MilesBuzz! - which airlines are paying for hotels due to weather ?

Last week, I was stuck in PIT <missed connection> due to weather delays, and US Airways picked-up the tab for hotel room and meals. I was surprised. Well, actually, they picked-up the first $45 of my stay at the Pittsburgh Hilton, plus meals.

A business aquaintance was stuck in Rochester, NY for four days due to weather, and North West paid for the entire stay (not like it was a vacation, mind you).

Two weeks earlier, I was stuck in ORD <missed connection> due to air traffic control delays. United said, 'sorry, not our fault.'

I am curious what experience others have had with which airlines, since the carrier is not required to pay.

John

I got stuck in Atlanta about ten days ago. Delta and its ASA Delta Connection partner were not willing to pay for hotel expenses etc. because it was a weather-caused cancellation.

Lufthansa gave me DM500 to spend (worth about US$300 at the time) and paid for all my meals and a room in the Frankfurt Airport Hilton due to a missed connection about 2 years ago. I was also given 5000 bonus Miles and More miles and upgrated to Business Class on my flight the next day (all seats in economy class were sold out).

UA is very picky. They will generally pay for meals ($10) for anyone who asks, but hotels for weather they give to 1K's only (unless you really, really complain).

Also, for UA the RCC is much better at giving these things out than the regular Service counter.

Best of luck.

UA did NOT pay for my hotel at DFW when I was stranded earlier this month. I asked and the sour gate agent said "there's nothing free in life."

So I booked it myself. Maybe if I was an RCC
member I would have received a break.

The price of the Hyatt did not break the bank so rather than fight I cna pay a few bucks.
CATMAN

FYI -- I keep a pink coupon I got from a UA Customer Service Agent, with a toll free number, 800-935-5995, and Airport Accommodations will book a nice room at a decent price an most any airport.

In Chicago, that usually means the OHare Hilton for $90, or the Marriott Suites OHare for $69, and a host of other lesser hotels for $49 to $69.

Just tell them you have a "pink coupon."

John

I have no luck with AA and have been stuck a few times. Normally by the time I'm stuck, the Admiral's Club is long closed.

My experiences over the past ten years have shown Northwest to pick up the hotel tab without any discussion and United telling you to go sleep in the terminal.

Delta has always paid for a hotel and given me food vouchers when my flight was cancelled due to weather.
The only thing American has ever offered was a banket and pillow to be used in the terminal.

thats funny MA, I was stuck with NW couple months ago and they told me to @$%& off while UA picked up the tab for all passengers on both UA-1 & UA-2 in London, Hong Kong & Delhi when those flights have been delayed daily for almost the past 4 weeks due to fog. Delhi airport has been closed at night and both those flight are running 12 hours late consistently. UA has got to fix the Round the World problems since it throws the whole system out of whack. They have to delay their flights such that the 2 can coordinate their arrival and departures while the other airlines continue to operate since they have no other dependencies. We were delayed over 15 hours both ways. UA is going to hear about it and pay.....

Delta put me up and paid for meals when fog caused the cancellation of my flight into Austin in December. They put up the entire planeload and did it well, given the confusion, frustration, etc. of the passengers

I forgot to mention that while Delta sent us to the Sheraton at DFW and gave us $10 food vouchers for supper, the Sheraton would only let us have a hamburger or sandwich that cost about $5 and not honor the full $10 value of the voucher. Would not let me order anything other than the sandwich--couldn't apply the voucher towards any other menu item. Clearly got ripped off, but at 11 pm, there was no other option.

Last summer I missed a connection in Houston, flying on to Austin. It was due to bad weather in Cleveland. I was flying CLE-IAH-AUS. When I finally made it to Houston, I asked the Continental rep about hotels and was informed "We already have you booked at a hotel, there will be a shuttle van here in about 15 minutes, and we have you reticketed on the first flight out in the morning". I was impressed.

Another time I was flying new york to detroit on US AIR, flight was delayed 3 hrs due to bad weather. When I arrived in Detroit it was too late for the shuttle services to hotels in Auburn Hills. US Air gave me a voucher for taxi(about $60).
I was happy.

TWA never did anything for me for delays,
of course I don't fly them anymore, so I
don't care what they do :)

2 years ago I was stuck in LAX, weather related, American Airlines did get me a discount on a hotel(I think I paid $39 bucks). Not too bad.

my DINERS Club card (swiss version), pays, if the ticket has been charged to Diners, a maximum of SFR 400 ($250) for ANY (hotel, meals, rerouting) costs arising because of a flight-delay of 4 hours or more (they cover only costs that are not covered by the airline).

When I was fogged in in SFO under a month ago, The Continental agents (both at the public counter and in the presidents club) said that they do not give meal vouchers for weather problems (or problems they did not cause).

I think it's really a matter of scale. Are they being asked to pay for a delayed plane, or an entire closed airport? The smaller the number of flyers effected by the problem, the more they're willing to spend.

Dave

I think NJDavid is on to something here. Maybe the airlines are much more willing to put one up if it is an isolated problem than they are when weather shuts down whole regions, stranding thousands of people.

To reply to JGill's post, I've had pretty good luck getting hotels, transportation, and meal vouchers with both Northwest and Delta. Once last year, Northwest even gave me 7500 FF miles for my inconvenience (even though it was a weather delay).

>>> I think NJDavid is on to something here. Maybe the airlines are much more willing to put one up if it is an isolated problem than they are when weather shuts down whole regions, stranding thousands of people.

Actually my experiece and the experience of my friend is just the opposite. Last week, delays at airports from Chicago to Detriot to Buffalo to Pittsburgh crippled the enitire air transportation system .

NW and US were faced with thousands of people and hundreds of missed connections, cancelled flights, etc. In the face of this shut-down, US and NW wrote script like crazy - no questions asked.

It has been the isolated missed connections at UA which I have not been given much consideration.

My only (knock on wood) experience in this area was on an Air Jamacia (soon-come airlines) that was delayed in Montego Bay for about 8 hours waiting for a part for the door. We got into ATL at about midnight, and the BA agents working the flight were very kind and sympathetic and put us up in a comfort inn for no charge. But then they insisted on booking us on the 6am Delta flight to DCA. At least the kept our checked bags (which, despite our fears arrived on our flight along with us the next day).

What irked me was that the lady with the funny little hat told me, "Your room is compliments of Air Jamacia. This happens about three times a week so we're used to dealing with it."

Like I said, "Soon-come airlines

That's interesting that U-A is paying 90 dollars for the O'Hare Hilton when HHonors quoted me 79 dollars. I guess the airlines get a special rate (But I guess if an airline books a room YOU DON"T earn frequent guest points.)

What I try to do before traveling is watch the Weather Channel (or if not available reading the weather section of USA Today.) If it sounds or reads like bad weather I trust my gut instinct and book. (I can always cancel -- like I did with Hilton O'Hare when I got stranded at DFW.)

It's nice when airlines go out of their way
to give us room/meal coupons. But I don't
want to wait for "Sorry, you can sleep in the airport and starve." So I make my "backup"
arrangements. CATMAN

catman, the difference is that the HHonors rate is not a "last room" rate--essentially that rate is capacity controlled just like the airlines. The $90 rate is probably a "last room" rate that can be booked (through that service) up to the last room in the hotel. You might be able to beat the $90 rate, but not on a routine basis

isn't the $79 rate the weekend rate at ORD's Hilton?

at Marriott you get (at least with the Marriott Miles program) the 500 (plus 2'500 per 5 stays) mileage credit for any rate (even for the airline's rate).

At O'Hare Hilton, the $90 rate is quoted by "Airline Accomodations" and is similar to the Hilton Bounce-Back rate: You earn 500 HHonors points (plus VIP bonus, if applicable) and are credited with one stay and one night, but you do not accrue double-dip miles. Also, room charges do not accrue points.

In Pittsburgh, however, I got an $89 rate, and got the whole enchilada -- 890 points, plus room charges, 250 point airline bonus, Gold VIP bonus, and 500 miles, along with an upgraded Tower room, and US AIr happened to pay $45 toward the room. Not bad.

The HHonors program specifies that double-dip is available for "business class rates." It all depends on how the hotel classifies your room. For example, in ORD, the Hilton gave me the option of paying $90 no-frills, or $149 with double-dip status. It was not worth $50. <g>.

John