At the Fort Lauderdale check-in counter (Porter Airlines, which American had rebooked them onto), staff weren't there until 6 AM—just two hours before departure. When they finally arrived and tried to check in, the system showed a $3,000 balance due on the booking.

"Wtf?" the traveler wrote. They explained it was a rebooked American Airlines flight and must be an error. The Porter staff tried calling American. No answer.

By 7 AM with an 8:15 flight, they were stuck. Meanwhile, other passengers from the same cancelled flight successfully checked in with no issues.

"At that point we were done. It had been more than 24h we hadn't slept. We were so tired and helpless."

They gave up on the rebooked flight entirely. They searched online and found an Air Transat direct flight from Fort Lauderdale to Montreal at 11:45 AM. $1,500 per ticket. They booked it directly over the phone.

When to abandon airline rebooking and buy your own ticket

DOT regulations require airlines to rebook passengers on the next available flight when cancellations occur. But the regulations don't account for system-wide failures where rebooking creates more problems than it solves.

Consumer travel advocates increasingly recommend a "cut your losses" strategy:

Document everything. Photos of long lines, screenshots of flight statuses, records of when you arrived at counters. This becomes evidence for compensation claims.

Know your credit card benefits. Many travel credit cards offer trip delay insurance (covering meals/hotels after 6-12 hour delays) and trip cancellation insurance. The Points Guy's credit card trip protection guide shows cards like Chase Sapphire Reserve offering up to $500/ticket in coverage.

Call the airline while waiting in line. Phone wait times might be shorter than physical lines, especially overnight. Have one person wait in line while another calls.

Check alternate airports and airlines yourself. Don't rely on the airline to find the best option. When systems are overwhelmed, agents often rebook to whatever first pops up, not optimal routes.

Be ready to self-rescue. If you're more than 12 hours into a delay with no clear resolution, booking your own flight may be faster than waiting for airline rebooking. You'll need to fight for reimbursement later, but at least you get home.

The reimbursement battle ahead

The family now faces the task of getting reimbursement for their $1,500 tickets plus the $100 Uber. American Airlines owes them refunds for the original tickets plus covering the reasonable additional costs incurred due to the cancellation.

Filing DOT complaints and simultaneous claims with the airline creates pressure. Travel insurance (if they had it) might cover gaps. Credit card disputes become another avenue if the airline refuses reimbursement.

But based on Reddit threads about airline reimbursement battles, this process could take months and require persistent follow-up.

The systemic problems revealed

This experience highlights several airport infrastructure breaking points:

• Customer service can't scale to mass cancellations (seven-hour lines are unacceptable) • Interline rebooking between airlines creates billing errors • Phone customer service becomes unreachable during crises • Partner airline staff can't override system errors from the originating carrier • Passengers bear the burden of airline system failures

One commenter noted: "This is why I pay extra for airlines with better customer service. When things go wrong—and they will eventually—the airline's ability to handle it matters more than saving $50 on the ticket."

Another suggested: "American has been terrible lately. I've switched to Delta for anything where I can't afford delays. Yeah, it costs more, but I've had zero nightmares like this."

Prevention strategies for future travel

• Book morning flights when possible (less cumulative delay risk) • Avoid tight connections under 2 hours internationally • Fly direct when feasible (every connection is a failure point) • Use travel credit cards with strong trip protection • Save backup flight options before problems start • Join airline frequent flyer programs even without status—members often get better rebooking access

For the family who spent 40 hours traveling what should have been three hours, the lesson is expensive: when systems fail catastrophically, self-rescue beats waiting for airlines to fix their mess.

As they concluded: "About a 40 hour nightmare."