My flight to Seattle is on Sept 12, departing Nashville at 1017, arriving at 1753, a perfect time to hook up with Brian, and Riley can pick us up from his shop near the airport, right after work. It cost me $500 and change.

It was perfect, until American Airlines changed the terms of the deal yesterday. Now they have me laying over in Charlotte, NC for 5 hours, changing the arrival time to well after 2100!

So I called Priceline and requested rescheduling. The recorded message told me I would be subjected to a $200 charge plus any difference in the cost of the flight. I was starting to fume, shouting what a scam to an empty line.

When I finally spoke to a nice young lady, I explained that arriving at 1700 was critical, I wanted a different flight, and I didn't want to pay an extra dime, since American broke the contract. She put me on hold and I didn't know what to expect.

I got a new flight, even better than the other one, it leaves at 1143, 55 minute layover in Dallas, arrives in Seattle at 1658.

The best and most critical part was, American waived the $320 surcharge because the change was due to their scheduling, not my whim.

So, I've taken my share of commercial flights, but I am far from a seasoned flyer. I learned something today, perhaps you did to.