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DEAR TRAVEL TROUBLESHOOTER: I recently took a Western Mediterranean cruise with my family, which included flight arrangements made through Norwegian Cruise Line. On the morning before our scheduled departure, we tried to check in online, but the first leg of our flight was not showing up on the Delta Air Lines app.

We contacted the NCL air department, and a representative said they needed to reissue the outbound tickets and send us new air confirmations. She told me to go to the airport in the morning and resolve the situation at the Delta check-in desk.

When I arrived at the airport, the agent could not find our reservation. At this point, Delta only had four seats remaining on the flight, so I purchased the tickets to avoid missing the rest of the flight and the cruise.

I have asked NCL to reimburse us for the $1,796 we had to spend. NCL asked us to file a claim with AON, the travel insurance we had purchased through NCL, but AON has turned down our claim. We’ve also disputed the charge on our credit card, but lost. read more

By DAVID KOENIG and MICHELLE CHAPMAN (AP Business Writers)

JetBlue Airways and Spirit Airlines are ending their proposed $3.8 billion merger weeks after a federal judge blocked the the deal, saying it would hurt consumers who depend on Spirit’s lower fares.

JetBlue said Monday that even though both companies still believe in the deal, they were unlikely to meet the closing conditions required in the agreement before a July 24 deadline.

JetBlue’s new CEO, Joanna Geraghty, called the merger “a bold and courageous plan intended to shake up the industry status quo” and speed JetBlue’s growth.

“However, with the ruling from the federal court and the Department of Justice’s continued opposition, the probability of getting the green light to move forward with the merger anytime soon is extremely low,” Geraghty said in a memo to employees of New York airline. She said uncertainty over the merger’s fate was distracting the airline from its effort to return to profitability.

Spirit CEO Ted Christie said he was disappointed that the airlines could not combine and create a new challenger to the nation’s four biggest airlines but said he is confident that Spirit — which has been losing money since the pandemic started — can succeed on its own. read more