Airline Cancelled My Flight, What Should I Do?

“The airline cancelled my flight, what are my rights?” is a question I often get from readers.

Unfortunately, as I've discussed in American Airlines Compensation for Cancelled Flight or Delayed Flight?, at least with most U.S. airlines, there is no recourse due to the airline's contract of carriage, which notes that the airline is not responsible or liable for a failure to operate any flight according to schedule. Here are the relevant portions of the contract of carriage for United, American and Delta, with emphasis in bold mine:

United Airline Contract of Carriage

E) Schedule Irregularity

1) Liability – Except to the extent provided in theis RUle and the Warsaw and/or Montreal Conventions, United shall not be liable for any Schedule Irregularity.

2) Delay, Misconnection or Cancellation

a) When a Passenger's ticket is affected because of a Schedule Irregularity caused by UA, UA will take the following measures:

(i) Transport the Passenger on its own flights, subject to availability, to the Destination, next Stopover point, or transfer point shown on its portion of the Ticket, without Stopover in the same class of service, at no additional cost to the Passenger; or

(ii) At the Passenger's request, provided that the tariff covering the original transportation permits routing via the carrier which will transport the Passenger, UA will re-accommodate the Passenger in the same class of service on the next available flight on another carrier, or combination of carriers, or at United's option with Passenger Agreement, via ground transportation

3) If a Passenger is not transported as provided in E) 2) above, the Passenger will be eligible for a refund upon request

American Airlines Contract of Carriage

American will endeavor to carry you and your baggage with reasonable dispatch, but times shown in timetables or elsewhere are not guaranteed and form no part of this contract. American may, without notice, substitute alternate carriers or aircraft and, if necessary, may alter or omit stopping places shown on the ticket. Schedules are subject to change without notice. American is not responsible for or liable for failure to make connections, or to operate any flight according to schedule, or for a change to the schedule of any flight. Under no circumstances shall American be liable for any special, incidental or consequential damages arising from the foregoing…When cancellations and major delays are experienced, you will be rerouted on our next flight with available seats.

Delta Airlines Contract of Carriage

Rule 240: Flight Delays/Cancellations

A. Flight Schedules are Not Guaranteed

“Delta may…delay or cancel flights…at any time. Schedules are subject to change without notice. Except as stated in this rule, Delta will have no liability for making connections, failing to operate any flight according to schedule, changing the schedule for any flight…”

B. Delta's Liability in the Event of Schedule Changes, Delays and Flight Cancellations

“In the event of flight cancellation, diversion, delays of greater than 90 minutes, or delays that will cause a passenger to miss connections, Delta will (at passenger's request) cancel the remaining ticket and refund the unused portion of the ticket and unused ancillary fees in the original form of payment in accordance with Rule 260 of these conditions of carriage. If the passenger does not request a refund and cancellation of the ticket, Delta will transport the passenger to the destination on Delta's next flight on which seats are available in the class of service originally purchased. At Delta's sole discretioin and if acceptable to the passenger, Delta may arrange for the passenger to travel on another carrier or via ground transportation…”

What You Can Do

1. Request a Refund and Buy a New Ticket

If the airline cancels your flight, you always have the option to request a refund and buy a new ticket (or not travel at all) if the new flight the airline proposes doesn't meet your travel needs.

I recently did this with Bangkok Airways, which just a couple days before my scheduled flight cancelled the flight we were all on, and would only be flying us later that day (or very early that day) neither of which worked for us, given our onward destination. So instead we cancelled our flight and will receive a full refund to the credit card we used (although this could take 30 days) and I rebooked us on Air Asia, which fortunately had an even cheaper flight departing just 5 minutes ahead of our original Bangkok Airways flight.

2. For a Same Day Cancellation, Rebook Your Flight as Quickly as Possible

It can help if you do the following:

Do your own research on other available flights
If you're an elite member of the airline's frequent flyer program, call the dedicated elite number
If you have airline lounge access, enlist the help of one of the agents there for help rebooking. Remember that you may have access to an airline lounge via a credit card, for example to American Admirals Club lounges with the Citi Executive AAdvantage card, or to the United Club via the United Club Card or via one of the two single use passes that come with the United MileagePlus Explorer card.
If you have a United ticket, get United to call you back

3. For a Flight Cancelled Before the Date of Travel, Change to a More Convenient Flight

Sometimes, if the flight cancellation takes place long before the date of travel, it's a convenient “out” for a ticket you've decided not to fly anyway, or to change to a more convenient date or flight time. Since the airline cancelled or changed the flight, you get a free pass, with no change fees, to get on a flight more convenient to you.

Of course, if there is no flight more convenient to you that the airline operates, just go with the refund as in 1) above, and book a new ticket on a different airline.

4. For an Award Flight Cancelled Before Date of Travel, Ask the Airline to Open Up Revenue Space

It's always a good idea to periodically check on your award flights, especially when you're flying a different airline than the frequent flyer miles you used to book the ticket. Recently I had an issue where I'd booked my husband and son on awards with pre-devaluation United miles, and the Thai flight they were on for their last leg was cancelled. While they were automatically rebooked, it was at a much later time, even though there was an earlier Thai Airways flight closer in time to their original ticket.

While United did eventually get Thai to agree to open up revenue space, the revised ticket couldn't be reissued electronically and would have required them to pick up a paper ticket at the United ticket counter at JFK. So, given how cheap the flights are, we opted to buy that flight instead.

5. Request Reaccommodation on Another Carrier

United's contract of carriage notes that *at the passenger's request* and *provided that the tariff covering the original transportation permits routing via the carrier which will transport the Passenger* “United will re-accommodate the Passenger in the same class of service on the next available flight on another carrier.”

I wouldn't hold my breath in terms of being able to be reaccommodated on another airline, but it's certainly worth a try, especially if you've purchased a business or first class ticket, an expensive fare class for an economy ticket, or if you're an elite frequent flyer member.

If you've had an airline cancel your flight, what did you do?

Flight Cancellation or Delay? Tips for What to Do

Airline Passenger Bill of Rights-What Are Flyers' Rights?

Getting United to Pay EU Compensation for a Flight Delay

United Airlines Ticket Change Fee Rises to $200-$300 and Airline Ticket Change Fees Compared

Need Award Booking Help? Our fee is as low as $75 per ticket if you book your hotel through us.

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