United values my time at…$15.91/hour or if you calculate the final routing I took home after a flight cancellation in San Francisco, $10.29. This is why people harp on a passenger compensation scheme in the USA similar to EU261/2004.
Mechanical Delay Compensation: United Airlines Values My Time At $15.90 Per Hour
Last week, I wrote about not one but two consecutive United 777-200s being pulled out of service due to mechanical issues, ultimately leaving my redeye flight from San Francisco (SFO) to Chicago (ORD) cancelled.
It was after 1:00 am in the morning and all the nonstops to Chicago the following day (except for, ironically, the same 777 redeye) were sold out. The United system auto-rebooked me on a routing via Albuquerque (ABQ) that SFO at 8:20 am, arrived in ABQ at 11:51 am, then connected from ABQ at 12:24 pm to ORD at 4:29 pm, which was about 11 hours after my original scheduled arrival of 5:40 am.
At the same time, I received an auto-generated “apology” email from United saying sorry for the delay and directing me to a website for compensation. My choices were $175 in travel credit or 8,750 United miles.
On the one hand, I appreciate that United proactively offered this compensation and owned up to its mistake. I also realize that this was more than some carriers would do (ahem, American Airlines) and so that is noted. But divide that $175 by the 11 hours and you get less than $16/hour…I mean, that’s really an insult. Does United think our time is worth less than minimum wage in California?
It’s also why a flight delay/cancellation approach similar to EU261/2004 would make a lot of sense in the USA. For all the outcry from anti-consumer advocates or airline apologists who say it would raise ticket prices, I believe that airlines should be held accountable for punctuality and for the privilege of using taxpayer-supported airports and air traffic control systems to operate. Airlines get sloppy with scheduling and maintenance when there are no real repercussions for delaying or cancelling flights. While the “free market” theoretically should push consumers to more reliable carriers (and United, generally, is reliable), consumers should be made whole when operations go awry and are within the control of the airline. I’m not saying the compensation has to be commensurate to my hourly pay, but the paltry compensation (even given in airline credits, not cash) is insulting.
I ultimately rebooked myself to connect in Newark instead of Albuquerque and by so doing scored lie-flat beds on both flights. Of course flying via Newark during summer is always at your own risk and I sat on the tarmac for more than two hours awaiting takeoff, not landing in Chicago until 10:50 pm. If you factor in that match, I was compensated $10.29/hour for my delay.
CONCLUSION
Airlines are not charities, but consumers should not be pushovers who have to endure poor planning and poor maintenance as if our time is worthless. My time is worth more than a $500 voucher as well, but I think that would have been fair considering the length of the delay and that it was fully within United’s control.
What do you think about mandatory delay compensation in the USA? Must we really just be happy that our airlines are safe and stop complaining?
What exactly would you consider adequate compensation for such a mechanical delay?
I said so in the conclusion ($500 voucher).
Ultimately, I think a EU261/2004 approach in the USA is beneficial not just for consumers, but for airlines even if it encourages some additional schedule padding.
Let me say this to you since I quite like you and think you are a good advocate for UA: the second 777 aircraft was ferried over from the hangar even though it had come in with a write-up from the previous flight that the a/c was not operational. That’s just unacceptable…I lost an entire day because of this and it wasn’t because I had to fly on a lie-flat seat via Newark…even the auto-rebook option did not get me home until late afternoon the following day.
YES!! We need an EU/UK 261 equivalent in the US, and to bring back Rule 240!
Anyone who is against it is either ignorant, or knowingly/inadvertently shilling for greedy corporations, who can’t operate reliably.
As always 1990 is intolerant of differing opinions.
No, @1990 just wants fair compensation like EU261 when the airlines screw us over. So does Matthew. It works in Europe where there’s a plethora of ULCC’s so there’s no reason it shouldn’t work here. The EU still has very low airfares, proving that this can be done without jacking up prices.
I’d love to hear you assert a valid argument on why airlines should be able to continue screwing over customers with impunity.
You didn’t lose a whole day, you still were able to work with your laptop, still make phone calls with your phone, still enjoy life with your beating heart. You complain a lot.
Well, I actually did, but that’s another story for tomorrow (inoperable Wi-Fi from SFO-EWR-ORD).
He sure does…so whiney
But now that only Rich people who fall over each other to goose their PQP’s to ensure their self worth is reinforced why would you think United should or would compensate you anything. You are lucky Kirby lets you fly his premium airline at all. That’s the attitude of Kirby and Bastain.
Not to mention that the auto-rebook included a 33 minute connection time in ABQ. Might not even be “legal” considering that boarding often starts at T-35. Personally I never book a connection for any airline at any airport of less than 45 minutes.
Re: “Matthew … only Rich people who fall over … self worth reinforced …”, actually deserves no reply but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt. That conspiracy theory nonsense BS has been debunked MANY times. While “rich people” fall over themselves quite often in many situation, this is NOT one of them. It’s savvy people, often FF fanatics, who “goose” many aspects of the FF game. Maybe you’re just jealous because you’re too stupid to figure how to goose the system? Instead of attacking Matthew (Klint); you should be paying attention to what he writes and filtering out the BS and maybe with a little luck you’ll learn how to goose yourself.
@polite. I know Matt klint I’ve flown with him and his son before. Clearly you can sense tongue in cheek and a little sarcasm. Thanks for calling me stupid. A little humor can go a long way sometimes. You might want to look up what that’s like.
@Polite: I can vouch for Matthew. He’s a good guy.
Matthew and Matthew: “I can vouch for Matthew. He’s a good guy.” Readers, other than frequent everyday readers, had no way of knowing that. The post was written in a nasty insulting manner and some/many/most readers are not privy to your inside personal (apparently close) relationship. Personally, while I’ll insult my BFF all day every day IN PRIVATE or in front of other close knowledgeable friends and family, I’d never insult him in front of thousands of naïve other people. Be a long time until I defend Matthew again.
“you can sense tongue in cheek and a little sarcasm.” Yes, I can, and I didn’t see an iota of it in your comments which could just as easily been written seriously by some MAGA-turd imbecile arrogant sanctimonious racist bigot (in other words all of them).
“Thanks for calling me stupid.” You’re welcome, my pleasure, if the shoe fits, … Thank you for wasting my time to comment TWICE about your poorly written, impossible to understand, “tongue in cheek sarcasm”.
“A little humor can go a long way sometimes.” Agreed, you might want to learn what it is.
“You might want to look up what that’s like.” Not necessary, I obviously have a far better understanding of “that” than you do.
You know where I stand on this subject, poop happens. And yes, any changes to compensation laws will be passed on the customer in higher fares, it’s just what’s done in corporate America.
I refuse to believe any airlines delays or cancels intentionally and in the end no one was harmed. We as a county have become too entitled to expect compensation for every little thing that doesn’t go our way. What’s next, expecting a discount when the home team doesn’t win?
I know I’ll get called an airline defender but I’ll live.
If you lived in a red state, that would be more than double minimum wage!
Why don’t you just go Old Testament with an Eye for an Eye and retaliate against any airline that wrongs you in this fashion? A friend of mine missed his connecting flight on United Airlines a few months ago due to a mechanical issue on his originating segment and ended up missing his plane and having to take another flight in Economy vs. Polaris Business Class exactly 24 hours later. He arrived at his destination barely in time to catch his cruise and had a pretty unpleasant and stressful vacation as a result.
With negligible compensation provided, he proceeded to book a short and unimportant EWR-PMI international flight shortly thereafter. On the plane, he placed one of his Bluetooth devices in broadcast mode using the name BOMB, which ultimately forced the airplane to cancel the flight and return to the point of origin. He even stuck the speaker in some bratty teenager’s backpack during boarding and this is the kid that ended up taking the fall.
Luckily – or perhaps coincidentally – my friend was fully insured for the trip. Meanwhile, the kid is being put on the no-fly list and United Airlines is probably out hundreds of thousands in operating costs. Oh well!! Maybe the bratty kid will learn to use headphones while playing video games on his iPhone in the United Club and maybe United Airlines will think twice before stealing from honest customers.
Wow.
Given that we do not have that regulatory scheme (and it’s not likely to be forthcoming, sorry @1990…), what should we all do to protect ourselves in the meantime?
Feels like this is where trip delay insurance comes in on premium credit cards – depending on what card you used you had more than a 6 hour delay, so you can get up to $500 in claims reimbursed to pay for that hotel (or airport bench rental fee?) and your extra meals and incidentals (I wonder if buying a new suit at an airport Brooks Brothers would count as a “reasonable additional expense”…). Given the state of aviation delays, no great surprise Amex now limits this to 2 claims per 12 months.
As for the wifi then not working on the more comfortable flights to work on that you selected – that’s awful especially on a transcon – just unacceptable really.
There may be folks that are “anti-consumer advocates or airline apologists,” but that is only a very small portion of those wary of legislation like this. The bottom line is that EU261-type legislation is forced insurance. The airline must provide it, and we will pay the premiums through higher fares. Why not let the consumer choose whether they want to buy insurance against travel delays?
But, here’s the upside, the airlines being on line for higher payouts will take actions to avoid being on the hook. Assuming (and I hope it is the right assumption) this never causes them to compromise safety to avoid payouts, this may make their incentives better aligned to what “we” want (e.g., avoiding being denied boarding). But, again, if this means less overbooking, fares will be higher.
So, some of this is akin to shareholder lawsuits against a firm. Only the lawyers win. The lawsuits are terrible if they occur. But, maybe, the fear of a shareholder suit makes firms “act better.” And, if they do, no such lawsuits.
You are not earning 24 hours a day everyday either.
Wage when you’re not working is $0
You get nothing, ZERO, when it’s outside working hours.
So there you go. They’re very generous like the liberals giving out free money.
Ironically, just like the people who receive unemployment benefits, they all still whine about free money.
You think the delay just impacted the overnight?
Not according to your original flight schedule.
The original flight schedule as in the redeye? Yes, that’s why I deal with redeyes, precisely so I can be on the ground to work during the day.
United does not care at all. They don’t even provide food (paid for or not) for flights lasting 6.5 hours in Economy Plus, while serving first class a nice meal.
All’s well that ends well! Best of good luck to you on your future UA flights!
I find it kind of amazing that you would refer to not getting minimum wage for a flight delay when, as an industry insider, you have known for years that those flight attendants serving you during boarding got paid nothing. WHy do you feel you should get money when the people who are actually working were not paid at all? Really you have been making money every flight by building your social media presence to complain and complement these companies. You have built a social media empire with just your opinions, experiences and travels. SO you have been paid more than an average passenger who just wants to get from point A to point B, In fact Airlines probably coddle you and invite you to launches of new routes and planes. You get a front row seat and completely different treatment than the rest of us. This is why I stopped following you. I went from loving your stuff, to then hating it because your material can be just so negative.
I love how you people just bend over and take it from the airlines. Not me.
I’m with you, Matt. Sorry for my delay on recent posts; was traveling. Thank you for advocating for consumer protections on here. Sadly, some commenters just don’t get it, or they do, but are paid shills for the oligopoly of the Big 3 and their lobbyists.
Welcome back!
Sorry Matthew, I might have bent over on film but not for the airlines. You know any increases in compensation will be passed on to the customer. We don’t need more government regulations in airfare. And I also agree with this when the airlines cry for bailouts.
This financial downturn must really be hitting you hard. Sleeping on floors and needing the delay funds. Good luck with it all; hope it works out for you.
way past time for the usa to hold the airlines responsible for their poor or nonexistant service. Copycat the EU regulations. why make it difficult?