Quote Originally Posted by Fmedges View Post
Demand huh? Both myself and my co worker were stranded (not together) recently due to the Delta airlines lack of crew available and I couldn't even get them to let me sleep in the terminal let alone demand anything. All both he and I were told to go pound sand. How exactly was he going to demand to get on another carriers flight?
https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights

Involuntary Bumping

DOT requires each airline to give all passengers who are bumped involuntarily a written statement describing their rights and explaining how the carrier decides who gets on an oversold flight and who doesn't. Those travelers who don't get to fly are frequently entitled to denied boarding compensation in the form of a check or cash. The amount depends on the price of their ticket and the length of the delay:

If you are bumped involuntarily and the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to get you to your final destination (including later connections) within one hour of your original scheduled arrival time, there is no compensation.
If the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to arrive at your destination between one and two hours after your original arrival time (between one and four hours on international flights), the airline must pay you an amount equal to 200% of your one-way fare to your final destination that day, with a $675 maximum.
If the substitute transportation is scheduled to get you to your destination more than two hours later (four hours internationally), or if the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements for you, the compensation doubles (400% of your one-way fare, $1350 maximum).
If the airline must substitute a smaller plane for the one it originally planned to use, the carrier isn't required to pay people who are bumped as a result. In addition, on flights using aircraft with 30 through 60 passenger seats, compensation is not required if you were bumped due to safety-related aircraft weight or balance constraints.
I had thought there was something added in recently passed legislation requiring them to put you on an alternate carrier if they couldn't get you out within some timeframe but can't locate it and maybe the expanded compensation is supposed to address that. Either way, telling them "you'll have to carry me out" was stupid.

Having said that, I'm on my way to the airport for a United flight.