"Consider it a courtesy for the inconvenience."
What is the meaning of the above sentence, which I am not sure of the context of usage?
And what are the possible contexts (if more than one) of its usage?
The expression is the ironic title of a New Yorker cartoon by Amy Kurzweil. Below the picture of airline passengers whose flight has been delayed, the caption reads:
As a courtesy for the inconvenience, please accept a voucher for three additional hours of your life, redeemable upon your death.
The offer, which sounds good but can never be redeemed, is a sarcastic reflection of token compensation offers from airlines to their long-suffering passengers.
It is most certainly not intended in this context as an apology but rather the kind of language used by the public relations industry.
Whether Amy Kurzweil was the first to coin the expression I don't know.
http://amykurzweil.com/new-yorker-cartoon-as-a-courtesy-for-the-inconvenience/
Businesses, especially those in the services sector, will compensate a customer in some way when the customer has been inconvenienced, perhaps by a delay or a mixup of some kind. The compensation can vary. A discount. A free dinner. A free night's stay in the hotel at some future date. The email or letter informing the customer of the company's attempt to stay in the customer's good graces might contain the sentence:
Please accept this voucher as a courtesy for your inconvenience.
And if not "voucher", some other thing, such as "offer" or "coupon", whatever.
Your sentence is terser. It makes no attempt to be polite or apologetic.
Consider it a courtesy for the inconvenience.