[AirlinesMustPay]

Let me give you an example. If you pay me to pick you up from your home in New Jersey, bring you to the 34th Street heliport by limousine where I have helicopter waiting, and then transport you on my helicopter to somewhere on Long Island, all for one price. My employee picks you up at NJ and on the way the cops stop him for a case of mistaken identity. He is delayed for an hour through no fault of mine or his. He arrives an hour late to the heliport. I am sitting in my helicopter with another passenger who arrived on his own to the heliport, but is making the same trip as you to Long Island.

My employe phones me an lets me know that the police have stopped him and will be an hour late bringing you. But I have another passenger who will be delayed if I wait for you.

Now if I have a contract with you whose fine print says that I am not liable for delays if my employees get stopped unnecessarily by the police. That will relieve me of liability for the delay in bringing you to the heliport. But if I decide that I will leave in the helicopter before you arrive, am I not liabile to you if you have to take another form of transport to Long Island? That fine print is not going to help me.

Your lost trip on the helicopter did not come from the delay in arriving at the heliport. That was neither my fault nor yours. Your lost trip came from my decision which I took to leave without you, knowing you were late in my employee,s car arriving to the heliport.

This is exactly the situation that the OP was in.