Compensation for 5 hour delay?
Mar 30, 2019, 12:28 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: AA PLT; UA PLT
Posts: 120
Compensation for 5 hour delay?
My partner and I flew Avianca CUS-LIM-SAL-IAD yesterday in Business (through redeemed Lifemiles, if it matters), and upon arrival in LIM got a notification that our SAL-IAD flight was going to be 4 hours late. I tried the call center and the transfer desk in LIM to look into alternate routings, and the response was basically, "it's only 4 hours--we're not going to bother looking for alternatives." I don't have a problem with that since it was a fairly mild annoyance, but I wonder if anyone has had luck getting compensation (either Lifemiles or a voucher) for long delays, and if so, how much to ask for. I recently got a $125 voucher from United for a 2.5 hour delay while in international business (they offered this proactively).
The only compensation they suggested in SAL was $7 food vouchers, which we didn't take because we had access to the Sala VIP (we probably should have, since the lounge seems to stop putting any food at all out between 3 and 5:30, though they do have generous liquid lunch...). We ultimately ended up departing 5 hours late and got home after 3am. This wasn't a huge deal, but it made for a very long day since the flight from CUS was at 5:30am.
It was our first time on Avianca, and business class was fine (old angled seats on the A330 from LIM were pretty comfortable), though the value was pretty good considering the fairly low amount of miles used for it! I'll write Avianca regardless and expect nothing, but thanks for any input!
The only compensation they suggested in SAL was $7 food vouchers, which we didn't take because we had access to the Sala VIP (we probably should have, since the lounge seems to stop putting any food at all out between 3 and 5:30, though they do have generous liquid lunch...). We ultimately ended up departing 5 hours late and got home after 3am. This wasn't a huge deal, but it made for a very long day since the flight from CUS was at 5:30am.
It was our first time on Avianca, and business class was fine (old angled seats on the A330 from LIM were pretty comfortable), though the value was pretty good considering the fairly low amount of miles used for it! I'll write Avianca regardless and expect nothing, but thanks for any input!
Mar 30, 2019, 1:38 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2014
Programs: AA PLT; UA PLT
Posts: 120
Thanks! This was the distinct impression I got based on interactions with the call center and staff at both LIM and SAL. At least I'll always have the memories of the bottle of Johnnie Walker we crushed over 4 hours in a lounge with no food
Mar 30, 2019, 2:13 pm
#4
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Hopefully this does not happen again, but if it does, never call and ask for alternatives. Do the research and then ask for the specific reroute. You are much more likely to get what you specifically ask for.
In this case, unlikely that there was an alternative which would have put you in IAD any sooner (and more likely, later).
In this case, unlikely that there was an alternative which would have put you in IAD any sooner (and more likely, later).