Originally Posted by
channa
Interim expenses should be covered, period. When people are on vacation, out of town, or whatever, they have to buy interim items, often of lesser quality than they typically use/wear, and at a premium to what they would typically pay (can't wait for the sale, don't know where stores are, don't have time to shop around, Walgreens is the only thing nearby, whatever). The customer should not have to eat that.
What does the CoC say? Assuming covering these interim expenses isn't required under the CoC, I think Channa is simply arguing what seems fair or makes sense. In reality, Continental (and most airlines) are simply shifting the burden of "covering" this type of situation to the passenger, and presumably lowering their costs as a result. May or many not make good business sense or be pro-consumer, but in the end I'm not sure it's "unfair."
By way of comparison, airlines could cover disruptions based on weather. But they don't (thus passing that cost onto consumers), but for the most part nobody seems to think it's unfair. It's accepted that for your $X fare, delays due to weather aren't covered.