About a month ago, I took advantage of a Travelocity e-mail fare alert for a flight from Minneapolis to Costa Rica. The deal seemed too good to be true: $230 roundtrip on US Airways. I booked the flight for my September honeymoon and then went to a website and bid on our accommodations, which I also booked.

A few days ago, US Airways notified me that it had dropped a connecting flight to Costa Rica, and that our only option was a full refund. I checked the ticket prices to Costa Rica and found that they had tripled. I felt like I was a victim of a bait-and-switch. I called US Airways, which offered to fly us to Costa Rica a day after we were supposed to leave. But it would involve an overnight stay in Charlotte, which the airline was unwilling to pay for.

Doug Miller, Shorewood, Minn.

Did US Airways and its online travel agent, Travelocity, engage in a bait-and-switch? I can see how you would think so. But flight schedules change constantly. Basically, you have the right to a refund or to a flight of the airline's choosing — nothing more.

I always recommend that engaged couples work with a qualified travel agent who specializes in honeymoons, because you don't want anything to go wrong on this vacation. This is no time to cut corners.

But let's take the honeymoon out of the equation. Between US Airways, with its "customer commitment" and Travelocity, with its "guarantee," I just think this could have been handled better.

A brief, politely written appeal to US Airways would have been my first choice to get this resolved. Phoning the airline probably wasn't the most effective way to fix this. I'm surprised Travelocity just passed along the airline's decision without trying to do more, but in the end I think this was a case for US Airways to resolve.

I contacted the airline on your behalf, and it offered you a $75 voucher to cover your hotel bill during your layover in Charlotte.

— By Christopher Elliott