Booked on Expedia, Delayed by United: Who's Responsible?

Expedia United flight delay responsibility sits with United, not with Expedia. Expedia is an online travel agency (OTA), a reseller intermediary that displays inventory from multiple carriers and processes the booking transaction. The compensation right under the 2024 US DOT refund rule, EU261, UK261, and Montreal Convention runs to the actual carrier (operating or marketing depending on the framework). The OTA is not the carrier and has no compensation liability for delays or cancellations. Most passengers waste 3 to 7 days contacting Expedia before realising Expedia cannot pay them. The OTA can help with rebooking and credit card chargeback coordination, but the cash claim runs to the airline.

The OTA is the storefront. The airline is the carrier. Cash compensation runs to the carrier. Filing with Expedia first wastes days.

OTAs (Expedia, Booking.com Flights, Kayak, Priceline, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hopper) operate as resellers. They display inventory from airlines through GDS systems (Sabre, Amadeus, Travelport) and ARC for ticketing. The OTA earns a small commission per ticket and may bundle hotels, cars, or insurance for additional revenue. The OTA's contract with the passenger is primarily for the booking transaction (selling the ticket). The contract for actual carriage runs between the passenger and the airline, governed by the airline's contract of carriage. Compensation rights under federal and EU regulation run against the carrier in that second contract, not the OTA.

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  Rebooking on the OTA's platform: if the OTA has the ticket access through the GDS, it can sometimes rebook faster than the airline's app.

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  Credit card chargeback coordination: the OTA's billing record helps establish the original payment for chargeback purposes if the airline misses the federal refund deadline.

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  Documentation retrieval: e-ticket receipt, payment confirmation, and original itinerary preserved in the OTA's account history.

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  Bundled service refunds: hotel, rental car, or insurance bookings made through the same OTA refund through the OTA's flow.

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  Customer service triage: some OTAs (Hopper, Booking.com) maintain partnerships with airlines that include faster escalation paths for member bookings.

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  Cash compensation under EU261 or UK261: against the operating carrier only.

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  Cash refund under 2024 DOT rule: against the marketing carrier (the airline, not the OTA).

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  Documented loss recovery under Montreal Convention Article 19: against the operating carrier.

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  Duty of care (hotel, meals): against the operating carrier under EU261 Article 9.

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  Baggage damage or loss: against the operating carrier under Montreal Convention Article 22.

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  Denied boarding compensation: against the operating carrier under 14 CFR Part 250 or EU261 Article 7.

See codeshare flight cancelled: which airline do you claim against and interline ticket cancellation: which airline pays compensation.

EU261 Article 2(b) defines the obligated party as the operating carrier. The CJEU has consistently held that travel agencies and OTAs are not 'carriers' for EU261 purposes. Expedia is registered as a travel agency in multiple US states and as an EU-licensed travel agent in EU member states; the licensing covers the booking transaction, not the carriage. EU261 cash compensation, refund rights, and duty of care all run to the operating carrier (United on a United-operated flight, regardless of whether Expedia sold the ticket). See which airline files the EU261 claim on a codeshare.

1. 1

   On the day of disruption, identify the operating carrier from the boarding pass or e-ticket.

2. 2

   Identify the marketing carrier (often the airline whose code is on the ticket; on Expedia, this is typically the airline that issued the ticket through ARC).

3. 3

   File US DOT refund directly with the marketing carrier (the airline). Do not file with Expedia.

4. 4

   File EU261 or UK261 cash compensation with the operating carrier.

5. 5

   File Montreal Convention Article 19 documented loss with the operating carrier.

6. 6

   Use Expedia for rebooking coordination, chargeback support, and bundled service refunds, not for the cash claim itself.

7. 7

   Track the federal 7-business-day refund deadline against the marketing airline.

8. 8

   Escalate to DOT complaint or NEB filing if the airline refuses.

A few narrow scenarios put the OTA into a quasi-carrier role: vacation packages where the OTA is registered as a tour operator under ATOL (UK) or similar protection schemes, charter flights operated under the OTA's own license, and 'virtual interlining' or 'self-transfer' bookings where the OTA combines two separate tickets into one itinerary. In these cases, the OTA may carry duty of care or refund obligations directly. For a standard scheduled commercial flight booked through Expedia, the OTA is the reseller and the airline is the carrier. See airline shut down: getting refund through credit card vs travel insurance vs ATOL.

When you file a US DOT refund through an OTA-booked ticket, the airline processes the cash refund to the original payment method. The OTA does not hold the money. The airline's refund flows through its merchant processor back to your card. The OTA's role at this stage is documentation only. Expedia's rebooking app may show the refund as 'processed by airline' once the airline issues the refund. Track the federal 7-business-day deadline and escalate if missed. The chargeback as parallel remedy on day 15 is filed through your card issuer, with the OTA's billing record as evidence.

The airline holds and refunds the money on a US DOT refund. The OTA does not hold passenger cash on standard scheduled flight bookings. Expedia's role is documentation, not custodian.

1. 1

   Confirm the disruption is eligible under US DOT, EU261, UK261, or Montreal Convention.

2. 2

   Identify the operating carrier and marketing carrier from the boarding pass and e-ticket.

3. 3

   File the cash claim directly against the airline, not the OTA.

4. 4

   Use the OTA for rebooking coordination, chargeback support, and bundled service refunds.

5. 5

   Track the federal 7-business-day refund deadline against the airline.

6. 6

   Escalate to DOT complaint or NEB filing if airline refuses.

For the codeshare and OTA pillar, see codeshare flight rights: which airline responsible. For the broader business travel pillar, see business travel flight disruption compensation. Start a claim with TravelStacks for a flat fee.