Long post - sorry....

My sister and her husband were flying to BKK on DL today. They took DL 173, JFK-NRT, for their first leg. These were paid tickets (about $1200 each) in coach class.

Apparently, a door wasn't shut properly and the 747 had to dump its fuel before being diverted to DTW (my brother-in-law actually got a picture of this from his window seat and posted it on his Facebook page).

They were scheduled to arrive in BKK around 11pm and have a 630am booked on Bangkok Airways to USM (separate ticket).

DL initially refused to put them on the DTW-(DL)-HND-(TG)-BKK flight (that had seats left when they called me from DTW as soon as they landed - and would have allowed them to make their 6:30am connection to USM) and told them they were out of luck and would be put up at an area hotel (not even the Westin at DTW).

I spoke to them, saw availability, and suggested they invoke Rule 240 on DL as this was essentially a mechanical delay.

The DL agents at DTW refused them several times and told them there was no availability - even though there clearly was on ExpertFlyer and on DL.com

They later found out other coach class (non-elite) members, whose final destinations were Tokyo, were booked on these flights - AFTER they had already been told no availability. My assumption is that DL didn't want to put them on the TG flight (which also had plenty of availability) and wanted to hold those seats for non-stop passengers vs. connection passengers since it was on their own metal.

There was also availability through PEK with a connection to BKK on China Airlines - however, the agents at DTW told them that would not be possible as they would need a visa to go through China (they would just be connecting, not even leaving the airport - I dont believe this agent was telling truth and told them that).

I found availability through AMS, CDG, and LHR, that would get them there (they'd likely miss the 6:30am flight, but could potentially fly standby on the USM flight - or pay a change fee.

They tried getting on those flights, but the DL agents said since their return was BKK-NRT-JFK, that if they were to be flown DTW-AMS/CDG/LHR-BKK that it would change their ticket to RTW ticket - which was against the fare rules, so the agents wouldn't do it. (Is this true? It's irregular ops - none of that should matter, IMHO)

With me talking to my brother-in-law who was talking to my sister who was talking to the agent at the airport, I was finally able to convince them, through my brother-in-law through my sister (almost to the point where it was too late to make the flight) to force them onto a DTW-PEK-BKK flight due to the fact that they were 1) violating their own contract of carriage as other carriers had availability and 2) since it was irregular ops, they should be able to force sell a ticket and have them call the fare desk to do it if they couldn't figure it out on their own and 3) no visa is required for a transit of less than 24 hours in PEK.

My sister and her husband ended up making a flight to BKK - however, they will be doing it without their luggage (as DL said it was locked up & they couldn't pull the bags - even though there was several hours between the time they landed in DTW & the time the AMS flight was leaving.

They were basically backpacking this trip for almost 3 weeks in Thailand and although they had plane tickets purchased, do not have their lodging confirmed (they were planning on finding something when they got to USM for a night - which is very simple to do as I've done it every time I've been to Thailand - and then were heading to Koh Phangnan, which doesn't have an airport, but has a ferry from USM). They do have confirmed lodging in KP, but it's only for 3 days or so, I believe - and given that they are showing up a day late, it seems very unlikely that DL will be able to get their luggage to them (especially since I imagine it'll take a good while to get it from BKK to USM to KP and find the bungalow places they are staying).

Any suggestions on the following:

1) How to deal with the luggage issues? They'll be transiting through BKK after about 5 days or so on the way to Cambodia, I believe. But if the luggage is held at BKK, will they have issues getting it back easily? Is that the best option? It seems risky to attempt to have the luggage delivered to Koh Phangnan.

2) DL said they would not compensate for the change fees or missed flights for USM (which I understand and believe to be correct as it was booked as a separate ticket). However, what kind of compensation should my sister and her husband request? The thing that's annoying about this is that there were definitely seats available through HND to BKK on DL/TG flights and the agents refused them even though per contract of carriage, they should have offered them.

Other people who they were sitting next to on the plane were able to be confirmed on the HND flight - while seats still existed, even after my sister and her husband tried (and they were not people that were automatically protected by DL or statused members - just regular travelers) and were told no availability for them. This is now going to cost them 1) money for a changed USM flight 2) the cost of not having luggage/clothes/etc until they get their luggage back (assuming they get it back), etc.

3) Apparently their credit card (Citibank AA Visa) won't cover days without luggage unless the luggage is officially lost. Delayed or misdirected luggage isn't covered. Does DL have any financial obligation on assisting them on the days that they don't have luggage (i.e. they'll need toiletries, sunscreen, swimwear, underwear, and additional clothing they'll need to buy there)?

Thanks in advance! I used to be a NW Plat before the merger and sort of jumped ship after 1 year as DL Plat and am not familiar with DL's policies or viewpoints on these kinds of things.