This sentence, IMO, is the worst. When the delay is controllable and overnight, that means that it's UA's fault that a customer is stranded in a random city for a night, and seriously delayed, due to a UA business decision. When this happens, for UA to admit that it doesn't mean to "defray" the loss to the victim, i.e., it plans to profit specifically by shifting a loss to the victim passenger, that's really, really, bad. They may a well start canceling whole flights and "encouraging" all the pax to leave with a VDBFREE and no rebooking.

If there isn't a DOT policy on meals during overnight delays, there really should be. What UA is doing here is shameful.

Does anyone want to join me in sending a nastygram to 1Kvoice? If anyone is still reading that address.

I realize this isn't restricted to economy pax. What I'm confused about is why economy pax, who only are offered meals on longer flights, are upset about not getting the measely $15 anymore. It always seemed to me that the $15 was a bonus - certainly nothing I deserved as an economy pax.

Oh my...that's pretty sad...when you have the front line troops unable to mouth the same happy talk coming from the CEO.

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I've gotten multiple meal vouchers for overnight stays, i.e. dinner & breakfast. The total was over $30, but I can't recall exactly what.

Yow! Hold your horses, counselor! The $15 meal voucher for overnight stays is nothing new on United. Fer God's sake. It never traumatized anyone before, and it's not traumatizing anyone now. No need for a lawsuit. My goodness.

I can understand your question. I think part of it was to apologize for the inconvenience and help customers (are they still called that?) with the high cost of an airport meal where prices are much higher than eating your destination or at your home.

The only time I have received these is from VDB'ing and volunteering to downgrade to a lower cabin of service.

I think it is the theme of "take our financial woes out on the customer - it's their fault we're in this mess" that is frustrating and upsetting customers more than anything.

Of course, the airline industry has been very cyclical this way. I believe this too will pass. I'm just not sure United will be around for the next round, as I believe other cAAriers could survive their first bankruptcy reorganization better than United could survive a second.

I've gotten more on my last 2 overnights with UA. Not sure where your data is coming from....

Just an overnight at PIT where they gave me a $15 meal credit plus a night at the PIT Hyatt. The PIT Hyatt may also have given me a breakfast coupon that I didn't use but I can't remember for sure. At any rate, I was not traumatized by the experience.

Maybe the theme is more along the lines of "let's spend money where customers are going to notice, and quit wasting money where it matters less."

I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that most passengers with non-overnight delays withoin United's control never got meal vouchers in the past. Some proactive gate agents or complaining customers got them, but the majority of customers probably didn't. I've had my share of extended delays, and only got a meal voucher once, back in 2002 when a flight was delayed by one hour. See the inconsistency?

Bringing some consistency to the process seems to make sense, and quite frankly is the financially responsible thing to do.

Also - dumb question- does WN offer meal vouchers? Ever?

it will never happen-the courts (and esp the current scotus) would overturn it

and just whose fault is it that us is bleeding money? this is typical damage control by a company looking at ways to cut costs/save money*-look everywhere but the salary and other compensation of the big boys and girls

(*tho corporate will call it '"cost cutting measures" or something similar but a pig with lipstick.....)

i won't yell and yes, ua has every right to do this and no it's not because i'm out of work and am watching my finances but this is about customer service. if you are dis-serviced, the best way to keep a customer happy is to obviously fix the situation but also to "make the customer feel special"-i don't care if it's an u/g, a $15 meal voucher or helping grandma to the front of the security line. if you have the service, people will stay but if you nickel and dime under the name of "$142 dollars per barrel of oil", i say shame on you

On what basis would SCOTUS be able to overturn a federal passenger bill of rights? Other than Congress hypothetically passing some hypothetical legislation with some hypothetically anti-constitutional element, I don't think it necessarily so that a federal passenger bill of rights would make its way to SCOTUS or be undone by SCOTUS (or even lower courts).

On what grounds?

I said that it's irresponsible and shameful for UA to screw over customers by imposing controllable overnight delays on them, and then not even trying to reimburse the customers for their full loss, when the loss the customer suffered results from a deliberate business decision by UA.

I don't know where you got the lawsuit or "trauma" crap. Yes, I happen to be a law student, but please keep your ad hominem attacks to yourself, thank you.

just my humble opinion that if it got to that level, the current scotus (n.b. "current"*) would either refer the case back to the lower court or find a way to say that it infringed a hardship (or something similar) on the airlines-similar to what happened with the ny pax bor (but that was a state law overturned on the grounds that it was state trying to mandate something federal. do i want to see a pax bor, 100% yes but i don't think it will ever happen but on the oft chance that it does, it will be a disasster for pax as congress will find a way to screw it up (*and yes, i'm trying to avoid an omni-ish comment )

Well as you pointed out the NY law was killed because it was a state trying to interfere in something that is controlled at the federal level, if the US Congress passed the law it would be appropriate. Though I tend to agree with you that if they did pass something they would likely screw it up somehow.