[sankirk]

Our mistake: we booked a 4:30 PM SUNDAY flight from Calgary, Canada to Rochester, NY with one stop in Chicago. Should have booked earlier in the day.
Their mistakes: We left 1 hour late because our plane had been given to another flight in San Francisco and this was the sub that was found. We arrived in Chicago with a few minutes to spare, however that went away because a disabled plane was at our arrival gate and had to be moved.

We raced from C to B (long way) and arrived 10 minutes late.

The next confirmed flight we could get was TUESDAY AFTERNOON and this was SUNDAY EVENING!

The desk attendent said "It's okay, the airport is quiet at night so you can sleep." --FOR 2 NIGHTS! Honestly, I wouldn't believe this if I were reading it.. BUT IT IS TRUE. They expected us to sleep in the airport for 2 nights. Right beside me, a customer was getting vouchers for a hotel stay and food. I asked, "Could we have some too?" Again, unbelievablely, the agent said, "Oh no.... you see, that person volunteered to get off the plane because we were overbooked." Like, it should have been clear to me... this person, by virtue of volunteering, deserved the reward of vouchers... plus a FREE 2-way trip anywhere in the US.

The next morning, we were in line at 6:00 for standbys. no luck. We asked 3 different agents what else we could do. Nothing but wait--- all trips were oversold.

Remarkably...I talked with a 4th agent... who found a flight--which required our changing to USAir in Boston... we could arrive that night in Rochester. When we boarded the flight, there were 30 standbys!... How we were ever so lucky I don't know.

And how an airline could be so callous, I also don't know.

Consider the extra costs of the flight:
2 nights either in the airport or $200 plus for a hotel;
food for 2 nights, 2 days: $120 (conservatively);
dogs in kennel---$120 (3 extra days);
work-related costs... difficult to estimate.. other people had to change their schedules.

This was not a weather-related event---It was a business decision to use our designated plane for another flight.