It sounds like different people have different concerns then.
I only fly on business, and it's rarely a big deal if I have a several-hour delay because of a missed connection.
However, I'm tall, and have a bad back and knees. So legroom and elbow room are very important to me. I also had one important trip ruined because (I suspect) I picked up a bad cold during the flight.
Then you are working for nicer people than I was. My clients, when I was in the private sector, really did not appreciate me missing meetings because the airline was late. Nor were many of my delays measured in hours. Flying SF-Vancouver or Vancouver-NY/DC, if an afternoon/evening flight was canceled we wouldn't fly until the next day.
Either your customers were jerks, or you set the expectations wrong. Everyone understand flying is not always deterministic, usually completely outside the airlines control. If the meeting were important enough, why not fly the day before?
I only fly on business, and it's rarely a big deal if I have a several-hour delay because of a missed connection.
However, I'm tall, and have a bad back and knees. So legroom and elbow room are very important to me. I also had one important trip ruined because (I suspect) I picked up a bad cold during the flight.