Can Soldiers on R&R from Iraq get a break on airline fare rules? [Vanity, seeking help]

[Brandybux]

My godson tells me via AIM that he's slated to get a two week R&R from Iraq around Nov. 17. The army will get him as far as Baltimore, but he's on his own from there (he's headed to Texas).

He's concerned that if he purchases a flight ahead of time, then the Army goofs up his arrival in Baltimore, he'll be faced with a hefty penalty for changing flight times (supposing there would be flights available anyway).

This can't be a new problem. Before I start calling every airline serving Baltimore, I thought I'd ask here, just in case someone has already solved this one. You may respond to me via Freepmail if you like.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[Voice in your head]

Whenever I purchase a ticket, I always spend the extra $20 for the ticket protection program. It covers expenses related to cancellations, re-scheduling, and other issues, for reasons beyond the control of the traveler. I believe that most such plans would cover an incident such as your godson is concerned about. I usually purchase my tickets via online sites such as Orbitz or Expedia - I'm not sure if all services have such a protection plan.

If I were in his shoes and worried about such a problem, I would get together with my fellow soldiers going on R&R and reserve a few hotel rooms for 2 nights and enjoy 2 nights partying in Baltimore/Philadelphia/DC/etc. Schedule the flight to Texas for 2 days after arrival in Baltimore. That way, if they show up on time, they've got 2 days of partying to look forward to. And if the flight is up to 2 days late, they don't miss their flights home.