This reminds me of when I worked with the public. When something would go awry, especially on a large scale. We'd give them options and explain the situation. Then certain people would complain that they wasted 2-4 hours on the phone, doing something that was no part of what we told them to do. They wanted action and NOW, but sometimes it doesn't work that way.

I'm sorry for your friend, this sounds like a real unfortunate scenario. There is no chance in hell I'd wait in a line for 10 hours. I'd be on my phone within minutes, figuring something else out. It sounds like a lot of this could have been avoided if he hadn't been trying to explore the same option that hundreds of other people were trying. I'd have booked a new flight with a new carrier and figured out the rest later. United refund, boss refund, credit card refund, etc. someone would have reimbursed me. I know someone will immediately hit me with ol' reliable: "WHAT IF THEY DON'T HAVE MONEY?" Well then, case in point, here is a lesson why you carry a credit card.