This happened to a good friend of mine. I have spent over an hour editing to get this as brief and factual as possible. She doesn't know what to do, but I feel like she's likely due SOME compensation from United. I am hoping for your expert feedback.

Keep in mind this was her first time in Asia, and she's not an expert flyer like you all.

--------- Her narrative -----

1. On 9/12/16 on United.com, I booked a flight from San Francisco to Bangkok via Shanghai:
Dec 30, UA857 SFO-PVG departing 1:20pm arrive 6:45pm
Dec 30, HO1317 (Juneyao Airlines) PVG-BKK departing 10:20pm arriving 1:40am on Dec 31.
This gave me a 3:45 layover in Shanghai.

2. On 11/15/16, United emailed me a reservation change to an earlier flight out of PVG (8:35pm), leaving me just a 1:50 layover. I was not able to check in for the Juneyao flight; I was told to do so when I arrived in PVG.

3. On Dec 30, my flight to Shanghai was late, leaving me just a 1-hour layover. EDIT: I asked my friend for clarification on this. She says the flight was only a little late for reasons unknown, but that "another plane was docked in their spot and they had to be shuttled in" which caused a long delay in getting off the plane.

4. I ran and arrived to the Juneyao Airlines counter at 7:40pm, 55 minutes before departure for the 8:35pm flight.

5. I gave the counter agent my passport and receipt for flight HO1317. He walked away with my passport, returned several minutes later, and said the counter closes 50min before the flight leaves, I was too late to get a boarding pass, and I had missed my flight. I told him I was there on time, but he took so long in the back room that I had missed the window to check in. He got his manager who confirmed the flight would be leaving without me.

6. The manager told me that the next flight was 12/31 (the next day) at 12:00pm. I asked if there was anything earlier, “No.” She told me I had a seat on the flight, gave me an official Juneyao document with the flight number and her name on it. She told me to return to the Juneyao counter at 9:00am the next day. She said she’d speak to the morning manager so they’d know my name and situation.

7. With nowhere to go and stranded in PVG, I found the United counter at the airport and asked if they could do anything for me, like a hotel; they refused. They also said there were no other flights (which was incorrect). Hours later, I returned to the United counter to ask again, and another traveler (an American living in Shanghai) saw I was in distress and not being helped. She convinced the counter agents to give me a voucher for an airport hotel.

8. The helpful traveler also called United for me. United phone agents confirmed I would be on the 12:00pm Shanghai Airlines/China Eastern Flight 833/9833 the next day. (I later discovered there was a Thai Air flight at 8:10am I was not told about.)

9. I went to the hotel, returned the next morning, and went to the Shanghai Airlines counter. The agent said I was on standby. I told him my ticket had been confirmed by United and that the Juneyao manager said yesterday that I had a seat, not standby. He said to return at 11:10am to find out if I was on the flight. He also had me on standby for another flight at 1:50pm, but said it was unlikely that I would make either of them.

10. I called United and a helpful agent, Tammy, said she didn’t know why I hadn’t been put on the Thai Airways flight at 8:10am. She also stated that my ticket for the 12:00pm Shanghai Airlines flight was confirmed, she didn’t know why I didn’t have a seat, but there was nothing she could do.

11. Eventually, she was able to book me on Thai Air TG665 at 5:20pm. If I didn’t make the standby Shanghai Airlines flights, she told me to call back to confirm this flight with her.

12. At 11:10am, I returned to the Shanghai Airlines counter. The agent told me there were no standby seats available on this flight, even though I heard him tell the woman right in front of me that there were! He also said I didn’t have a seat on the next flight. When I stated that I had a ticket for the 12:00pm flight again, he stood up, waved his hand in my face, and shouted “Not my problem” repeatedly.

13. So, I called United to confirm the 5:20pm TG665 flight. The agent stated that she could not assign me a seat and to get one from Thai Air. I sat, waiting, in the empty Thai Air line for hours (their counter doesn’t open until 2 hours before departure) to finally get a seat assignment. Nerves were shot.

14. I landed in BKK at 10pm on 12/31/16, 20 hours after my original arrival time.

15. I later discovered there were several other earlier flights from PVG-BKK (at least 5 by my count).

QUESTIONS
What should she ask for from United? What might she be due?
Basically, she arrived 20 hours late to her destination through no fault of her own.
She probably should have dealt directly with United by phone for everything, and not Shanghai Air or Juneyao Air, but she didn't know not to trust anyone else.
Any advice for her?
Thank you!!