If everything was on one ticket, the misconnect is the airline's problem: they rebook you on the next available flight at no charge. On separate tickets it is yours. What you are owed tonight, and how to get out faster. Rules last reviewed: August 2026.
One booking, one ticket: a misconnect caused by the airline's own delay is the airline's responsibility. They rebook you on the next available flight at no extra charge - usually automatically - and if the cause was within their control, most large US airlines have committed on the DOT customer service dashboard to meals after a 3 hour wait and a hotel if you are stuck overnight. Separate tickets: the second airline owes you nothing - you are a no-show, and any new flight is a new fare. And if the rebooking you are handed is bad, you do not have to take it: under US DOT rules you can decline and take a cash refund of the unused legs instead. On itineraries departing the EU, arriving at your final destination 3 or more hours late can also mean fixed compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004.
The rebooking is the airline's job, not yours. When one booking covers both flights, the airline that delayed you is responsible for getting you to the destination on the ticket. Rebooking onto the next available flight happens at no additional cost, and in most cases the system does it before you land - open the airline's app while you taxi in, because a new boarding pass is often already waiting.
Your checked bag follows the ticket too. Bags are tagged to the final destination, so a same-ticket rebooking re-routes the bag automatically. Confirm at the desk that the bag made the switch - details in what happens to your checked bag.
The auto-rebooking is a default, not a verdict. Agents can move you to earlier flights, different routings, and - this is the one travelers never hear about - other airlines. Several US carriers commit, for cancellations and delays within their control, to rebooking you on a partner airline at no cost. It is never volunteered. Ask: "Are there earlier options on your partner airlines?"
If the rebooking is bad, you hold a refund lever. Under the US DOT automatic refund rule, a connection added to your itinerary, a downgrade, or a rebooking that amounts to a significant delay - 3+ hours domestic, 6+ international - is a significant change. Decline to travel on it and the unused portion of your ticket is refundable in cash to your original payment method. The refund covers your unused ticket, not the replacement you buy elsewhere.
The second airline sees a no-show. If you booked two tickets - say, a cheap positioning flight and a separate onward one - the onward airline has no obligation when the first flight delays you, whatever the cause. No rebooking duty, and the missed fare is governed by its own ticket rules. Some airlines will rebook you for a fee or as goodwill; none are required to.
The delaying airline owes you its own remedies only. A refund of your unused legs if you abandon its ticket, and care commitments if the cause was controllable - but not the cost of your separate onward ticket. US DOT rules do not make one airline pay for another airline's fare.
Backstops: travel insurance and many travel credit cards include missed connection or trip delay coverage that can pick up what neither airline will - check the terms and keep receipts. And going forward: one booking, or a long buffer, is the price of safety when fares are split.
Most large US airlines commit on the DOT customer service dashboard to meals once the wait passes 3 hours and a hotel for a controllable overnight. Ask at the desk before you leave it; the playbook is on the hotel and meals page.
Airlines owe rebooking or a refund, but generally not meals or hotels in the US. The recorded cause of the original delay decides this, so ask the agent to state it.
Under EU Regulation 261/2004 the duty of care is a legal right regardless of cause: food and refreshments, a hotel if you are rebooked to travel the next day, transfers, and two calls or emails. On a single booking, arriving at your final destination 3 or more hours late generally pays fixed compensation - €250, €400, or €600 by flight distance - unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. Full comparison on EU261 vs US rules.
Claiming that compensation direct is free and usually enough - Know Your Rights gives you the words. If you would rather hand it off, AirHelp files the claim and deals with the airline for you, for a cut of the payout only if it wins.
AirHelp pays TripHero a commission if you use them. Our advice is never influenced by who pays us.
1. Check the app before you sprint. If the new flight it shows works for you, you are done. If the connection is still makeable, ask a gate agent to call ahead - it sometimes holds a door.
2. Work two channels at once. Get in the rebooking line and open the airline's app chat or phone line while you stand in it. Whichever agent answers first wins.
3. Ask the two magic questions. "What is the recorded cause of the delay?" and "Are there earlier options on your partner airlines?" The first decides hotels and meals; the second unlocks flights the app will not show you.
4. Overnight and controllable? Get the vouchers now. Hotel and meal vouchers are issued at the desk or in app chat - far harder to claim after the fact.
5. If nothing works, take the money. Decline the rebooking and request a cash refund of the unused legs under the DOT rule, then book your own way home. Know the trade: the refund is your old ticket back, not the new fare paid for.
U.S. DOT, What Airline Passengers Need to Know About DOT's Automatic Refund Rule (significant change definition including added connections and downgrades; refund of the unused ticket) · U.S. DOT Airline Customer Service Dashboard (controllable-disruption commitments: meals after 3 hours, hotel for an overnight, partner-airline rebooking at some carriers) · European Union, Air passenger rights (Regulation 261/2004) (final-destination delay compensation, duty of care).
General guidance, not legal advice. Airline contracts of carriage and interline agreements differ; facts reviewed August 2026. Found an error? Tell us and we will fix it.