If you miss a connection due to mechanical issues, should an airline be forced to pay for a flight on a competing airline if you'd prefer?

If you miss a connection due to mechanical issues, should an airline be forced to pay for a flight on a competing airline if you'd prefer?

No they shouldn't provided they have flights themselves.

No. It's out of their control.

No

My wife and I spent 14 hours in Denver on Xmas eve because they took our plane out and the new one was smaller. Happens. We went to Mexico on the vouchers they gave us.

No, but of course if you are travelling on a single booking with the same airline from beginning to destination, you might expect them to accommodate you in terms of doing their best to get you to your destination.

Nope
Sometimes they will but not required

Maybe they should, but they don't.

There's an informal rule called rule 240 which most domestic airlines still honor. Long story short, if your airline has a delay of 3 hours or longer and another airline operates the exact same route (can't be connecting) and there are seats available AND the other flight will arrive sooner than your airline's delayed or rescheduled flight, then your airline will usually put you on the other flight. However, this is an informal rule and no guarantees.

I think it depends on the contract of carriage. Also come airlines do not partner with another airline so if something happens on the first flight segment, you can be screwed. Some discount airlines do not partner with other airlines so if the flight is cancelled or something happens, they will not put you on another airline. Therefore it may not be a bad idea to buy trip insurance.

They often do. Once when flying from YVR to Taipei via SFO my Air Canada flight out of YVR was late from a mechanical issue. I missed my connecting flight on United by 30 seconds. It really ticked me off that after they closed the door, the plane sat there for another 15 minutes,

Anyway they put me on an EVA flight leaving 3 hours later. This was in 2000 and before smart phones. So I had to phone my daughter to email my ride in Taipei to let them know I was 3 hours late.

A few years later, my kid was flying VVR to LAX with a plane change at SFO. Same thing and while United wanted her to wait 6 hours, she got Southwest to take her sooner and she got to LAX only an hour later than expected.

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