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A traveler returning from Venice received a last-minute notice canceling the final leg of his itinerary. So why did $648 get him a new seat on that same flight?
By Seth Kugel
Last September, my wife and I flew from Tucson, Ariz., to Venice for a riverboat trip. My wife returned on Oct. 12, flying Lufthansa from Venice to Denver, with a final leg to Tucson on United Airlines, without incident, while I stuck around for a photography workshop. But on the morning of my identical Oct. 17 return itinerary, I received a text message canceling the Denver-to-Tucson segment. The notice gave no explanation, and when I looked online, I was surprised to see that the flight was still scheduled and had around a dozen seats available. I called United, but the representative said I had to speak to Lufthansa, the airline we had booked through. A Lufthansa representative told me she could not get me on the flight, saying she did not have access to United screens. She offered to rebook my entire itinerary for the next day. But I had an appointment I couldn’t miss, so I booked a new ticket on the Denver-to-Tucson flight for $598 plus a $50 seat assignment fee. I have since written to Lufthansa and United, both Star Alliance members, to try to seek reimbursement, but all I’ve gotten back is the $50 seat fee and a nonsensical response that my reservation was canceled because of weather issues. I’m a) frustrated and b) still out $598. Can you help? Dan, Tucson, Ariz.
