You have a contract with the airline. They have to take you to your destination and, in case things go wrong, there are laws that mandate what they must do extr

You have a contract with the airline. They have to take you to your destination and, in case things go wrong, there are laws that mandate what they must do extra. You will save yourself a lot of grief if you don't expect the airline to do you any favours outside of the contract/laws (e.g. preferential treatment for passengers with dead parents). That said, I fully support asking for your rights (in court, if needed) and publicly calling them out for bad service -- the latter is the one thing after their profit statement that will get the company interested in improving everyone's experience by going the extra mile.