A JetBlue flight delay made me miss my connection. Where’s my free hotel?

An extended flight delay stranded JetBlue customer Ellen LaPaglia overnight at New York City’s JFK International Airport. Airline employees instructed all the displaced passengers to wait in a long line to receive a free hotel voucher. 

However, by the time LaPaglia got to the front of that queue no hotel vouchers remained. A JetBlue employee suggested she book her own accommodations and send the receipts to the airline within 10 days.

And that is exactly what she did – booking a nearby Hilton Hotel for a whopping $429, including tax. The following day, LaPaglia checked out, continued her journey, and sent the hotel invoice to JetBlue.  

But to LaPaglia’s surprise, JetBlue nearly instantaneously – and repeatedly – denied the hotel reimbursement request. 

Now a frustrated LaPaglia is asking Consumer Rescue for help. She’s certain that JetBlue owes her at least $250 for her unexpected mid-trip hotel stay. 

So why has JetBlue closed her complaint and refused to reimburse her for even part of the hotel expenses? That’s what our team aimed to find out.

Here’s her story.

A JetBlue flight delay leads to a detour

Last spring, LaPaglia and a friend decided to take a restorative and relaxing getaway to Arizona. They would fly on JetBlue from their home base in Rochester, New York to Phoenix, Arizona via JFK. 

It seemed like a simple itinerary.

And it should have been, except for a problem with the toilets onboard the JetBlue aircraft in Rochester. 

“We sat on the plane at the gate and waited,” LaPaglia recalled. “It was at least two hours, and then we finally pushed back and went on our way.”

Unfortunately for LaPaglia, the push-back was too late for the friends to make their connecting flight to Phoenix that night. When they touched down at JFK, chaos was everywhere.

They [JetBlue agents] told us to go to customer service. Anyone who had a connection was probably going to miss it since we arrived so late. We knew we had missed our flight to Arizona and there were no more flights that night. I got in line to get a free hotel coupon, food and our new flight information.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned there either.

JetBlue: “Sorry, we have no more hotel vouchers for you.”

“We stood in line for nearly an hour,” La Paglia recalled. “It was ridiculous. JetBlue only had two employees to rebook all these passengers that came off our plane.”

Finally reaching the front of the line, the friends, along with a teenage girl they’d taken under their wing, got more unpleasant news. 

The two JetBlue employees handing out hotel vouchers had no more left. Instead, they gave the remaining stragglers at the end of the line skimpy $12 food vouchers redeemable at the pricey food court at JFK. As for a place to rest their tired bodies, they were on their own for the night.

Knowing there would be limited hotel rooms available in the immediate area, LaPaglia called her husband for help.

“He’s a Hilton Honors member, so I hoped he could snag us a room nearby,” LaPaglia told me. “At that late hour, there were only King rooms available at the Hilton Garden Inn, so that’s what he booked for us.”

She and her friend, along with the young girl, made their way to the hotel in an Uber determined to make the best of the situation. The day was certainly ending in a way that none of the ladies had expected. But it could have been worse, they all agreed. They could be sleeping in a chair at the airport where JetBlue had abandoned them for the night.

Asking JetBlue for compensation for the flight delay and hotel stay

The following day, the trio headed back to the airport, and LaPaglia says their onward flight operated without delay.  

After reviewing the most recent JetBlue Customer Care Plan, LaPaglia determined that the airline owed her several hundred dollars in future credit for the flight delay. That was in addition to the reimbursement for the hotel that she assumed she’d soon receive. From Arizona, she made the first call to JetBlue to find out how to submit the receipt from Hilton. 

LaPaglia says JetBlue dropped the ball here because the agent never sent the email containing the reimbursement application. When LaPaglia returned home from her vacation, she realized she’d never received the document. So, she contacted the airline again through the JetBlue chat feature. Now, an agent had a surprising warning: Time was about to run out.

***Keep in mind that receipts must be submitted within 10 days of the flight disruption to be considered, and today is day 10. Please submit your receipts tonight so they can be reviewed for payment. -Denise

(Denise, JetBlue customer care agent)

Within minutes, LaPaglia received the reimbursement request form. She quickly filled it out and submitted it just under the wire. 

But it wouldn’t matter. JetBlue denied the entire request for reimbursement. 

What does JetBlue’s Customer Care Plan say

Unfortunately, many air passengers echo LaPaglia’s frustrating experience. Often, an airline’s customer care plan says one thing, but the customer service agent in charge of approving reimbursement says something else. 

JetBlue’s Customer Care Plan promises that passengers who are forced into an overnight stay as a result of a “controllable” flight delay are eligible for a free hotel. 

But the customer service agent who rejected LaPaglia’s claim had found a little detail in her request that made it ineligible for reimbursement.

….based on the information provided, we were unable to reimburse your hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel folio you submitted doesn’t have your name. For reimbursement, this hotel folio needs to have your name. We recognize this may not be the outcome you were hoping for and offer our sincere apology we are not able to fulfill your request.  

JetBlue customer care agent

Because LaPaglia’s husband, who was not traveling with her, had made the reservation through the Hilton Honors app, his name appeared on the receipt. Despite her efforts to reason with various JetBlue customer care agents that she was the passenger and the guest at the hotel, her claim remained rejected.

What about JetBlue’s future credit compensation for flight delays?

JetBlue’s Customer Bill of Rights is somewhat unique in that the airline now provides compensation to its passengers for flight delays and cancellations that are caused by something under the airline’s control. 

If a controllable event causes a JetBlue flight to be delayed, passengers can receive compensation in the form of future travel credit within these parameters:

Based on this chart, LaPaglia believed that JetBlue owed her a $200 credit because her arrival to Phoenix had been delayed 24 hours. 

JetBlue rejected the second part of her claim as well because the flight delay that caused her to miss that connection to Phoenix had been just two hours.

Each flight is considered individually as to its eligibility. While you had to be rebooked to a new flight more than 12 hours later, no individual flight met the criteria for compensation.

JetBlue customer service agent explaining the rejection

Striking out with both claims, LaPaglia was convinced JetBlue had misinterpreted its own customer care plan. 

That’s when she reached out to Consumer Rescue. 

Asking Consumer Rescue to investigate

When I received LaPaglia’s request for help, she had already filed a successful trip interruption claim with Allianz, her travel insurance provider.  Allianz had paid all but $250 of the expenses she accrued during the flight delay. That $250 was that balance of the hotel bill. LaPaglia had intentionally left that part out of the claim because she assumed JetBlue would be paying it.

When the airline rejected her request, that left her with a $250 bill for the hotel room she’d shared with two other passengers who had also been inconvenienced by JetBlue’s controllable flight delay. 

Technically, my friend and **** [the solo traveling teenager] each could have applied for their own hotel reimbursement. But they didn’t because we all stayed in the same room. But JetBlue refuses to pay for even the small balance on the one room split between three passengers. Can you help?

LaPaglia’s request seemed more than reasonable. I wondered why JetBlue had repeatedly rejected it. It was time to find out.

Asking JetBlue why it denied this passenger’s hotel reimbursement 

It seemed to me that the airline representatives that had reviewed LaPaglia’s request had been looking for a reason to reject it. After all, LaPaglia was on the delayed flight, JetBlue could easily determine that her husband wasn’t on the passenger list. The last name and address on the hotel folio was LaPaglia’s. It was clear that she was the guest at the hotel. 

So I asked our executive contact at JetBlue why this simple hotel reimbursement claim had been repeatedly denied.

The flight from Rochester (Flight 485) was delayed. LaPaglia says they were told a broken toilet on the aircraft caused the delay. I think the overall delay was 2 hours, but it caused her to miss her JetBlue connection to Phoenix. 

She ended up staying at the Hilton Airport Hotel which of course was expensive because of it being located in New York City.The JetBlue staff at the airport said they ran out of hotel vouchers [but would reimburse her]. 

Ellen submitted a receipt for the hotel to JetBlue for reimbursement, but Jetblue rejected the entire amount because Ellen’s husband booked the room for her with his Hilton Honors card. He was not with Ellen on this trip. 

Would your team be able to have a look and see if Ellen is owed reimbursement from JetBlue for that hotel? Based on JetBlue’s new policies, it seems so. Thank you!😊✈️  

Michelle Couch-Friedman, Consumer advocate

The good news: JetBlue will cover the hotel balance

After reviewing the details of LaPaglia’s hotel reimbursement request, the JetBlue executive team agreed it should be approved. 

Hi Michelle!

THANK YOU so much for all of your help!!  I got my payment of $250 from JetBlue for the hotel!  I greatly appreciate everything you did to make this happen and can not thank you enough!

Thanks again,

Ellen LaPaglia

You’re very welcome, Ellen. I’m happy we could help.

Are you owed a hotel if a U.S. domestic flight delay strands you overnight?

Even with the Department of Transportation’s latest updates to air travel rules, the United States still lags far behind other regions of the world. 

However, in the past year, many domestic airlines (JetBlue included) voluntarily implemented basic duty of care guidelines for their passengers. Those perks closely resemble duty of care benefits guaranteed by the EU 261 for European air passengers.

But not all U.S. airlines have changed their passenger protection protocols. That means you’ll need to do some research before your next flight to determine if your preferred carrier is onboard with taking better care of its customers. 

Here’s what you need to know to make sure that, if you’re inconvenienced by a flight delay or cancellation, you receive everything that you’re eligible for – because, unfortunately, the airlines may not be keen to tell you. 

Review the Department of Transportations carrier commitments chart

The Department of Transportation has created a handy chart that shows which U.S. airlines have voluntarily agreed to guarantee duty of care benefits to their passengers in the event of controllable flight delays and cancellations. 

You can bookmark this page on the DOT’s website or take a screenshot of this chart to review before booking your next flight.

Read the airline’s current customer care plan

Before your next flight, it’s critical that you review your airline’s customer care plan. You can typically find a link to this document in the footer of the airline’s website. Alternatively, the customer care plan might be in a section inside the contract of carriage. 

The customer care plan will spell out precisely what you can expect if you experience a flight delay or cancellation. Will you get a free hotel? Will the airline give you a voucher for food? How will you get to your next destination? The airline’s customer care plan will answer these questions and more. 

Note: It’s essential to familiarize yourself with the customer care plan before your trip. Otherwise, you’ll be at a great disadvantage if you start reviewing it after a flight delay or cancellation has already disrupted your trip.

Download the airline’s mobile app and store contact information

In today’s digital world, nearly all travel providers, from cruise lines to airlines and everything in between, have a mobile app. 

Savvy travelers always download the app for every airline on their itinerary before heading off into the Wild Blue Yonder. That app will give real-time updates about flights as well as accurate contact information for the airline. 

Those official airline apps are more important than ever with the rise of scam call centers on the internet lying in wait for hapless travelers to ring their phones. You can be sure you’ll never accidentally dial one of those scammers in a panic if you only use the number you’ve stored on your phone through the airline’s official app.

Skip the endless line after a flight delay or cancellation

When an airline cancels a flight after passengers have already been waiting at the gate, a flood of angry and confused travelers invariably starts lining up. There could be hundreds of passengers ahead of you in that line – and they all want the same thing: a replacement flight. If it’s late at night, they’ll be asking for a hotel and food voucher. The gate agents have a limited number of those coupons to hand out. 

You should bypass that giant line and use your airline’s official app to chat directly with customer service. You can also call the airline directly using the phone number in the app.  

Politely let the airline know you’ve read the customer care plan

After you reach a customer service agent through the airline’s app or official phone number, it’s time to use the information you learned previously via the customer care plan. 

Politely let the airline representative know you’ve read the plan and understand that the airline should provide you with a hotel and a food voucher (if that is part of your airline’s customer care plan). Keep in mind that those benefits only apply to delays and cancellations within the airline’s control. So, unfortunately, if your flight has been disrupted because of something like bad weather, the airline may not extend the benefit. However, you should still ask.

Note: Although it is natural to feel inconvenienced and frustrated during an extended flight delay or cancellation, staying cordial and polite is really key to getting a favorable response from the airline. Remember that whoever you’re speaking to didn’t cause the problem but likely has some flexibility with what they can do for you. You want to make them feel inspired to help you. You do that by maintaining a calm demeanor while at the same time asking for what the customer care plan says you’re owed.

Provide all receipts to the airline before the deadline

Often, the hotel vouchers that airlines issue don’t work as planned. The hotel might run out of rooms at the contracted rate by the time you get there. The voucher may no longer be valid, or you may be appalled at the hotel where the airline intends for you to stay.

As a passenger, you are not obligated to stay where the airline has a contracted rate. However, you will be restricted to receiving reimbursement in the amount of that contracted rate. So, if you choose to stay somewhere else and the rate is much more expensive than the airline has agreed to pay, you should not expect to have the entire hotel invoice covered. 

Don’t forget travel insurance – even for a domestic trip

Consumers often dismiss the idea of travel insurance for domestic trips. However, a comprehensive travel insurance policy can cover unexpected expenses incurred during flight delays or cancellations. 

Remember, the United States has no regulations requiring an airline to reimburse you for nonrefundable parts of your trip that you miss because of a flight disruption. That includes prepaid hotels, car rentals, and vacation rentals, among other things. Insuring the nonrefundable parts of your travel plans can make the inconvenience of trip interruptions and delays more tolerable and less expensive.

The bottom line

A polite, aware, and organized airline passenger stands the best chance of navigating a flight delay or cancellation in a way that won’t negatively impact their wallet. If you end up stranded overnight, knowing your airline’s customer care plan and advocating for yourself is critical. 

Of course, though, there are times when you may need some extra help advocating for yourself. That’s why Consumer Rescue is here. We help travelers fix their problems directly with the companies they’re battling. Our consumer advocacy service is fast, friendly, and, best of all, free of charge.    (Michelle Couch-Friedman, Founder of Consumer Rescue)