TheFlyingMan

Sitting on tarmac currently at DCA - all flights westbound delayed due to midwest weather. i am at this point fairly confident that even if time made up in the air, i will miss my connecting flight to LGB (flying US), which is the last of the day

Most likely, US will offer to fly me to LAX. couple of logistical questions -

1) I have a week rental at LGB with Hertz. i already priced a new reservation from LAX (over 150 bucks more expensive). what do people typically do in this case? shuttling from LAX to LGB not an option as LGB rental car closes after last flight.

2) What will happen to bags? will they still get routed to LGB or re-routed to LAX?

Adam1222

if you call Hertz, they will change the rental for you, likely without any one way charge. as for the bags, ask. it depends on time.

jrl767

if tonight's hotel is near LGB, see if US will cover transportation to the hotel; Hertz will generally honor your reservation for up to 24 hrs so you can collect the car in the morning

TheFlyingMan

As an update to this...

I arrived at the alternate airport. Called Hertz on phone and she created a new reservation from alternative airport, though $300 more (it was a week rental). I said I wanted my original rate honored and she said she would call alternate airport and see if the manager was there - she then came back and said she couldn't reach manager, she just got voicemail, and to just head to the Hertz. She also told me to call back customer service and they would give me a discount (I started doubting her at this point).

Went to counter, Gold pushed me across to see a manger in regular line because I was pissed when he said "If you aren't happy with what they created, we can call a cab for you."

"Manager" created a one-way reservation for $100 to get to the alternate airport the next day, and created a new reservation, at same rate, for the next day for a week. They were NOT willing to honor the week rental at one rate.

SO, question - am I entitled to anything from either Hertz or US Airways? Is there any chance of getting anything as a courtesy (Gold with Hertz and Silver with US). Granted this was a weather issue, though weather was OK at origin/destination, weather in middle of country did not allow flight to take off. But, I did get routed to an alternate airport and dealt with this disaster...

Tchiowa

Airlines aren't responsible for delays due to weather. They got you close to your destination as per the terms of your contract with them. Could Hertz have been nicer? Yes. But, again, they are within their legal rights.

Chalk this one up to learning what travel is all about.

Adam1222

I don't think this counts as a disaster.
You could have insisted on the next flight to LGB, which may have required you to spend the night at your own expense at your point of origin.

Another lesson is to try not to get "pissed", particularly when Hertz had no responsibility for your situation. Once you get visibly pissed, you decrease your likelihood of getting them to bend the rules.

PLeblond

When you accepted to de routed to an alternate airport, you accepted the consequences of that change. I assume you had the choice to travel to your original destination but didn't want to overnight in the connecting city?

ryanbryan

"close to your destination" isn't part of the terms of the contract. They are supposed to get you to the airport you booked to.

Having said that, there was no point getting p!ssed with Hertz - definitely not their problem and anything they might be able to offer you is nothing more than a goodwill gesture on their part. You should have attempted to get the airline to cover the difference, and maybe you still can. My experience is that you will be offered nothing unless you ask for it.

beachmouse

Yeah. The airline should offer to provide ground transportation to your final destination, even if it's a weather delay. (I live in an area with The Airport Fogs every winter, and that kind of rerouting by charter bus or taxi voucher happens on a predictable basis.) That any ground transportation would get you to the scheduled final destination after the rental car desk closes is not the airline's fault and Hertz doesn't have any real obligation to cut you a deal.

So call it an unfortunate event and go onward.

Tchiowa

Actually if you look at the Contract of Carriage, it is.



http://www.united.com/web/format/pdf...f_Carriage.pdf

Annalisa12

Ask the "doomsday planner" what he'd do (from another post). He'd probably have a plethora of advice for you!!!

FlyDeltaJets87

Well, the airline would have gotten OP to the destination booked to if the OP was willing to accept a flight to LGB the following day. If the airline forced OP to fly to LAX instead of LGB, then there would be a case for the airline providing ground transportation, but if OP voluntarily accepts the reroute to LAX when the airline did have options to LGB (maybe not great options but still options nonetheless) in a situation that is deemed beyond the airline's control, then the airline is not responsible for the transportation from LAX to LGB.

IceTrojan

Sorry OP,

- Sounds like US did what they could, sorry you're not happy that you arrived in the SoCal region that night and not at the airport you really wanted the next morning;
- You realize you have to flight THROUGH that weather, right? You don't just magically appear at your weather-free destination;
- Hertz is not responsible for the results of what US does to respond to something out of their control (i.e., weather).
- Sounds like you gave Hertz LAX a hard time, trying to get them to do something you weren't entitled to.

"Disaster" this is not.

Often1

OPs options were:
1. Next available routing to LGB.
2. Routing to nearby station, e.g. LAX, along with the logistical problems that creates.
3. Full refund to his original form of payment.

No compensation because its WX. No consequetial damages because the COC expressly excludes them.

Hertz has nothing to do with this. OP reserved a car at a rate at LGB and did not show up as planned. If OP got "pissed" at Hertz, that was a bad move because Hertz had no obligation and whatever good will there may have been, evaporated.

OP can certainly file a claim with his travel insurance and depending on what it covers, he may see something.

pinniped

Sounds like US did everything they could. Good for them. I've been there...as the passenger, you're just thankful to get to LAX that night.

A bit disappointed in Hertz though: contractually they don't owe you anything at all, but unless they were in a shortage of cars at LAX, it seems like they could have worked with a weather-impacted traveler as a goodwill gesture. I've had a couple of similar cases over the years wtih both Hertz and National where they *have* honored my reservation when I've been rerouted to a nearby airport *and* allowed me to drop off at the originally planned airport (IAD/DCA, BWI/DCA, and LGA/JFK). This, to me, seems like one of those things that separates #1 Club Gold (or Emerald Aisle, or Avis Preferred) from, say, a rental from Payless. They have the capability to help out a distressed traveler, one who is already probably paying a bit of a premium to rent from Hertz (vs. the crappy agencies), so it's disappointing when they don't step up.