Final Four trip causes case of March madness

ByABC News
April 1, 2008, 7:21 PM

— -- Question:In March 2007, I was scheduled on an early morning Midwest Airlines flight from Indianapolis to Milwaukee, where I was supposed to connect to Atlanta to attend the Final Four men's college basketball championships. I should have arrived in Atlanta in plenty of time before the tip-off.

My flight from Indianapolis was canceled. I was booked on the next flight, but would not arrive in time for my connection. I advised the Midwest ticket agent that the flight cancellation was causing me to arrive more than six hours after my original arrival time in Atlanta, and inquired about the "four-hour rule," entitling me to some compensation due to my late arrival. The ticket agent told me that the "four-hour rule" applied to departure time, not arrival time, and since my new flight was leaving within four hours of when my original flight was supposed to be leaving, I was not entitled to any compensation.

Then about an hour before departure, the Midwest gate agent called me to the gate, apologized for the inconvenience, and gave me a voucher for a complimentary roundtrip ticket.

Leaving aside my confusion over why I received the voucher, I have tried five separate times to redeem it, but each time I am told that it can't be used on a particular flight. I have left messages with customer service but my calls were not returned. I am concerned that the expiration date is fast approaching and I will be stuck with a worthless piece of paper. Can you assist me?

Michael Mangarelli, Indianapolis

Answer:Flight cancellations are inconvenient at best, but missing the tip-off of the first semifinal game over a flight irregularity must have been incredibly disappointing. That's just the kind of scenario in which it pays off to know your rights and request that the airline to give you your due. There was just one problem with the ticket agent's quibble over the timetable for compensation.

"The four-hour rule he is referring to does not exist," says Scott Vanderbeck, Midwest's manager of customer relations. "His misunderstanding presumably arises from Rule 240 that existed prior to airline deregulation."