Woman allegedly misses her own wedding celebrations due to flight delay, then American Airlines gives her $12 voucher: ‘I can’t even buy a margarita’
$12 isn't much, but it's the norm.
Delayed flights are a pain for anyone, but one woman on TikTok is calling out American Airlines for delays that allegedly caused her and her fiancé to miss the start of their destination wedding. TikToker Regina McKay (@reginaunpacked) posted a pair of photos set to Paramore’s “Ain’t It Fun” about the situation.
The video, which had over 56,000 views, included two slides: the first showed McKay on a plane and read, “[Shoutout] to @AmericanAirlines for several pointless flight delays causing my fiancé and I to MISS night one at our destination wedding with all our friends and family…” Her next slide mentioned that she received a food voucher for her troubles. However, it was only worth a mere $12 (which seems to be the norm for the airline) and stated it was “not intended for the purchase of alcohol,” leading McKay to complain in the video’s caption, “I can’t even buy a margarita with my $12 voucher.”
Typical reimbursements for delayed flights
Flight delays are increasingly common, and most airlines compensate passengers in some way if a delay lasts three hours or longer for domestic flights or over six hours for international ones. However, compensation varies by airline (the U.S. Department of Transportation has a handy chart listing major U.S. airlines and the commitments they have made regarding delays and cancellations).
If the delay was in the U.S. and significant, American Airlines’ commitments include rebooking passengers on the same or a partner airline at no extra cost or providing a meal voucher. If the delay was overnight, the airline should have paid for a hotel and transportation to the hotel.
Of course, these apply only when a delay or cancellation is within an airline’s control, which would cover issues such as fueling, unexpected maintenance, baggage loading, or problems with the crew. McKay claimed in the comments that the delay was because the airline was “looking for a lug nut for over 3 hours.”
However, whether that was the actual reason for the delay was unclear; some people in the comments stated that the weather that day was bad and could have caused delays. Inclement weather doesn’t count as a controllable issue, as some travelers have learned.
McKay and her fiancé made it in time for their wedding
While several people commiserated with McKay about her issues with the airline, McKay pushed back against comments berating her for not leaving earlier (it’s recommended that those having destination weddings arrive a few days early to ensure everything is as it should be). She wrote, “Technically today was 3 days before the wedding, and the festivities don’t begin until Sunday. But my family who lives across the country flew in today along with some other family, so it’s one less day with them. At least we’ll still have the big day, but it just stinks.”
She and her fiancé did eventually arrive at their destination, though. In a follow-up post a few days later, McKay shared wedding photos of the two on a beach.
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