Q. I have  reservations on a Delta flight from Europe, changing planes in Atlanta to Cleveland in December.  I have been notified that the Cleveland flight has changed schedule and I will not be able to make the connection.  They want me to spend the night at a hotel and fly out the next day, at my expense of course.  They also will not refund that section of the ticket so I can go on another airline.  Do I have any recourse?  They also would not let me change to another Delta flight that would let me connect through Orlando with my traveling companion. I see now that that Orlando connecting flight is cheaper than my original one, by the way.

A. This is one of the most maddening aspects of air travel these days, and absolutely an area where the US D.O.T. might add a regulation or two. At the very least, Delta should allow you to get a full refund of your entire ticket and then you might be able to book a flight on another airline, at the same price hopefully. I strongly believe that airlines should be required to pay for hotel costs when they change force you to spend the night in one owing to a schedule change such as this. Barring that, they should allow you to connect through a different city on their own airline. I suggest you keep trying to rearrange your flights. Delta may have a change of heart.

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