US Airways Dividend Miles - Compensation or not? (intl flight, overnight stay, baggage lost)

Hi all,
I was involved, with my family of 4, in a complicated situation Saturday the 23rd. We were on our way from RIC-PHL-LHR (US 4416 and US 728). Our flight to Philly was delayed before we left for the airport, but we were confident that we could make the connection. At the airport we were reassured of this. The flight was delayed more and more and we, with 10 other people, 3 in my family ALL GOING TO LHR!!!) started having doubts. We were told by the gate agent that the people in Philly say we will not make it and there are no hotels. However we boarded, along with the other 7 people. Upon arrival we ran to the next gate (F to A) and saw a line of 5 people that had late connections too. We were told by the gate agents and their "supervisor" that we had been "unseated". A woman said that she saw a of 8 people earlier being waved onto the plane by an agent. They did NOT have any boarding passes!!! The standbys had heen let on as well. The gate agents were alsp rather rude. Our efforts were in vain though and the plane departed, with the gate agents pointing it out to us like we didn't know. Now, they knew the hotels were booked all out, yet they STILL handed us the pink distressed rate slips. We walked to the baggage claim area and were told that OUR LUGGAGE WAS ON THE PLANE TO HEATHROW! Later we would be told that this is against the rules. The standby's luggage was most likely not on the plane, yet they were on the plane and we were not! Of course the luggage staff had nothing to say. We also were told to book a hotel on our own expense then send the hotel info to US and they would refund just 99 dollars total!!! Now the next day went very smooth with no disruptions. The questions are:Should we have gotten more compensation than the 99 we were promised for the hotel? And if so how would we apply for it? I also would like to know if anyone has had an experience with Terrence S. or Leanne R?. in Philly. These 2 were our gate "agents". Thank you and don't fly with US!

So how long before departure were you at the gate?

A woman said that she saw a of 8 people earlier being waved onto the plane by an agent. They did NOT have any boarding passes!!!

"A woman"?

If you didnt witness this yourself, you have no idea what really happened. Perhaps their boarding passes were already scanned. Perhaps the agent kept them on the desk and scanned them as they walked on. Don't jump to conclusions about something that "a woman" said.

Unfortunately, if the delay from RIC to PHL was not something within US' control like weather or ATC delays, they don't have to compensate you. Your bags, however, should never have gotten on the flight to LHR. Your best to write a letter to customer service and copy the DOT as well. Just stick to the facts and not hearsay stories and editorial comments.

I would definitely request compensation. If your bags were able to make the plane, you should've been able to make the plane. They definitely should not have given away your seats until it was a 100% certainty you wouldn't make it.

In your request, definitely just stick to facts (leave all emotion and other hardships out of it) and request for a specific amount to be refunded to you. Also, to get a better chance of recuperating money, asking for the money back in the form of a voucher would help, but that only makes sense if you know you'll use it within the next year.

So how long before departure were you at the gate?
The whole group of 11 connecting to LHR was at A21 at circa 9:20. The plane departed at 9:50, actually around 10. Boarding passes state clearly "Gate closes 10 minutes before departure".)

"A woman"?

If you didnt witness this yourself, you have no idea what really happened. Perhaps their boarding passes were already scanned. Perhaps the agent kept them on the desk and scanned them as they walked on. Don't jump to conclusions about something that "a woman" said.
The "woman" had a conversation with my husband about this on the flight to FRA the next day. She said that she saw clearly the gate agent saying "Come on!" loudly to about 8 people and making a fast waving motion with his hand. Who knows if they had boarding passes? They simply ran onto the plane. Also the "woman" was at the airport and on the TOP of the standby list; had been there since 7AM. This also means that these people were not standbys.

Unfortunately, if the delay from RIC to PHL was not something within US' control like weather or ATC delays, they don't have to compensate you. Your bags, however, should never have gotten on the flight to LHR. Your best to write a letter to customer service and copy the DOT as well. Just stick to the facts and not hearsay stories and editorial comments.

The gate agent in RIC told us that it was delayed bc of a "crew change" which happens every day and a mechanical problem. Do they have to compensate us for mechanical problems?

The gate agent in RIC told us that it was delayed bc of a "crew change" which happens every day and a mechanical problem. Do they have to compensate us for mechanical problems?

Sounds like you were involuntarily denied boarding if you were at the gate just prior to the cut off (not to mention your bags somehow made it on while you did not).

http://www.usairways.com/en-US/resources/_downloads/aboutus/US_contract_of_carriage.pdf
(Section 10.5)

Sounds like you were involuntarily denied boarding if you were at the gate just prior to the cut off (not to mention your bags somehow made it on while you did not).

http://www.usairways.com/en-US/resources/_downloads/aboutus/US_contract_of_carriage.pdf
(Section 10.5)

Section 10.5 is for flights from the EU. This was a flight to the EU. Section 6.0 talks about check-in times. 10 minutes is for domestic flights. It's 30 minutes for international, so this is not an Invol DB situation. Here's the quote from section 6.0:
For US Airways flights departing international airports, customers must be present at the boarding gate or on the aircraft at least 30 minutes (60 minutes in Europe and the Middle East) before the scheduled departure time. Failure to meet this requirement may result in cancellation of the customer’s reservations and make the custom- er ineligible for denied boarding compensation.

At some point, they have to stop accepting passengers to depart on time. LHR is a large connecting point, and there were likely to be many passengers connecting out of LHR to other destinations who would be impacted by delaying the departure. The bags should not have been boarded, so this part is definitely something that they should request expense reimbursement (for actual costs incurred). I would recommend requesting specific expenses incurred (hotels, meals, overnight clothes, transportation) and see what they say. You could also request additional for the inconvenience, but be realistic. The heresay about the woman and the people who had been cleared to board is not relevant, because they must stop boarding at some point.

It's an unfortunate situation, which is why you'll hear many people recommend not taking the last flight to the connecting city to make the international departure. Please keep us apprised of their reply.

Sounds like you were involuntarily denied boarding if you were at the gate just prior to the cut off (not to mention your bags somehow made it on while you did not).

http://www.usairways.com/en-US/resources/_downloads/aboutus/US_contract_of_carriage.pdf
(Section 10.5)
Thanks so much! The best case scenario is that we get 1300*4=$5200 cash!
This will help! Thanks! I will also be copying the DOT in the letter.

Section 10.5 is for flights from the EU. This was a flight to the EU. Section 6.0 talks about check-in times. 10 minutes is for domestic flights. It's 30 minutes for international, so this is not an Invol DB situation. Here's the quote from section 6.0:
For US Airways flights departing international airports, customers must be present at the boarding gate or on the aircraft at least 30 minutes (60 minutes in Europe and the Middle East) before the scheduled departure time. Failure to meet this requirement may result in cancellation of the customer’s reservations and make the custom- er ineligible for denied boarding compensation.

At some point, they have to stop accepting passengers to depart on time. LHR is a large connecting point, and there were likely to be many passengers connecting out of LHR to other destinations who would be impacted by delaying the departure. The bags should not have been boarded, so this part is definitely something that they should request expense reimbursement (for actual costs incurred). I would recommend requesting specific expenses incurred (hotels, meals, overnight clothes, transportation) and see what they say. You could also request additional for the inconvenience, but be realistic. The heresay about the woman and the people who had been cleared to board is not relevant, because they must stop boarding at some point.

It's an unfortunate situation, which is why you'll hear many people recommend not taking the last flight to the connecting city to make the international departure. Please keep us apprised of their reply.
At last check 10.5 reads "except FROM the EU". Our boarding pass says the gate closes at 9:40, but what if I were to say that I was at the gate at 9:20? I think this was closer to the time we came to the gate.

At last check 10.5 reads "except FROM the EU". Our boarding pass says the gate closes at 9:40, but what if I were to say that I was at the gate at 9:20?

You're right. I must have misread 10.5. However, as shown in 6.0, this is not an Invol DB situation, so 10.5 is not applicable. This is a missed connection, missed because the travelers were not at the gate by the cutoff time. I wouldn't recommend lying about your time...when they see the arrival time of the inbound aircraft, they'll be less likely to help when they know you're not being truthful (or if they read the post here, which they do). Be honest, stick to the facts, and you'll get the best result...that's my experience.

OP needed to be at the xPHL gate no later than T-30 (even for domestic it's T-15, not 10)See quoted t&c below.

This flight was clearly oversold and US cancelled OP and others at T-30 and acommodated the oversold pax, thereby avoiding having to pay IDB. US need not pay any compensation. It may choose, as a matter of CS, to throw a bone OP's way, but I would not count on it. One of the reasons carriers oversell is because they count on some number of misconnects. What happened here isn't under-handed, it happens every.

All the stuff about what some anonymous woman did or didn't see doesn't matter. The pax who were boarded were boarded because there were empty seat. Who cares who had what BP?

•If you are not checked in and waiting in the boarding area at least 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time for domestic U.S. (30 minutes for international travel), your reservation may be canceled and you will not be eligible for denied boarding compensation.

OP needed to be at the xPHL gate no later than T-30 (even for domestic it's T-15, not 10)See quoted t&c below.

This flight was clearly oversold and US cancelled OP and others at T-30 and acommodated the oversold pax, thereby avoiding having to pay IDB. US need not pay any compensation. It may choose, as a matter of CS, to throw a bone OP's way, but I would not count on it. One of the reasons carriers oversell is because they count on some number of misconnects. What happened here isn't under-handed, it happens every.

All the stuff about what some anonymous woman did or didn't see doesn't matter. The pax who were boarded were boarded because there were empty seat. Who cares who had what BP?

•If you are not checked in and waiting in the boarding area at least 15 minutes before the scheduled departure time for domestic U.S. (30 minutes for international travel), your reservation may be canceled and you will not be eligible for denied boarding compensation.
Sorry for the confusion but I think I might have been at the gate T-30. We ran straight through to A21 and were there circa 9:20. Would this help?

You're right. I must have misread 10.5. However, as shown in 6.0, this is not an Invol DB situation, so 10.5 is not applicable. This is a missed connection, missed because the travelers were not at the gate by the cutoff time. I wouldn't recommend lying about your time...when they see the arrival time of the inbound aircraft, they'll be less likely to help when they know you're not being truthful (or if they read the post here, which they do). Be honest, stick to the facts, and you'll get the best result...that's my experience.
Interesting that they read these. I think our RIC-LHR group WAS truthfully at A21 at about 9:20. The plane didn't pull back until 10ish anyway.

US4416/23JUN RIC-PHL arrived at terminal F at 9:14 PM.
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AWE4416/history/20120623/2143Z/KRIC/KPHL
I can't imagine it would be possible to get from F to the high A gates in 6 minutes. Stick to the truth...you ran as fast as you could, they were still boarding, the aircraft was there, your bags were boarded, and you were not allowed on.

Plenty of good advice here already ... I'd take it:

-- You had a trip scheduled on US from RIC to LHR, connecting in PHL

-- The US flight from RIC to PHL was delayed (perhaps for mechanical reasons, but regardless of what was said to you previously, this will be for US to determine and factor in)

-- You did your best at PHL to get from F to A to make the flight, but you were not allowed to board

-- In spite of that, your luggage was put on the flight, so you no longer had it with you when:

-- You were forced to overnight in a hotel in PHL to await the PHL-LHR plane re-scheduled for you the next day.

-- So far you have only received [value of whatever] by way of compensation, but your actual costs were [reasonable cost of hotels and meals, plus a little something for stuff you had to buy to replace what was in you bags]

See what they say and take it from there. In the moment, all the stuff people say can seem important and/or be irritating in the extreme. After the fact, it is of little moment. They will use whatever timing stuff you put forward against you, to distract from the larger issue, so try to forget about it.

Plenty of good advice here already ... I'd take it:

-- You had a trip scheduled on US from RIC to LHR, connecting in PHL

-- The US flight from RIC to PHL was delayed (perhaps for mechanical reasons, but regardless of what was said to you previously, this will be for US to determine and factor in)

-- You did your best at PHL to get from F to A to make the flight, but you were not allowed to board

-- In spite of that, your luggage was put on the flight, so you no longer had it with you when:

-- You were forced to overnight in a hotel in PHL to await the PHL-LHR plane re-scheduled for you the next day.

-- So far you have only received [value of whatever] by way of compensation, but your actual costs were [reasonable cost of hotels and meals, plus a little something for stuff you had to buy to replace what was in you bags]

See what they say and take it from there. In the moment, all the stuff people say can seem important and/or be irritating in the extreme. After the fact, it is of little moment. They will use whatever timing stuff you put forward against you, to distract from the larger issue, so try to forget about it.
Thanks for the great advice. I actually have received NO compensation whatsoever. I was forced to overnight at my own expense in downtown Philly($179) and was told to write my stay info on my boarding pass and send it to US. Rather than taking the next night's LHR flight, I took the earliest TATL flight to FRA(US700) and then connected with Lufthansa to LHR. Another important point: LH had serious doubts about printing our BPs because our baggage was already in LHR. They told us that by no means was this allowed.

Thanks for the advice, all. I will be writing US and CC'ing DOT around July 20, or whenever US decides to take me home. Will be keeping you posted.

This is why you read the Contract of Carriage. Know your rights. I, too feel based upon the thread that the group was Involuntarily Denied Boarding, If you decide to proceed to the next step which is seeking the compensation as defined under the CoC. I would also dig my heals in rather firmly and file a formal DOT Complaint as well as familiarize myself with the rules of the Small Claims Court in your state. You may also choose to file a Consumer Fraud case with your States AG. This does little directly in terms of compensation. What it does do is send a message that you are NOT going Away and in my experience I've seen US pay rather than dealing with a potentially grandstanding AG.

This is why you read the Contract of Carriage. Know your rights. I, too feel based upon the thread that the group was Involuntarily Denied Boarding, If you decide to proceed to the next step which is seeking the compensation as defined under the CoC. I would also dig my heals in rather firmly and file a formal DOT Complaint as well as familiarize myself with the rules of the Small Claims Court in your state. You may also choose to file a Consumer Fraud case with your States AG. This does little directly in terms of compensation. What it does do is send a message that you are NOT going Away and in my experience I've seen US pay rather than dealing with a potentially grandstanding AG.

OP has a choice. As soon as he makes a claim for IDB, he either gets the IDB amounts or $0. US treats the claims seriously and so does DOT. But, to do that, he has to credibly argue that he made it from a flight where the brakes locked at the gate at 9:14 PM in F concourse to A in no more than 6 minutes (the cutoff for the PHL-LHR). That claim is not credible and all US has to say is that they don't show it. Even OP in his post says he didn't make it until "about" 9:20. DOT won't do anything here because it's a "he said / she said" and misconnects are one of the industry reasons for overbooking in the first place.

On the other hand, if OP makes this about a series of CS issues, he may see some compensation in the form of miles / cert. and US might reimburse what it would have paid for a PHL airport hotel as a gesture.

Customer service vs. legal/regulatory matters arei handled by different teams with different goals and different approaches. So, a starting point is for OP to ask himself if he really was at the departure gate no later than 9:20 PM. If he really believes he was, he can certainly pursue the IDB. If he wasn't, this becomes a fool's errand and he won't feel better about the experience at the end.

One smart move is waiting until the itinerary is concluded. The last thing anybody wants is anybody mucking in a record until it's completed. Minor errors blossom into major ones.

OP has a choice. As soon as he makes a claim for IDB, he either gets the IDB amounts or $0. US treats the claims seriously and so does DOT. But, to do that, he has to credibly argue that he made it from a flight where the brakes locked at the gate at 9:14 PM in F concourse to A in no more than 6 minutes (the cutoff for the PHL-LHR). That claim is not credible and all US has to say is that they don't show it. Even OP in his post says he didn't make it until "about" 9:20. DOT won't do anything here because it's a "he said / she said" and misconnects are one of the industry reasons for overbooking in the first place.

On the other hand, if OP makes this about a series of CS issues, he may see some compensation in the form of miles / cert. and US might reimburse what it would have paid for a PHL airport hotel as a gesture.

Customer service vs. legal/regulatory matters arei handled by different teams with different goals and different approaches. So, a starting point is for OP to ask himself if he really was at the departure gate no later than 9:20 PM. If he really believes he was, he can certainly pursue the IDB. If he wasn't, this becomes a fool's errand and he won't feel better about the experience at the end.

One smart move is waiting until the itinerary is concluded. The last thing anybody wants is anybody mucking in a record until it's completed. Minor errors blossom into major ones.

You raise several interesting points. Totally, Completely agree about waitig for the trip to be over.

Customer Service Vs Legal/Regulatory issues. One of the reasons I like to use the various State Attorneys General websites and file a Consumer fraud claim is as soon as you do. The party in question (US in this case) receives a letter from the AG that a complaint was filed against them. This tends to put the airline into taking a shall we say more proactive approach to customer service.

Small Claims filing tend to be settled prior to a trial as well.

My point is there are many ways to impress upon a business your level of dissatisfaction and proper channels should be used the first go around. If you don't like what you hear the first time then you have significant options at your disposal. I have used all with positive results.

Quick case on point. Had a Customer Issue with a TV provider. I felt I was treated deceptively and rudely. Shortly, I hit the "Cone of Silence". I was requesting a $70 refund BTW. Well I got my knickers in a twist and before I knew it I had just shy of $400.00 in invoice credits. Took 2 letters to the CO AG (Company HQ'd there) but all of the sudden I was their new best customer.

You raise several interesting points. Totally, Completely agree about waitig for the trip to be over.

Customer Service Vs Legal/Regulatory issues. One of the reasons I like to use the various State Attorneys General websites and file a Consumer fraud claim is as soon as you do. The party in question (US in this case) receives a letter from the AG that a complaint was filed against them. This tends to put the airline into taking a shall we say more proactive approach to customer service.

Small Claims filing tend to be settled prior to a trial as well.

My point is there are many ways to impress upon a business your level of dissatisfaction and proper channels should be used the first go around. If you don't like what you hear the first time then you have significant options at your disposal. I have used all with positive results.

Quick case on point. Had a Customer Issue with a TV provider. I felt I was treated deceptively and rudely. Shortly, I hit the "Cone of Silence". I was requesting a $70 refund BTW. Well I got my knickers in a twist and before I knew it I had just shy of $400.00 in invoice credits. Took 2 letters to the CO AG (Company HQ'd there) but all of the sudden I was their new best customer.

Remember, the sole legal remedy is the DOT complaint process. Yes, you can appeal from that to the Federal courts, but neither the state attorneys general, the FTC nor state courts (including small claims) have any jurisdiction.

The rules are cut & dry for a reason, the compensation is extremely generous but you gotta follow the rules to get it.

Remember, the sole legal remedy is the DOT complaint process. Yes, you can appeal from that to the Federal courts, but neither the state attorneys general, the FTC nor state courts (including small claims) have any jurisdiction.

The rules are cut & dry for a reason, the compensation is extremely generous but you gotta follow the rules to get it.

Actually you don't, I've gotten more then a few dollars and vouchers by taking the situation into what I'll call the public arena. Publicity, especially negative has a way of "Encouraging" a quiet settlement.

I'm telling you point blank that an e-mail to AZ Attorney General will generate a result. Guy in Yardley, PA collected nearly $800 from US. This person was also smart enough to get a Checking Account Number and the Sheriff went right in a snatched the money. So with all due respect there are many ways to seek and receive redress.

Do you realize that if I win a Small Claim Judgement and I have the tail number of a specific aircraft I can have the Sheriff impound it and it won't leave the gate until US shows up with the cash. In PA you may demand cash. It's been done more than once.

Really!? The OP got from F all the way to A in 6 minutes? Wow...maybe OP is going to LHR for the Olympics?? Where was OP and family seated? Even if in F and first off the plane, I'd be truly shocked if this 6-minute scenario is accurate. :confused:

To all the nay sayers, what would you have done if you were in OP's shoes, getting to the gate before the door closed and not allowed to board?

I think the reason for the RIC-PHL delay dictates whether US is fully resposible for the extra costs incurred by OP. Mechanical or crew related would be US responsibility.

I would keep all receipts and write to US after the trip with the facts and give them a chance to compensate. Then escalate if the response is not accpetable.

There is nothing worse than getting screwed by airline foul ups causing you to misconnect, especially international flights that end up arriving a day late. Having been in situation when it was weather related and not airline responsibility resulting in rerouting and a day late to Asia was the pits.

To all the nay sayers, what would you have done if you were in OP's shoes, getting to the gate before the door closed and not allowed to board?

I think the reason for the RIC-PHL delay dictates whether US is fully resposible for the extra costs incurred by OP. Mechanical or crew related would be US responsibility.

I would keep all receipts and write to US after the trip with the facts and give them a chance to compensate. Then escalate if the response is not accpetable.

There is nothing worse than getting screwed by airline foul ups causing you to misconnect, especially international flights that end up arriving a day late. Having been in situation when it was weather related and not airline responsibility resulting in rerouting and a day late to Asia was the pits.

Oh I agree, as long as it wasn't weather/ATC and the misconnect was caused by late-arriving crew as the OP states, then US needs to cover the out-of-pocket expenses, meaning a hotel more than $99, toiletries within reason, maybe a change of clothes. Plus some kind of I'm Sorry gesture, be it a voucher, miles or a check, to make up for the poor customer service and the frustration factor.

What I can't get behind is the suggestions to press for IDB compensation because, unless the OP has a time machine, it's beyond unlikely that the OP made it to the gate before the cutoff. Whose fault that is doesn't much matter in my book. Not saying that to get US off the hook but rather, IDB is a specific compensation that is only due in a very specific circumstance, and the OP's situation doesn't meet that circumstance. If the OP's plane from RIC had circled for another 10 or 20 minutes before landing and the plane was gone upon the OP's arrival to the gate, no one would be saying "IDB." The location of the plane is almost irrelevant here, as it's the location of the OP at that exact cut-off time that determines if IDB applies or not.

And I really just don't like the "big stick" approach of threatening small claims court and cc'ing DOT and the attorneys general on emails. It's like using an elephant gun to go mouse-hunting. If the OP writes a complaint focusing on the customer service aspect and lets that complaint work through the proper channels, and is still not satisfied, then the OP can take things to the next level. But the OP needs to have reasonable expectations for what the compensation will end up being (and $5k is just not going to happen, given that the OP could not be IDB because the OP was not at the gate when required), and work the complaint through the proper channels.

US4416/23JUN RIC-PHL arrived at terminal F at 9:14 PM.
http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AWE4416/history/20120623/2143Z/KRIC/KPHL
I can't imagine it would be possible to get from F to the high A gates in 6 minutes. Stick to the truth...you ran as fast as you could, they were still boarding, the aircraft was there, your bags were boarded, and you were not allowed on.

US4415 was the the flight that turned in RIC and made up 4416. US4415 was supposed to depart PHL at 3:24 and arrive RIC at 4:36. According to Flightaware, it didnt leave PHL until 7:01 and arrived RIC at 7:56.

So, it was a good 3.5 hours late out of PHL. Impossible to track where it was before PHL... That being said, the Flightaware radar plots for that day show nothing but blue skies most everywhere north of North Carolina. I'm starting to thing this was a US company issue and not a weather issue....

This was the day after the ATC meltdown with the fire at the Atlantic City facility coupled with horrible thunderstorms in the northeast. I don't doubt it was a crew issue, crews were all out of position those days.

Hi again All,
sorry I have not had a chance to write again, but here is my scenario: On July 15, US 701 went perfectly fine. In PHL, the usual processes were completed. At gate F-something, we boarded our flight to Richmond. We taxied out onto the tarmac and heavy storms began. After 2 hours, due to the new protocol, the flight was canceled and we headed back to the gate. We called a "specially activated" number and were rebooked onto the same flight the next day. I can understand why US would not pay for a hotel here. We took a taxi and stayed at the same hotel that we stayed in on our outbound, RIC-LHR. We got back early to the airport and, unsurprisingly, did not make standby for the 3 earlier RIC flights. We boarded the same flight as the day before and finally made it to RIC. This means we lost a whole work day. What will be the best way to go now?
Thanks.

Also, we did not care to retrieve our luggage because the wait time would be ~2 hours and it was already 10:30 PM.

No compensation would be due if thats what you are asking about in regards to your return trip and even the 2+ wait for baggage retrieval. Its all weather related and out of the airline's control.

Hi,
how much compensation should I request for being stranded in Philly overnight when our luggage had made it onto the connecting plane and we had not?
I would like to request monetary comp. but a voucher would suffice too.
This is a family of 4, we stayed in a $200 hotel, and lost a $200 hotel night in London. Also taxi costs were about $50 total. How much should I request in total (including something for the general inconvenience), also for the loss of our luggage which is also a security risk?

Hi all,
We were told by the gate agent that the people in Philly say we will not make it and there are no hotels. However we boarded, along with the other 7 people.

No one has pointed out that the OP was advised by GA prior to leaving RIC that he would not make the connection, and that there were no hotels in PHL.

Since he chose to take a risk rather than re-book for the next day, how does this play into any compensation request? I thought airlines don't pay for hotels if the delay is incurred on your first flight as you can go "home".

This really depends on the reason for the missed connection. If it was weather or air traffic that caused you to arrive late into PHL then officially you're not due anything, but of course you can always write a complaint and see if you're given anything. If it was mechanical or crew shortage that caused your late arrival at Philly, then I'd imagine you'd get reimbursement for your out-of-pocket expenses in Philly.

It's not common to get compensated for loss of use of a prepaid hotel night, regardless of the cause of the missed connection. The "general inconvenience" factor is usually only compensated by a small token, a few thousand miles perhaps or a small voucher.

Do you have any insight to the cause of the missed connection? If not, then posting flight numbers and dates can often result in a helpful FT'er being able to track down the root cause.

Yes,
on 6/23
US 4416 was delayed bc of crew and mechanical issues,
causing us to miss US 728.

I would request the amount of your expenses due to the delay- no more, no less.

No one has pointed out that the OP was advised by GA prior to leaving RIC that he would not make the connection, and that there were no hotels in PHL.

Since he chose to take a risk rather than re-book for the next day, how does this play into any compensation request? I thought airlines don't pay for hotels if the delay is incurred on your first flight as you can go "home".

Hi,
sorry, the gate agent didn't directly tell us, she acted a bit unsurely when we asked but she told us that it's our choice and if we don't make it there will be no hotels. I guess this doesn't help my argument but I think it was better to proceed on to PHL bc the same thing might have happened the next day and more than 50 wheelchairs would be in RIC the next day.

Hi all,
THANKS! I told the true story and got Vouchers for $150 pp. 600 total. No exact refunds were offered except the 79 contracted hotel rate. Now on to finding a flight with the voucher...