Stranded? Who pays when air travel breaks

Patrick McKenzie (patio11) got stranded overnight after a backhoe severed a single fiber optic cable, knocking out air traffic control across much of the eastern US. His airline declined to pay for the hotel. In this episode, he walks through who actually owes you what when air travel breaks: federal refund rules, the airlines' "controllable delay" commitments, credit card trip delay coverage, and the goodwill credit a well-placed phone call can unlock. Along the way, he explains why checkout-page travel insurance pays back only about 40 cents on the dollar and why 5,000 apology miles are worth about $60.

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Full transcript available here: https://www.complexsystemspodcast.com/stranded-who-pays-when-air-travel-breaks/

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Presenting Sponsors: Mercury & Granola

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If meetings consistently leave you with hazy action items and lost context, Granola handles the transcription so you can actually participate and gives you searchable notes afterward. Try it free at granola.ai/complexsystems with code COMPLEXSYSTEMS

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Links:

Seeing like a Bank: https://www.bitsaboutmoney.com/archive/seeing-like-a-bank/

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Timestamps: