Cancelled Flight, No Hotel

<p>I booked a flight from Wuhan to Osaka, with a transfer at Shanghai Pu**** International Airport. Upon arriving at Pu****, I found that the connecting flight, scheduled for 19.00, had been cancelled altogether and the next flight to Osaka was due to depart at 09.00 the next day. This was due to adverse weather conditions and was therefore beyond anyone's control. However, there was a 14 hour wait between the cancelled flight and the new flight.</p> <p> </p> <p>What were the passengers supposed to do? Apparently, they were expected to fend for themselves in Shangai. Many of them, incensed by such callous indifference to their wellbeing, complained to the China Eastern Airlines staff. Surely the company ought to provide an overnight hotel for passengers who had booked the flight. It was only reasonable. The airline's reponse: they take no responsibility for the weather and their website, apparently, clearly states that on such occasions they do not provide compensation.</p> <p> </p> <p>Very well. Perhaps so. But it was unkind and inconsiderate treatment, to say the least. To make matters worse, we were then escorted to our luggage in the check-in counter area after going through immigration. My luggage wasn't there. I waited a considerable length of time. It still didn't appear. Finally, I had to re-enter the baggage reclaim area, which entailed yet another walk through security, whereupon I finally got my bag. Utterly exhausted, I was then ejected into Shanghai and left to book my own accommodation. That was hospitality, China Eastern Airlines style.</p> <p> </p> <p>Back in the day, I experienced the 2003 Northeast blackout in the United States, when I was due to fly out of New York on Air India. That airline provided every passenger with a hotel. My conclusion, therefore, is that China Eastern Airline cannot match the basic provisions of an Indian airline. I advise avoiding it.</p>