Travel Troubleshooter: Airline wouldn’t let me on an earlier flight to Sweden with open seats

Q: I booked two round-trip tickets from Stockholm to Oslo on Norwegian Air Shuttle. The return flight was scheduled to arrive in Stockholm at 8 p.m. I subsequently learned of an appointment I had in Stockholm at about 7:30, so I changed our return flight to an earlier time. Because this was a more expensive flight, I paid an additional $79 for this change.

Just before our flight, I received an email from Norwegian requiring us to change to a later flight. The airline would not offer any compensation for the amount we paid for the earlier flight.

Interestingly, we arrived in Oslo with enough time to catch the earlier flight. Although there were seats available, we were not allowed to board. I discussed this with the gate agent at the time, even showing her my original flight itinerary, but was still denied boarding.

I missed my appointment in Stockholm but still had to pay $79. In essence, I paid for something that was not provided to me. Can you help me get a refund?

A: What you experienced was something like a trip in vain. You had an appointment in Stockholm, you paid extra to get to it on time, and Norwegian then rebooked you on a later flight.

I think the worst part of your story is that they wouldn’t let you on the correct flight, which still had seats. That’s a senseless airline rule that ruined your chances of making it to your meeting.

There’s absolutely no justification for this. Norwegian should have immediately refunded the fare difference when it changed your ticket. And when it had available seats, it should have rebooked you.

I’ve found myself in a similar situation flying in Europe. I arrived a little early and saw another flight with the same airline going to my intended destination. It had available seats, but the ticket agents wouldn’t rebook me. Why? They said it “wasn’t fair” to the other passengers who might want to get on the earlier flight. What nonsense! By the way, the airline went out of business a few years later. Serves ’em right.

Airlines have a lot of rules, but most of them are there for one reason: to enhance their revenues. Norwegian wanted more money from you to change your flight but was unwilling to pay you back when it changed your flight. That seems profoundly unfair to me.

You might have avoided this by giving yourself a little more time or maybe scheduling your meetings for the next day. Changing your ticket wouldn’t have been necessary then.

I contacted Norwegian on your behalf. The company refunded your $79.

Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers. Contact him at chris@elliott.org or elliottadvocacy.org/help.