Was my family shanghaied by penny-pinching airline?

Q At the weekend, three members of my family were on a delayed flight from London Heathrow to Shanghai because the original aircraft was unserviceable and a new one had to be found.

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Flightradar24 says there was a delay of four hours – but the airline claims it was actually three hours 59 minutes. It appears to me that the airline was trying to avoid its obligation to feed and water delayed passengers. Do you agree? Incidentally, to make matters worse, the plane was only half catered, so they only got one meal on the flight.

Peter Dallaway