[abbydoug]

We booked travel for a family vacation months prior to our Feb 20th flight from JFK direct to Providenciales on AA. At the time of purchase and up until two days prior to the flight we were unasble to select seats for the flight. We arrived for the flight at JFK at 8:25am for a 10:15 am flight - plenty of time and well within the airline's recommendations. After being instructed by an AA representative at the check-in counter that we should just "handle it at the gate", we proceeded through security and went to the gate. Upon arriving at the gate and speaking with the gate agent we were told that they had overbooked the flight by eight seats and were trying to find volunteers to take another flight. Since this is a vacation destination and most travelers had small children, it was not surprise that they couldn't find volunteers even after offering $650. They put us on another flight via LGA and MIA and we arrived at our destination more than 4 hours after our scheduled arrival time. The compensation they offered (effectively udner duress since if I did not accept it immediately I would not have been able to make it to the other airport and catch the alternative flight) was less than half that offered to the volunteers!! Also according to the legal details they provided me, they are required to provide compensation of 200% of the cost fo the ticket up to $800 max. I can guarantee you that the compensation was nowhere near 200% of the cost of the ticket.

What is my recourse here? Is this a DOT issue?