Several of us noted this in the original thread(s) the other day. The boilerplate language that you agree to when you buy a ticket uses specific language for just this reason.
Most people NEVER read the terms and conditions of their ticket and if they did, they'd be shocked to learn how few rights they actually have when flying.
The only place one has fewer rights IIRC is when taking a cruise ship registered in a foreign country. One can get robbed, beaten, raped, etc.. aboard a foreign registered cruise ship and have ZERO legal recourse.
Gee, almost the same amount of rights as one has on United Air Lines! ;-)