United passengers endure 12-hour tarmac delay, get $175

Simple Flying reports that United Airlines flight UA884 from Washington Dulles to Rome never left the ground Friday night. Passengers boarded at 4:30 p.m. and were still on the plane 12 hours later when the flight was canceled at 4 a.m. The ordeal included a cockpit fault, thunderstorm delays, a crew duty timeout, a door that would not seal, and a pushback tug incident that sent the plane back to the gate.

Passenger Rebecca Bliden told 7News, as reported by Simple Flying: "By this time we were on the plane for 12 hours; we didn't want to be on the plane for another eight hours, on the same plane that had so many issues."

For her trouble, United offered a $175 voucher. She is pursuing a full refund.

Your rights, such as they are

Under the DOT's tarmac delay rule, airlines must give passengers on international departures a chance to deplane before a tarmac delay hits four hours. That happened here: when the crew timed out six hours in, everyone got off. But there is no mandatory compensation for the inconvenience.

The DOT's refund rule does say you get a full refund if your flight is canceled and you do not accept alternative travel. Bliden may be entitled to that, but United is not offering it automatically.

For the canceled return flight from Rome (UA885), EU regulation EC 261 kicks in. That gives passengers up to $675 (€600) per person for a cancellation from an EU airport.

A rule change that could hurt passengers

A new DOT rule takes effect Oct. 19. It will reclassify ten types of disruptions — including unscheduled maintenance — as outside an airline's control. Airlines' customer service commitments (meal vouchers, hotel rooms) often apply only when the delay is within their control. Crew duty limits, which United says caused this cancellation, stay in the airline's control. But when a mess has multiple causes, the new rule gives airlines more room to argue that some parts were out of their hands.

The aircraft involved, a 28-year-old Boeing 777-200ER (N798UA), was cleared after inspection and sent to Athens. United gave passengers a new flight that left 25 hours late.

A $175 voucher for 12 hours on a broken plane? That is not compensation. It is a message.

• Compensation
• DOT
• Flight Delay
• passenger rights
• Rome
• United Airlines