r/AirlineChaos

Booked EWR → ORD → AMS on May 18. UA533 ran 7 hours late on weather, then sat on the tarmac at ORD for another 1 hour 20 minutes waiting for a gate. Missed my AMS connection, stuck overnight in Chicago. The delay itself — annoying but, that's flying.

Here's what's shocked me as a Gold: rebooking options and meal vouchers were fine, but that's where it stopped. No hotel, no toiletries, no amenity kit, no help with a change of clothes — nothing for an unexpected overnight. On top of that, one of the "rebookings" they put on my record was EWR → AMS for the 19th (from Newark, while I was sitting in ORD) and the agent told me I'd asked for it. I never did. I also get the staff had a really hard day with the ground stop, but they weren't that understanding and helpful.

Two questions:

1. Even on a weather day, is "you're on your own for the overnight" really the bar for a Gold? Or did I get a bad draw?
2. What should I push for with customer care — hotel reimbursement, amenity/clothing comp, correction of the bogus "customer requested" note, miles/ETC? Aiming right? (my bags were checked from EWR - AMS (via ORD)

24 hours later - here's to hoping things go smoothly to get home.

Tried to purchase BC tickets to Japan through Japan Airlines. Had a LOT of problems with the site, page not found, site down for maintenance, etc. This went on for a couple of days. Finally went through Amex travel portal and booked tickets. Found I had a date conflict the next morning and cancelled the long haul on JA, domestic hop to hub, and one hotel stay. No problem.

Rebooked for a new date a couple days later through Amex again. Saw that the flight was still showing as current but when you cancel, it DOES say that it can take a few days to recredit you for the fare. It has been a week and I went back to Amex to build in our hotel stays and the flight was still showing as current (so two flights on different dates!). Called Amex and they confirmed that the flight was never cancelled. I almost died. Representative contacted JA and they would not refund for the tickets. No consideration, and no fucks given that it is a pretty obvious error. I didn't jump to another airline then cry about not getting my refund.

I had paid the upcharge to make the tickets transferable but not refundable (cost was a crazy amount). I know there is certainly some personal responsibility here but they clearly show TWO separate ticket purchases, both business class and full fare. Is it unrealistic to think that some grace could be given here by the airline?

I would appreciate any insight on how to, perhaps, escalate this issue to the right people at JA that might help. The rep from Amex travel is giving it another crack at it but I am not hopeful.

Hey everyone, just wanted to share a massive warning about buying into airline artificial panic tactics, specifically with Lufthansa.

​Back in April, when the Middle East fuel crisis hit the news and Lufthansa announced they were cutting 20,000 summer flights, their marketing and booking systems went heavy on the urgency. They heavily pressured clients to lock in fares early to dodge skyrocketing fuel surcharges. Because their arbitrary "International Surcharge" (YQ fee) inflated our ticket base so high, we literally had to choose between paying the insane total premium or skipping a checked bag for my husband. We skipped the bag.

​Today (May 19), I did a mock booking for the exact same dates, exact same route (ICN ➔ CDG), exact same pet-in-cabin details. The price plummeted by 724,700 KRW (~€475 / $530 USD).

​What makes this infuriating is the complete hypocrisy:

​According to financial data tracked by CNBC/Goldman Sachs, Lufthansa already had 77% of its 2026 fuel requirements heavily hedged. They were cushioned against the initial blast, yet they passed a 624,600 KRW carrier surcharge directly onto us.

​The European Commission just issued an official guidance ruling on May 8th, clarifying that managing fuel price volatility is a normal airline business risk—not an excuse to dodge transparency or trap customers into non-adjustable, non-refundable tickets using artificial urgency.

​I’ve attached the full price drop infographic breakdown (personal info blacked out). When we called customer service to ask for a fare adjustment or a voucher for the massive difference, they completely shut us down saying "no refunds or changes are permitted on your fare type."

​Be careful booking flights this summer. Don't let their "surcharge panic" scare you into locking in inflated prices before the EU consumer protection fully catches up to them.

Airlines that saw their AOCs revoked in recent weeks include British charter carrier Pen-Avia, Estonia-based SmartLynx Airlines, Irish Westair Aviation, and Austrian airline Mali Air, as well as Houston-based charter carrier Starflite Aviation in the U.S.

In the latter case, the AOC was stripped after the FAA accused owners of falsifying the records around pilot training and time flown. In other situations, airlines sometimes voluntarily give up their AOCs if they no longer intend to operate.

The latest airline that no longer has an AOC is Bestfly Aircraft Management Aruba. A branch of the wider Bestfly charter airline established in the African nation of Angola in 2009, Bestfly Aruba was created to expand into the Caribbean market in 2017.

Hiya Scot here I’m trying to book a last minute holiday but saw the news headlines about fuel shortage and lots and lots of flights being cancelled is this really happening from flights in Scotland ? Or is it just England really. Should I still be cautious booking. I just haven’t heard much about Edinburgh or Glasgow being too effected but just wondering.