US Airways Dividend Miles - Compensation?

So got delayed tonight on 635PM flight from ABQ to PHX due to mechanical issues. Got bumped to 940PM flight. Other than getting in 3 hours late no other issues. I was a little miffed that GAs did not offer food vouchers. I was going to be home for dinner and now won't make it home until past 1030. Any thoughts on whether this is compensation eligible?

I have never heard of anyone giving free dinner becauser of mechanical issue with flight. Just be thankful flight was not cancelled.

So got delayed tonight on 635PM flight from ABQ to PHX due to mechanical issues. Got bumped to 940PM flight. Other than getting in 3 hours late no other issues. I was a little miffed that GAs did not offer food vouchers. I was going to be home for dinner and now won't make it home until past 1030. Any thoughts on whether this is compensation eligible?

yeah...you're due nothing. Just be thankful you didn't have to overnight in ABQ

Flight @ 635pm was cancelled. Rebooked on 940pm flight and was told before boarding that their was a mechanical issue with the 2nd plane. Now scheduled to take off at 1100pm.

I have heard of airlines giving food vouchers. I'm not sure in what conditions that they do. I would figure a delay or cancel requiring passenger to be delayed a certain amount of time would put that policy into effect. 3 hours does seem long to me.

Almost had to stay the night here but luckily the mechanic found the clamp that was needed for the 2nd plane. It's not like I'm that mad just happened to have some bad luck. Would be nice for US Airways to show me some love for the inconvenience though. Just a thought.

Some of the airlines (US included and I think they might have been the first to enact) have stopped giving meal vouchers except when your flight was originally going to have a meal. It's another cost-cutting measure--- why pay however much for 150 people's meal vouchers when only 12 of them were going to be fed on the plane anyway--- not one I am a big fan of TBH but the whole industry is constantly chipping away at things that cost money and don't generate revenue.

So got delayed tonight on 635PM flight from ABQ to PHX due to mechanical issues. Got bumped to 940PM flight. Other than getting in 3 hours late no other issues. I was a little miffed that GAs did not offer food vouchers. I was going to be home for dinner and now won't make it home until past 1030. Any thoughts on whether this is compensation eligible?

Generally "bumped" means you were denied boarding - either involuntary (IDB) or voluntary (VDB). I assume that you were not bumped, but rather took the 9:40pm flight rather than waiting for the 6:35 pm flight to leave (it was not cancelled, it departed late at 12:06am).

Regardless, meal vouchers are almost never offered but can sometimes be had if requested. I got one on a several hour delay at CLT a few months ago. The flight was scheduled at 4pm but didn't leave until 7pm, so a meal was missed. My voucher was, as I recall, $8.00. You didn't miss much by not getting a voucher.

Generally "bumped" means you were denied boarding - either involuntary (IDB) or voluntary (VDB). I assume that you were not bumped, but rather took the 9:40pm flight rather than waiting for the 6:35 pm flight to leave (it was not cancelled, it departed late at 12:06am).

Regardless, meal vouchers are almost never offered but can sometimes be had if requested. I got one on a several hour delay at CLT a few months ago. The flight was scheduled at 4pm but didn't leave until 7pm, so a meal was missed. My voucher was, as I recall, $8.00. You didn't miss much by not getting a voucher.

You are correct in regards to my incorrect usage of the term "bumped". US moved most of us on the 6:35pm flight to the 9:40pm flight. The GA told us that the 6:35pm flight had been cancelled not delayed so it is surprising to me that it left at 12:06am. It had an issue with the tire that they said would take several hours to fix. Honestly just sounds like semantics when a plane leave 6 hours late with none of its original passengers and you call it "delayed" and not "cancelled". I'm not worried over $8.00 just was my point that it would have been a nice gesture considering the GAs can realize that a flight is now delayed over 3 hours and it is around dinner time.

The 9:40pm flight also ended up having a mechanical delay so we didn't leave until around 10:20pm.

I've watched the TV show "Airline" featuring Southwest Airlines, and they show the GA giving food vouchers to certain passengers. Southwest doesn't serve meals, but they give out the meal vouchers.

"Airline" stopped filming in 2005 and while I'm not sure what Southwest does these days, it's pretty safe to say that airlines in general were more generous with amenities during the flights, compensation when things went wrong, and low-fee/fee-free optional services back then than they are now. On the few episodes of the new reality show about Southwest I've watched (I forget its name but it came out this year), people seem to be shouting pretty loudly to get a meal voucher when they get stuck overnight, but a reality show is poor basis for determining a company's official policy I suppose.

I'm not saying it's right for the GA's to not be able to make these gestures--- really in the interest of good customer service, offering to treat someone to coffee or a quick bite while they're delayed can come back to you in the form of customer loyalty--- just saying that overall the industry as a whole here in the US is chipping away at these things as fast as they can.

You may want to think about sending a polite email to Customer Service and they may be able to send you a $$s off voucher that can be used on a future flight. It is at the discretion of customer service.

Hope this helps you. If you send an email and get a response, please post here so others are aware of this route.

Thanks

You may want to think about sending a polite email to Customer Service and they may be able to send you a $$s off voucher that can be used on a future flight. It is at the discretion of customer service.

Hope this helps you. If you send an email and get a response, please post here so others are aware of this route.

Thanks

This is a good point. There are OFTEN cases where discretion of the individual is involved.

One thing . . . don't act like you are entitled to anything (even if you feel you are). Appeal to the CS agent's sense of fairness, preferably, in a low tone of voice so only you and the CS rep can hear (or else everyone in line started demanding the same thing you received). I'm telling you this works far more often that it fails for getting more resolution to the situation.

I think it is just human nature to reason (in this case, give you a food voucher) to someone who politely asks rather than expects or demands "compensation". This is especially true face-to-face.

I wrote in this forum about a CS experience where the customer in front of me "flipped". Maybe that is an extreme case, I have other examples not to bore you with, but my first interaction with the CS rep was empathizing with what she just dealt with, then asking politely for what I wanted, "I am looking to get the next flight to Denver and accommodations for the night."

Not a demand, a request. Sure, it won't work every time. I know. I think it just sets the right tone for success. A "Wow, I'm sure it has been a rough day with all the cancellations" . . . something like that, just helps remove the sometimes adversarial atmosphere with CS reps at airports. Good luck!