Read the Fine Print

Always read the fine print.

Back in those primitive times when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, airlines issued flimsy paper tickets. The back of their last page was covered in fine print describing “The Contract of Carriage”. In essence, “The Contract” relieved the airline of any responsibility for delays, lost baggage, or the drunk seated next to you vomiting in your lap. Despite that, airlines would frequently put you up in a nearby hotel and give you meal voucher of you missed your connecting flight. The accommodations were not exactly five star. United stuck me in a motel near O’Hare once with no telephone and no shower. But it beat sleeping on the airport floor.

When that computer glitch grounded flights across America last weekend, the saddest victims were unaccompanied minors now stranded at airports. Delta took the hardest line suspending travel for solo kids until yesterday. There were literally hundreds of stranded kids and stressed parents. Delta played The Contract of Carriage card to cover themselves. “It says right there that we may temporarily suspend travel for unaccompanied minors if there is a possibility that weather, irregular operations, or other conditions may cause a flight to be diverted.”

“It is the right decision for us to make because with so many flight disruptions and with so many limited seats, Delta is wisely putting the well-being of these children first by saying, ‘No, we won’t transport them.”

Actually, Delta is wisely putting the well-being of its bottom line first. Those “limited seats” sell for top dollar to adults with cash to spare and in a hurry to get home. The stranded kids likely paid a discount fare. Screw them. If anyone raises a stink, we’re covered by The Contract of Carriage. Those seven year olds should have read the fine print before they boarded. (Cue Evil Laugh) “Bwah-Ha-Ha”

By Ed Dufton