In summary, Arnold says: - He was denied a seat on his original flight because it was overbooked. - He was forced to fly on a later flight as a result and missed his meeting. - The original flight on which he was denied was later canceled at the last minute due to weather. - The airline should compensate him for denying him a seat on the original flight (even though it was ultimately canceled).
Jamie responds: - The airline is not morally obligated to compensate Arnold. - This is because Arnold would have missed his meeting either way. He was denied his original seat, took a later flight, and missed the meeting. However, if he kept his original seat, the flight would have been canceled, and he would have ended up missing his meeting anyways.
We are asked to find the principle that justifies Jamie's response that "an airline IS morally obligated to compensate a passenger who has been denied a seat on a flight for which the passenger has confirmed reservations...." Remember, Jamie is saying that the airline is not obligated to compensate Arnold in his situation, so the correct answer choice will align with this stance.
(A) "if the only reason the passenger is forced to take a later flight is that the airline overbooked the original flight" Arnold is forced to take a later flight for two reasons - because his original flight was overbooked and because his original flight was canceled. Therefore, (A) is not applicable to the situation Jamie is referencing and is incorrect.
(B) "only if there is a reason the passenger is forced to take a later flight other than the original flight being canceled due to bad weather" There is a reason that Arnold is forced to take a later flight other than his original flight having a weather cancellation- the reason being that his original flight was overbooked. So, if Jamie said (B), she would be saying that the airline is morally obligated to compensate Arnold. This is the opposite of what she claims in the passage, so (B) is incorrect.
(C) "only if the passenger would not have been forced to take a later flight had the airline not overbooked the original flight" Arnold is forced to take a later flight for two reasons - because his original flight was overbooked and because his original flight was canceled. Because Arnold would have been forced to take a later flight regardless of overbooking, he fails to meet the criteria in (C) and would not be entitled to compensation. This aligns with what Jamie's stance, so (C) is correct.
(D) "even if the only reason the passenger is forced to take a later flight were that the original flight is canceled due to bad weather" Arnold is forced to take a later flight for two reasons - because his original flight was overbooked and because his original flight was canceled. Therefore, this is not applicable to the situation Jamie is referencing. Moreover, the phrase "even if" implies some leeway in the passenger being compensated, which seems to be the opposite of Jamie's stance. Therefore, (D) is incorrect.
(E) "even if the passenger would still have been forced to take a later flight had the airline not overbooked the original flight" Since the flight was canceled, Arnold would still have been forced to take a later flight even if his original flight was not overbooked. So, if Jamie said (E), she would be saying that the airline is morally obligated to compensate Arnold. This is the opposite of what she claims in the passage, so (E) is incorrect.
Does that make sense? Please let us know if you have any other questions!
