When you can straddle a pig and fly circles around the Eiffel Tour. <BR> <BR>Air travel has become the most miserable, punishing, humiliating, and unpredicatably disorienting experience of modern life, and that's saying a lot. All of the contempt of the business community toward customers and employees, all of the ignorance and referred hostility of employees, and all of the public's capacity for selfish and combative behavior -- you see it all at its worst in airline travel. <BR> <BR>There isn't one reader of this forum who hasn't been messed up and screwed over by an airline at one time or another -- count on it. We are all entitled to compensation -- but it's never going to happen until one of the largest airlines breaks ranks and starts treating employees and passengers with humanity and courtesy.

Look at it this way, at least you know about the change a few days in advance, you still have time to tweak your plans (instead of complaining) and you can still make lemonaide out of lemons! <BR> <BR>The other side is that you didn't know ahead of time, you found out when you got to the airport & then you were really screwed!! <BR> <BR>Life is short, enjoy where you are, when you are there & who you are with. <BR> <BR>Merry Christmas

(...sorry, make that: "Eiffel Tower" -- one of those dumb wrong-language mistakes.)

JD, I'm on your side, although you don't have a legal leg to stand on and not much have chance for compensation. Nonetheless, I would ask Delta nicely for an upgrade. Moving you into a vacant seat in the next class up costs them nothing and is a nice way of acknoledging their snafu. But don't lose your temper or be snippy, since it won't get you anywhere and will make you unhappy.

JD and Gulliver, stop whining already and start enjoyin life for a change!

Seems to me, JD, the airline has treated you well. <BR> <BR>Being treated badly is when you show up for your flight and are told, "You're too late ... we changed you to an earlier flight." Or at the least, find out when you're on the plane that the schedule has changed and you're going to arrive 90 minutes later. <BR> <BR>You've gotten advanced notice and have the opportunity to: <BR>1) Change to another flight schedule/airline, and/or <BR>2) Alter ground arrangements to fit the new schedule. <BR> <BR>Lemons? Screwed? Compensation? Entitled? <BR> <BR>You've gotta be kidding. This is a troll, right? This couldn't be a real person asking these questions ... could it? <BR> <BR>I'd hate to be around when life throws you some really serious curves.

Get a grip, JD. Yes, you're being nitpicky. In fall '99, a friend and I flew from DC to Paris via JFK on American. Our flight from DC-JFK was so delayed that we missed the JFK-Orly flight and had to fly the next day. We missed an entire day in Paris and a whole day of our two-week trip. Were we upset and inconvenienced? Yep. Were we entitled to compensation? Nope. Things happen. The airline got us on the next possible flight and got us to our destination, which, if you'll read the conditions of carriage, is pretty much what they're obligated to do. Had we been stuck in a non-home city for the night, we could probably have requested hotel accommodations; but since we weren't, it was just a bad break. "Leaving earlier and getting there later" on the same day hardly constitutes a compensatable problem.

I had a flight cancle on me while in line at the airport to check in 2 years ago. When I finally got to the counter they told me that they couldn't put me on another flight for 2 days. I was very polite and explained how much that that would cut into my vacation as I had to be back for my sons collage graduation. They then put me on other airliens the following mornign and upgraded me to business class. I also received enough vouchers to pay for my trip the following year. I also had a flight changed more recently but received notice by phone and mail. There was no compensation for this as I received notice early enough to make changes. Stuff happens when you travel both here and abroad. Get used to it and be flexable. <BR>

OK, enuf, let's see what your mood is like after having spent 36 hrs. in Logan airport trying to get home for Christmas -- of which only about 6 hrs. was due to weather, another 10-12 to recover from the chaos wrought by the weather, and the remaining 18 hrs. due to misinformation and misbooking.

Ed, <BR> <BR>I don't think this is a troll. We have a call-in travel show here on our local public radio, and I actually heard a guy call in with a 10 minute discussion on the following: <BR> <BR>"Our flight from Paris was delayed, and as a result we were put on a non-stop Boston-Columbus, rather than the scheduled routing, which was Boston-Pittsburgh-Columbus - - since we never actually landed in Pittsburgh, where can we write to get a refund of the $5.50 - - PFC and landing tax for the Pittsburgh connection that we never made" <BR> <BR>I was flabbergasted. <BR> <BR>The answer was: nowhere. No such refunds are ever made (unless a ticket itself is refunded for reasons of total non-use).