According to the initial statement at the beginning of this thread, the delay was due to bad weather and therefore not planned.
This is exactly when the discretion rule should be used.
However, the crew should all have been well rested and ready for the flight.
The extension of their duty by 1 hour, and refusing to do it is shameful, why, because there could have been headwinds which would have made the flight last an extra hour, same thing?
Of course if it makes the flight unsafe or they are fatigued for some reason, but could someone in the know inform us of how much rest these people would have likely had before this flight. (what is the schedule for a Washington trip?)
They should all be disciplined, if the flight deck crew deemed it ok to extend by an hour, and lets face it, they are slightly more important than the cabin crew, then the cabin crew could at least do the same. (of course there is no obligation to do so, but common sense must prevail in some instances, and this is one of them.)
Wonder what kind of if authority the captain commands these days anyhow, especially in the special situation of SA/SAA.