Gate arrival in MIA was 02:32, essentially 7 hours late. After clearing Immigration and Customs, 03:00 - 03:30 at a minimum. Anyone dependent on AA for a room, transportation, and meals has my sympathy.
If I were on that flight I would have rebooked with AA via cellphone, left SXM, had a nice but early dinner, and returned to SXM later. I would also have booked my own hotel room In MIA and eaten the cost - airline rooms aren't always in a hotel where I want to stay, and some are at best described as grim.
Meal vouchers are minimal at best. Transportation vouchers may be more worthwhile. If I could get the vouchers issued in SXM then they might be worth using. If I had to stand in line in MIA to get the vouchers then the potential to get some sleep time is worth more to me than the time to get the vouchers, and I’ll pay my own way.
I completely agree. Having been in a similar situation last December, when our flight was delayed over six hours leaving SXM, we unfortunately trusted the airline to provide us reasonable accommodations. We were bused from MIA to Homestead at 2 AM, to stay in a fleabag motel. Weather in CLT further delayed us another two days, which of course, AA refused to accept as their problem. In the future we'll make our own arrangements.
