Travel plans go haywire due to storms

With the hurricane season in full swing, some southwestern Connecticut residents have had to shell out hundreds of dollars more for their trips. Michael Dobbins, of Redding, bought four tickets on an

News 12 Staff

Sep 9, 2008, 10:58 PM

Updated 6,006 days ago

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With the hurricane season in full swing, some southwestern Connecticut residents have had to shell out hundreds of dollars more for their trips.
Michael Dobbins, of Redding, bought four tickets on an American Airlines flight seven months ago for a family vacation at the Beaches Resort on Turks and Caicos.
Dobbins and his family were set to board the plane over the weekend, but because of Tropical Storm Hanna and Hurricane Ike, the resort told would-be guests to postpone their vacations until next month.
The change of travel plans, however, comes with a price. American Airlines is charging Dobbins an extra $600 in ?reassignment fees.?
?I'm only inconvenienced by rescheduling, but I just don't think it's fair that American Airlines is charging the fees that they're charging,? Dobbins says.
Not all travelers, however, are slammed with additional charges. American Airlines is waiving the "reassignment fee" for people who booked tickets for flights through last Friday.
However, Dobbins was not scheduled to leave until Saturday.
While many people choose to insure their trips, some travel agents say travel insurance does not cover weather-related situations, such as hurricanes, otherwise known as acts of God.