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."

Rule 240 was the term for the old Civil Aeronautics Board regulation which required all airlines to put you on a competitor's flight if your original flight was delayed or canceled and the other airline would get you to your destination faster. But Rule 240 — at least under that name and with its uniformly applicable provisions — disappeared in 1978.

Airlines now make their own rules about what they'll do if your flight is delayed or cancelled, depending on the reason for and length of the delay; there is no federal regulation about amenities, services, or compensation delayed passengers should receive. You can find the details in each airline's contract of carriage, available online or at ticket counters.

Confusingly, some airlines' contracts of carriage still refer to these provisions as Rule 240, while other carriers (notably those formed after deregulation) never used the term. Regardless of nomenclature, the consumer protections vary widely and have been watered down over the past three decades, and passengers will rarely get anything for delays or cancellations outside the airline's control, such as weather or air-traffic control delays. Mangarelli's flight was cancelled due to a crew shortage, according to Vanderbeck.

The only four-hour flight-delay amenity provision in Midwest's contract of carriage states that passengers with long delays beyond normal meal times will get a meal voucher. Like other airlines, Midwest does not guarantee its schedule, and typically does not compensate passengers for delayed flights. So why did Midwest give him a voucher for a free round-trip flight?

"The voucher is used in certain instances of customer service recovery," says Vanderbeck. "Mangarelli was given a complimentary roundtrip voucher as a gesture of goodwill for his inconvenience caused by the cancellation."

Squeaky wheel, meet grease. Maybe the gate agent was a basketball fan and felt sorry for Mangarelli. But regardless of why he got the voucher, he should be able to use it. Every Midwest flight has a limited number of seats redeemable by such vouchers, which means customers may need to be flexible with their dates if picking popular destinations, and last-minute travel may be tricky if the capacity-controlled seats are all reserved, according to Vanderbeck.

Vanderbeck agreed to work with Mangarelli to find flights he can use the voucher on, or to extend its expiration date, if necessary.

How can you avoid trouble?

Know how to deal with delays. Read the U.S. Department of Transportation's tips. Get a copy of your airline's contract of carriage to understand what you can ask for, such as whether an airline will put you on another carrier's flight. Airline personnel may not volunteer the details.

Remember that vouchers have restrictions. You should get the voucher's terms and conditions explaining restrictions, blackout periods, and expiration dates.

Be flexible with travel dates. Since redeemable seats are limited, you may have better luck using a voucher on weekdays and off-peak travel periods, or by booking well in advance.

Read previous columns

Linda Burbank first began troubleshooting travelers' complaints for the Consumer Reports Travel Letter. She now writes regularly for Consumers Union publications and is a contributing editor for National Geographic Traveler. E-mail her at travel@usatoday.com. Your question may be used in a future column.

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