Q. In July 2010, I booked a Spirit Air flight from Detroit to Montego Bay, departing May 6, 2011 and returning May 14, 2011, and I also booked an all inclusive resort stay for the same dates. In March, Spirit Air sent me a note stating the May 6 flight was cancelled and I was rebooked on a flight for May 7. I had already paid for the eight-day all-inclusive resort and it was non-refundable but now I was on a seven-day vacation. Then in December 2010, unaware that I was going to have the issues with Spirit Air in March 2011, we booked another trip from Detroit to Montego Bay from Nov 6-15, 2011.  Again, we booked an all-inclusive vacation for that time frame.  Well you can guess what happened.  Today, Spirit Air sent me a note that they have cancelled the flight on November 15 and rebooked me for a Nov 14 flight. Again, I pay for one day of vacation I will not be able to use.

Does Spirit Airlines have any obligation to compensate me for the days I pay for and then cannot use?  Other than learning my lesson and not booking Spirit again, do you have any other suggestions.

A. Unfortunately this sort of thing happens all the time. Even most travel insurance policies, had you bought one, won't cover losses to non-refundable land arrangements caused by airline schedule changes such as the ones you describe. What's needed, in my opinion, is a D.O.T. regulation requiring airlines to make passengers whole when there's a schedule change that is made well in advance. Either the airline should put you on another airline or at the very least give you a refund or a voucher good for future travel in the amount of your loss.