Dad Refuses To Give Teen Daughter Airline Payout For Her Delayed Flight That Stranded Her At Airport For 22 Hours

Ownership can be a hotly debated topic.

Who paid for something often comes into play.

True, in the simplest of terms, paying for something technically makes you the owner.

But when you gift something to someone else, you're essentially passing ownership to them.

Not everyone agrees.

Redditor Winter_Database_270 recently helped his daughter out by covering her financially for an experience she was greatly looking forward to.

Unfortunately, this experience hit a roadblock toward the end.

While the original poster (OP) got some of his payment refunded for the unexpected inconvenience, his daughter felt that if anyone was owed monetary compensation, it was her.

Wondering if this was the case, the OP took to the subReddit "Am I The A**Hole" (AITA), where he asked fellow Redditors:

"AITA for not giving my daughter compensation for a flight I paid for?"

The OP explained why he and his daughter found themselves butting heads:

"So I‘m a dad."

"And my daughter, who is 16, got a scholarship to go to another country for a month over the summer."

"It was a great scholarship, paid for all the housing, food, etc."

"However the flight had to come out of pocket."

"I ended up paying for the whole thing which was 1500 dollars."

"Everything went smoothly; however, on the trip back is where her connecting flight got canceled, and she was stuck in LAX airport for about 22 hours."

"The whole situation was pretty bad, as she wasn’t given any of the accommodations she was supposed to."

"It was a mess."

"Now, months later, after sending in lots of emails, the airline gave a full refund for the flight."

"I told my daughter I got the money back, and she reacted like she was getting all of it."

"Which I explained to her that I paid for the flight so I would be keeping the money they refunded."

"She did argue back and forth with me for a while, but she eventually just gave it up."

"The flight was canceled for weather, but because my daughter was very inconvenienced at the airport, the airline agreed to refund the entire flight."

"She was the one who sent in the emails to the airline explaining her experience, which resulted in the refund into my account."

"So am AITA?? Because right now I’m on the fence about whether I‘m making the right choice."

Fellow Redditors weighed in on where they believed the OP fell in this particular situation, by declaring:

• NTA - Not The A**hole
• YTA - You're The A**hole
• NAH - No A**holes Here
• ESH - Everyone Sucks Here

While the Reddit community was somewhat divided, most had little to no sympathy for the OP, largely agreeing that he was the a**hole for keeping the flight refund.

Some felt that even though the OP paid for the flight, it was his daughter who endured the horrific delay, and thus she was entitled to some, if not all, of the refund:

"You left your teenage daughter sitting in an airport alone for 22 hours and didn't figure out how to get her a hotel room or something?"

"YTA for that alone."

'Then you let her do all the work to get the refund and decided it was yours?"

"If you had done everything you could to make her comfortable when she was stuck, I might say you would be reasonable to split it with her, but a 16-year-old stuck alone for that long in a big airport absolutely deserves that money."

"YTA."- Internal_Progress404

"YTA."

"She did all the work to get money back, and you just... pocketed everything?"

"Be fair: without her emailing the airline, there would be no refund."

"You omitted this information, which prompted strangers to see your daughter as a and call her names."

"Are you proud?"- TemporaryOwlet

"Ok, I get both sides of the problem, and yes, while YOU paid the money, SHE paid with time, comfort and let's be honest a lot of stress, as a 16yo far more than you, so both of you paid, and so I think both of you should be compensated, so make 50/50 with her."

"Over all, you lost NOTHING in the end, you would have been out if the money regardless."- FatBearCGN

"I go with YTA because you are the adult and should at least have considered sharing."

"I cut her some slack, she is a teenager, no matter how responsible."- FatBearCGN

"YTA."

"You received a refund because of the severe inconvenience that she experienced."

"You paid for a flight."

"Which still happened."

"But the quality of the experience was so bad that it left your 16-year-old minor daughter stranded in an airport for 22 hours."

"That is awful for anyone, let alone a 16-year-old!"

"I probably wouldn’t just give my 16-year-old $1500 to blow on stupid sh*t, but I might buy her something nice and/or tell her I’d be contributing it to her college savings."

"Like yeah, it’s your money - just seems like you’re being an @ss about it."

"I bet in those emails you underscored how upsetting of an experience it was for your minor child."- OptimalDouble2407

"Yes, it was your money, but you got what you paid for."

"She got her trip."

"The refund was for the delay and the lack of accommodations, which, although frustrating for you, overwhelmingly affected her."

"I am not saying give her all the money, but the refund was for her being put out, not you not getting what you paid for."

"YTA if you don't at least split it with her."- Loud-Number-8185

"YTA, give her a portion for the shit day of travel."

"You're not the one that suffered, and that's what the refund was for."- NotAgain801

"YTA."

"Why did you get the refund?"

'How were YOU inconvenienced by the delay?"

'Your daughter earned that refund; sat around hungry and thirsty for a day."- Outrageous-Arm1945

"YTA."

"The compensation was for the inconvenience of being left in an airport for 22 hours without any accommodation."

"You were not inconvenienced at all, so why do you think you are entitled to the money?"- Repulsive_Tone_2484

"As per your post, 'She wasn't given any accommodations she was SUPPOSED to'."

"An unaccompanied 16-year-old GIRL stranded in a large airport is a sitting duck for all sorts."

"I get the impression you're rubbing your hands in glee over having had to fork out zero for the whole thing."

"She must have at the very least been terribly anxious at being stuck there on her own with no idea of when she'd be safely home."

"And THAT is why compensation was granted."

"The airline fully compensated the cost because they were covering their rear ends."

"YTA to not understand this."

"...it was your daughter and not you who chased the airline for compensation."

"You put in zero effort, and 1.5k landed in your bank account."

"I confirm my YTA verdict with a cherry on top."- astrophysicsrules

"YTA."

"She was the one who suffered the 22h in the airport (which would definitely be scary as a 16yo girl all alone, are you joking?)"

"AND she did the work of sending the emails to ask for a refund."

"I'm not saying you should give her the $1500, but a 'good job getting that refund' gift seems in order."- Frost_Goldfish

"YTA."

"'She was the one who sent in the emails to the airline explaining her experience, which resulted in the refund into my account'."

"So this part is what makes you the AH."

"She did the work to get the refund; she was the one stuck in the airport; she was the one who had the bad customer experience."

"This is money you only got back because of what she went through."

"Give her some portion of it now, and save the rest for college."- Dog-Mom2012

Others, however, felt that the OP was justified in keeping the refund, as he was the one who paid for it, even if some still felt he could give her a portion:

"NTA."

"You paid for the ticket."

'Why should she get any of the refunded [money]."- Educational_Bar_1809

"NTA."

"based on that reply."

'She didn't spend any money."

"I get that it was her experience, but it was his $ so it was technically his canceled flight."

"Did she have to pay out of pocket for accommodations/food during the 22 hours?"

"If so, I'd give her that amount as a goodwill."- HortenseDaigle

Since the OP paid for the flight, the money would come back to him regardless.

It's a fair argument that the OP's daughter should be grateful he paid for her flight.

However, being stranded for 24 hours is unsettling, especially for a 16-year-old.

The OP should consider this before keeping the entire refund for himself.