Nice PR, eh?

[Larry sreyoB]

What kind of compensation would they get?

It will vary based on the situation and airline. They may also pay their frequent fliers a higher compensation level than non-status passengers. In this situation, maybe a few hundred dollars in vouchers?

[Terry Carraway]

More than daylight, most of the night. AC535 is supposed to arrive at 12:51PM. So 15 hours later is 4AM the next morning.

[Larry sreyoB]

United has a department, called the ProTeam, that does nothing but handle passenger compensation for situations like these. I have no idea what their guidelines are.

When operating a severely delayed, or otherwise disrupted, flight we'll often receive an ACARS message directing the purser to make an announcement which directs passengers to a website where they can choose from several compensation options. The F/As now also have the ability to issue individual compensation to passengers for various reasons (broken arm rest, IFE not working, etc.) On our DirecTV equipped airplanes we can comp the TV for the flight for delays or other issues, as well. (Wish we could comp wifi on non-DTV airplanes but we can't)

[Russell Holton]

More than daylight, most of the night. AC535 is supposed to arrive at 12:51PM. So 15 hours later is 4AM the next morning.

15 hours after the original flight left

Original departure was 9 AM. Doing the math, it's either Midnight or 10 PM depending on how time zones factor in.

Flightaware says they landed at 11:55PM. So, daylight, evening and a chunk of a good night's rest.

[John O'Shaughnessy [FCM]]

If you got trip insurance, all of that would have been covered. Including hotel back in Vancouver for the delayed flight. There may have be some limits.

Thanks Terry. The one time I got trip insurance for a flight with my wife, the small print ended up being pretty restrictive (as I recall).

[Terry Carraway]

Original departure was 9 AM. Doing the math, it's either Midnight or 10 PM depending on how time zones factor in.

Flightaware says they landed at 11:55PM. So, daylight, evening and a chunk of a good night's rest.

2 hours time difference between Pacific Standard and Hawaiian. According to Air Canada site, that flight is supposed to arrive at the 12:51 PM Hawaii time, as I posted. So 15 hours late is 4AM the next day.

[Terry Carraway]

Thanks Terry. The one time I got trip insurance for a flight with my wife, the small print ended up being pretty restrictive (as I recall).

Yeah, you do have to read the fine print. Mainly, what is an allowable reason to cancel and be reimbursed. And concerning pre-existing conditions for medical cancellation.

You can buy cancel for any reason, but it only reimburses 75% of the trip cost, and is not cheap.

I only insure the other stuff, as I have already paid for the trip. If I don't go, I will be unhappy, but not in financial difficulty. A medical issue could but me in a serious financial bind.

[Dave Siciliano]

Trip insurance can get pretty confusing and there are times one should be able to cancel and get a refund without it. In most places, a place has to be habitable to collect rent. Many landlords don't seem to understand that. I had a hurricane bearing down on us in Mexico and they boarded up the hotel. Told anyone to leave that could. Expedia refunded our money even thought their web site said it was non-refundable.
Had a huge storm bearing in on New York City when I had reservations with Hotel.com. I cancelled and they refunded due to force majeure. So, there may be some options folks relate aren't there.

[Terry Carraway]

And then you have situations like the hurricane a few years ago. Cruises that were to depart around the time of landfall did not get cancelled. So if the cruise goes and you are not on it, no refund.

After people got to the port city and then got stuck there in the middle of hurricane, the cruises were cancelled. So they got a refund on the cruise, but not on the travel to and from the port city and the hotel costs when there were stuck.

[Russell Holton]

So 15 hours late is 4AM the next day.

It did not arrive 15 hours "late". It arrived 15 hours after the original departure of 9AM. I don't know why the article was written that way (referencing the original departure instead of the originally scheduled arrival), but it was. Perhaps because a bigger number is more dramatic.

[Terry Carraway]

OK, I missed that. So 10PM Hawaii time.

[Russell Holton]

I'm not sure what the plan was, but Flightaware reports that it departed at 07:36PM PST and arrived at 11:55PM HST Monday 24-DEC, or 11 hours 4 minutes late. Heck of a way to start a Christmas vacation. I'm sure they looked and felt their very best Christmas morning.