CO63 departure (MAD-EWR)on Wednesday was delayed 2.5 hours because of the late arrival of CO62. As a result we missed our scheduled connection at EWR.
At check-in in MAD we were told CO62 (dep. 9/6) was delayed due to weather/ATC. However the crew on CO63 said the delay was "mechanical".
Just out of curiosity, is there a way to determine the real reason for the delay?

Could be both? It went mechanical, and then due to weather, there was ATC?

Are you *G? If so, does it matter? Reaccommodation shouldn't be any different if you're *G.

Actually we were paid BF customers.
After racing thru immigration & customs, the baggage re-check employee said the connecting flight was going to depart "on time" & we didn't have enough time to go from terminal B to C. So we were directed to the Customer Service desk.
Luckily the CO rep handling Elite/BF customers had no line compared to a very long line having formed for everyone else. At first the rep did her thing on the keyboard and said we would be accommodated on the next scheduled departure but that only BF one seat was available. (She also said the BF passenger having to ride coach would get a re-imbursement for the fare difference.)
However after a few more pounds on the keyboard she "found" that we already had been given seats up front, aisle seats in row one.
Don't know if it was a computer activated IRROPS re-accommodation or if the CSR in MAD had sent a fax after the flight had left late.
(As an aside, later after we had boarded, a fellow that had been upgraded into row 2 was told he'd have to go to the back since a late arriving passenger had been pre-assigned the seat.)

If you look in the CO customer service manual there is a section that defines delay causes.

It reads something like this:

1. Delays due to mechanical problems are caused by weather
2. Delays due to unavailable crew are caused by weather
3. Delays due to medical emergency are cause by weather
4. Delays to catering issues are caused by weather
5. Delays due maintenance problems are caused by weather
6. Delays due national security issues are caused by weather
7. Delays due to baggage problems are caused by weather
8. Delays due to weather are caused by weather

There, so that should clear things up...

Why are you assuming it's deliberate? Maybe there's a SHARES limitation of only one delay code.

Actually, I can't tell you, because SHARES is currently down due to...weather

Well played! You have no idea how true that is. I regularly investigate the delay codes assigned to flights I operate to find that they're incorrect. Often, they're grossly incorrect.

Interesting. Another case of IRROPS being handled pretty well. Also interesting that, as usual, not even an acknowledgement by the peanut gallery.

OP: I'm very happy you received the type of service most of us are accustomed to receiving. Unfortunately, based on some of the reports in this forum, there appears to be a handful of pax that always seem to experience something different. It's a bit of a mystery.

Out of curiosity, who / where / when puts in those codes ?

Our ops people or in some stations the load planner inputs the delays but they are advised by maintinance people or others.

Anyone have a serious reply?

I can't think of a way to know the real reason other than to look at the ACARS communicae.

My response was completely serious...

It is obviously an accepted principle of contract law that parties are not liable in cases of acts of God, weather being a clear example of such (unless, of course, you're an atheist...)

Some airlines are more generous than CO during IrrOps, citing causes, such as mechanical malfunction, which oblige them to provide compensation such as lodging and meals.

CO, on the other hand, appears to have a corporate policy of blaming virtual any IrrOps on the weather.

Of course, the savvy traveler can fairly easily spot the unlikeliness of weather as the almost ubiquitous cause for CO's IrrOps.

Then again...

The thing about weather, is that it's not just clear-cut incidents such as hurricane Irene. When you run an airline, weather is to a large extent a judgement call.

So that's the beauty.

You arrive at the airport on a beautiful sunny day without any wind and you discover that your flight is cancelled. As a a bit of a Type A personality, you check the weather at your destination and en route, and all looks totally pristine. You also notice that all the other airlines are flying without incident.

But the fact is, it doesn't matter. CO could convincingly claim that, according to its judgement, the weather merited a cancellation.

So even if the truth is CO didn't operate because an engine broke down, or simply because there weren't enough passengers for the airline to make a reasonable take on the flight, they can always sit there and tell you that, in their best judgement, the weather was the cause.

Again, other airlines, seem to appreciate that, faced with this "stretching" of the truth, passengers become disgusted and take their business elsewhere.

But, at least until now, that has not been the case at CO. Perhaps it's because of their so-called fortress hub at IAH, and their near monopoly at EWR, meaning that most of their customers really just don't have a choice anyway.

After 330,000 mi of flying CO, I've only had 1 flight ever blamed on WX & it truly was due to the Northern Texas thunderstorm, so I really don't see what you see but ok.

The real question is have you ever had an IrrOps on CO that was blamed on causes other than weather?