With the standard legal disclaimer that while I am an attorney I am not your attorney and am not offering you legal advice, my $.02 would be that there isn't much of a lawsuit here nor is <$1K worth fighting over in small claims court against a huge corporation. It'll be much more hassle than it is worth to you. I would suggest, if you want to go the legal battle route, to hire a firm or ask an attorney friend for a favor to write a nasty, legalise letter to the airline, outlining your damages and everything you have written here. You'll likely get a satisfactory result, and, if your attorney friends (assuming you know a few) are anything like mine have trained me to be, you will get a free result (court fees and attorneys' fees can really add up to much more than what you are fighting about.) Good luck!