Reason for Delay

I'm sitting at gate 87 in Denver International Airport ready to board a flight after a four hour delay. According to the gate agents, the flight was delayed due to weather. That seems to be the official line at least. The flight status on United.com corroborates that story.



But upon checking UnitedCargo.com, reputedly a better source for the real reason a flight has been delayed or canceled, I get this:



What gives? Conspiracy theories anyone?

Click the pictures for full sized screen shots of the respective pages.

Oh, and snaps to Denver International Airport for their free WiFi.

Know your rights: Rule 240

Consider this a public service announcement, without guitar.

My Travel Rights has a little known tidbit of information that every air traveler should know: Rule 240. According to the site:

Before airline deregulation in 1978, Rule 240 was literally a federal requirement. Nowadays, it's a term describing what individual airlines will do for late or stranded passengers. In fact, the major airlines have filed "conditions of carriage" with the U.S. Department of Transporatation [sic] (DOT) guaranteeing their respective Rule 240s.

What this means is that you, as an informed customer, can and should use Rule 240 as leverage to get a little back the next time you're left marooned in your layover city by your airline. Rather than surrender yourself (and your wallet) to the powers that be, take matters into your own hands and press the issue with your airline representative.

According to My Travel Rights, this dirty little secret is generally not shared with air travellers, and may even be unknown to the airline ticket agents. As such, they recommend that you carry a printed copy of the rule with you whenever you travel. Head to My Travel Rights for links to each of the major airlines' respective Rule 240s. Keep in mind that this does not cover "force majeure" events, or events outside of the airline's control.

Had Joe known about Rule 240, he probably would have included it in his song.

Link (via Consumerist, thanks Jaime!)