Originally Posted by flyerguy99

My wife just got screwed -- no "flat tire" rule was granted. Due to a problem with the rental car that left her sitting on the side of the road for 90 minutes, she arrived at the counter 25 minutes before departure. She had not been able to check in online due to having a mix of carriers on the intinerary. Note that it was a very dead time of day at the airport, so she actually could have made it from the counter to the gate before the door closed.

They told her they'd given away her seat and canceled her ticket when she hadn't checked in at 30 minutes. No standby, only option was a new ticket for a later flight at over $1000. She found something for $500 on a different carrier and so is taking that, but she got not even a hint of sympathy for the situation at the UA airport counter, just tough luck, pay up.

At the least we'll follow up with the rental company, it wasn't bad luck, it was negligence at a level of putting water in the gas tank or leaving the oil drain plug out. I don't think we can get them to cover the ticket but I at least want their rental fee back. Pretty angry about that.