I've always suspected something like this exists, at least in the Geneva version of the travel contracts but have never really seen it in the US. A recent mail from shuttle express (the airport van guys) highlighted something I think is worth spending a few minutes to provide feedback.
>>>> Travel Hints & Alerts <<<<
Summer is the busy travel season when more seat bumping occurs. Why? In
order to keep prices competitive, airlines are allowed to overbook seats because there are always passengers who book and don’t show up.
It’s important to know your options when you find yourself in this situation. And try to remember, it really isn’t the fault of the agents behind the desk. They usually work very hard to get volunteers (an opportunity for free travel) and to reschedule passengers with the best options.
On domestic flights, the airline has to reschedule you to arrive within two hours or your original flight and refund your ticket cost up to $200. If more than 2 hours, the refund amount doubles. For international flights the time limit is 4 hours.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation is currently considering changes to these rules and seeking public input until Sept. 10, 2007; your opinion can be heard by going to http://dms.dot.gov/ (docket number OST-2001-9325-1). The docket number should be just 9325 and if you got that far, you'll see a long list of comments already submitted. In just the first half of 2007, I've had at least 4 delays that exceeded 2 hours because of problems with the plane and/or crew, not weather or ATC. At least one delay exceeded 4 hours. That's not just pocket change anymore. Anybody got more than a meal and/or hotel voucher from delays?