Trip delayed by airline operational problem! Any rights?

March 29, 8:47 PMMiami Airlines/Airport ExaminerGailen David

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I recently spent some time at the airport with a friend who was trying to travel standby from Miami to Atlanta during spring break. I commented on the odds of him getting a seat on flights at such a peak travel period on a standby ticket and suggested that next time he should purchase a confirmed seat. I soon found out that a “confirmed” seat does not guarantee a confirmed seat.

There were several passengers waiting to board the Atlanta flight that arrived in Miami on a delayed flight from Montego Bay. They had missed their original connection and were place on standby on the flight from Miami to Atlanta that my friend was traveling on. My friend did not get a seat on the flight and the “confirmed” passengers who had missed their original flight due to the airline’s mechanical delay from Montego Bay did not get a seat on the flight either. They had no choice but to spend the night in Miami and try the next day  (the airline provided the hotel room).  The next day, they were not accommodated on any of the flights from Miami to Atlanta as the planes left full one by one. At the time my friend decided to give up, there was a list of 15 revenue passengers that had been delayed due to the airline's own operational problems that were forced to wait for countless hours. They were then forced to spend a second night near Miami International Airport to try their luck the next morning. All this with a confirmed ticket!

Are customers such as these entitled to any compensation? According to the DOT, they are not unless they were involuntarily bumped due to overbooking. The DOT provides information on compensation that is due to passengers in overbooking situations and details are available on the DOT website. According to the DOT, these customers would be entitled to 200% of their one-way fare, up to $800.00, but there are no provisions for these unfortunate passengers delayed because of airline operation problems; it is up to the individual airline. The European Union recently enacted new rules that provide passengers with substantial compensation in situations such as  these. I have a suspicion that skilled lobbyist have prevented these protections here in the United States. Is this fair?