That's exactly the sentiment I believe would have been avoided with a more customer-oriented airline such BA. CO clearly doesn't understand that people interline and the potential delays associated with it. If it weren't for the interline, the original poster would not have made this trip on CO. In fact, one could argue that CO should be more lenient than most in this regard because its European network is much weaker than others, creating a greater need to interline to another carrier.

If CO is going to so strictly adhere to their rules and policies in this type of circumstance, the buyer should beware of buying interline tickets involving CO. After this thread, I would never again consider flying CO to Hawaii and AQ interisland as I've done in the past. Last thing I want is for CO to throw the book at me if AQ is delayed.

I see this situation similar to a banking error. Say your utility charges $40 for a bad check, and your bank screws up a transaction, resulting in your check not clearing. While the utility would be perfectly within its rights to assess the fee, and the bank would be within its rights to say it's not responsible for the $40, as a courtesy to the customer and the bank, I couldn't imagine the utility not waiving the fee in this type of circumstance if it's a bona fide bank error.