What caused your delayed flight? Answers may be elusive

For years I've been detailing fliers' rights when flights are delayed or canceled. But as I've noted, the Contracts of Carriage for domestic airlines can be confusing documents to decipher.

A key provision in deciphering those rights is knowing why your flight was late or scrapped, a determination made by the airlines themselves. But recently I heard from two readers who question whether their delays were accurately reported. It's an intriguing issue, one that deserves examination.

Tale of two families

Consider the recent cases of two families, whom we'll call the Smiths and the Johnsons:

• The Smiths boarded a major U.S. carrier in a Latin American country, en route to a large domestic hub and then their connecting flight home. On the first leg, they pushed back from the gate on time, but then the crew announced the wrong bags had been loaded on their aircraft and all baggage for the entire flight needed to be checked and possibly resorted. After two hours of baggage unloading and reloading, the Smiths eventually arrived at the hub and cleared Immigration and Customs, only to miss their connecting flight by less than five minutes. They spoke to a customer service agent, who advised them the only other flight to their destination was fully booked, but they were ineligible for accommodations since their flight was delayed due to weather. The Smiths explained about the baggage mishap and the agent eventually gave them hotel and meal vouchers. They returned home the next morning (but ironically their baggage was lost en route).

• The Johnsons also encountered a lengthy delay on a different major domestic airline, and it was clearly due to boarding discrepancies. A computer glitch resulted in duplicated seat assignments and it took nearly an hour to sort it out, causing the Johnsons to miss their connection. Again, they were told their flight was delayed due to weather. They were given no compensation for their lengthy delay.

Two situations, two different outcomes. But in both cases, the airlines themselves ultimately made the determinations.

Behind those screens

"This is basically an honor system," says Charlie Leocha, a passenger rights advocate who serves on the U.S. Department of Transportation's Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protection. "Passengers are told it's weather and therefore the airline is not liable." Leocha points out that a lack of passenger protections in the United States is what makes determining delay causes so critical here: "In Europe, it's different. As long as the flight goes to Europe, from Europe or through Europe, you're protected."

In fairness to U.S. airlines, delayed and canceled flights are often due to circumstances that passengers can't see. Linda Burbank, who has written the Traveler's Aide column for USA TODAY for many years, is familiar with such issues. She explains, "I do sometimes hear from travelers who complain their flights are delayed or canceled due to weather when there is nothing but clear skies outside. The airlines' position has always been that the weather issue is one either in between the origin and destination, or closer to the destination."

In addition to weather between City A and City B, weather in other locations where your airline operates can delay your aircraft and/or the crew operating your flight. Furthermore, when there are widespread weather delays, an entire system can break down quickly, and crew rest rules can take effect. Finally, your flight could be delayed waiting for other delayed connecting passengers and/or their baggage. But in the end, the airlines determine the delay causes.

Who calls the delays?

Airline employees have been fighting internally over delays since the first commercial flight departed St. Petersburg for Tampa in 1914. At the heart of these disputes is which employees are blamed for delays -- and which employees determine the official causes. During my career in airline flight operations, I worked for carriers where official departure times were decided by crew members, as well as ground employees and operations staff. Since any of these personnel can be blamed for delays, there are vested interests in assigning blame when flights do not depart on time.

I used to be at the center of such disputes, and can attest that at some airlines the reasons for delays are argued, arbitrated and adjudicated. At one carrier, pilots were angry over a contract dispute and began calling in all departures six minutes late, one minute past the "on time" grace period. But when Operations recorded the flight times, they were all listed at five minutes rather than six minutes late.

Even technology is not foolproof. In the wake of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 saga, much attention has focused on the aircraft's ACARS -- Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System -- that automatically transmits electronic data from the plane to the ground. Today many airlines use ACARS to record departure and arrival times as well. But even 21st-century technology isn't perfect; airline employees know if an airplane rolls just a few feet from the gate, ACARS can record an on-time "off the blocks" departure even if the plane continues to be serviced by mechanics, caterers or baggage handlers.

This is not to suggest that any airline has a systemic policy of deliberately deceiving passengers in order to avoid providing compensation. But what if an individual employee is wrong? Or what if mistakes are made when delay codes are entered? In the opaque world of airline technology, passengers are on the outside looking in.

Twice in recent years, reader comments have fueled columns that raised questions about the lack of transparency of airline policies: "Think flight times are being padded? They are" in 2009 and "Are airlines withholding seats so you'll pay a premium?" in 2012.

What about you? Have you doubted an official delay? Please tell us about it.

Complaining 101

If you suspect an airline is wrong, your best defense is filing a complaint. But when attempting to resolve an airline dispute, keep the following in mind:

• Stay calm, stay polite. Keep your cool when fighting for your rights. Never be rude or obnoxious or employ vulgar language -- it will not help your case and in fact it will worsen your situation.

• Keep good records. If there's a problem, always record dates, times, flight numbers, gate numbers and employee names. Vague complaints are the first to be dismissed.

• Document. Keep reservations and boarding cards. Also, photographic or video evidence may bolster your case. In addition, websites such as FlightAware may help document weather and air traffic control factors.

• Know your rights. It can help to cite the airline's Contract of Carriage (which can be found on every carrier's website).

• Be specific. Consider what you are asking: Are you seeking to be rebooked? Given a meal? A hotel room?

If you feel you were not treated right by your carrier, you can take action. A DOT spokesperson advises: "Consumers with concerns about the handling of a delay, cancellation or misconnection should first send a complaint to the airline. Under DOT rules, airlines are required to state on their website how to do this and to provide a substantive response to every consumer complaint. If a consumer is not satisfied with the response provided by an airline, he or she can file a complaint with DOT."

You can do so by mail, by phone or online. But will notifying the government help your case? The short answer is maybe. One effect is that your complaint will be included in the DOT's monthly Air Travel Consumer Report. But the DOT also states the following: "These complaints are reviewed to determine the extent to which carriers are in compliance with federal aviation consumer protection regulations. This system also serves as a basis for rulemaking, legislation and research. Where appropriate, letters and web form submissions will be forwarded to an official at the airline for further consideration."

Bill McGee, a contributing editor to Consumer Reports and the former editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, is an FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher who worked in airline operations and management for several years. Tell him what you think of his latest column by sending him an e-mail at travel@usatoday.com. Include your name, hometown and daytime phone number, and he may use your feedback in a future column.