Originally Posted by dcpatti

Going higher up the ladder isn't going to get your complaint anywhere; the rules in the contract of carriage pretty much let the carrier out of any obligation during weather-related issues, and even if you didn't read them, you agreed to those rules when you made your ticket purchase. Here in the States, there's nothing expected from the airlines when it is a weather delay/cancellation (and there has been some severe weather in Chicagoland the last few days). The best you can hope for is a discounted hotel rate and/or a small meal voucher but they're not required to give those to you. If there's another weather cancellation tomorrow, then your relative will be paying for a second night of hotel at ORD. And given how full flights are these days, and the extent of the weather issues lately, I'm actually surprised that they actually have an empty seat on tomorrow's flight. Count your blessings even if it feels like you don't have any right now: some people will probably be waiting 2-3 days to get home.

In the EU, the carrier's obligation to the passenger does indeed cover hotel/meals even when the cancellation is weather-related; however, in last year's volcano issues, which dragged on for many days, the airlines lost millions paying that compensation. Given the thin margins on which airlines operate, I'd imagine they are lobbying very hard against such legislation being passed in the US.