Air travel today may not cause you an arm, but you could find a leg missing along your route. Many travelers are starting to find that a leg of their itinerary is canceled or delayed which puts the rest of their trip in jeopardy. It may also cause travelers to lose reservations at hotels or have to pay for stays that they don't get to enjoy.

When consumers are put out by airlines because of "extraordinary circumstances" then the airlines are not liable. Unfortunately for most people caught in these missing leg scenarios (or any other cancellations or delays) the airlines are stretching the extraordinary circumstances to include things like not being able to get a full crew.

These situations may be few and far between (statistically speaking) but if you happen to be the one caught in the mess then statistics are no longer important. All you want is to get your travel plans fixed or your costs reimbursed.

Airlines that have invoked the magic ?extraordinary circumstances? clause are not likely to meet the expectations of disgruntled passengers. Most of the time the airlines send out their responses to the situation with the implication that the matter is now closed and correspondence will no longer be responded to. Because of the way airlines are closing out the complaints, there may more problems than the industry would like to admit. It is the squeaky consumer that is getting the attention ? and many give up before is comes to that point.

The exact definition of ?extraordinary circumstance? has yet to be defined by the courts. Most airlines are leery about letting the courts establish the definition because it will limit their ability to utilize the clause. It may take a consumer being willing to push the issue to court (despite what may be offered to settle) before the airline industry can be forced to do what's right in all situations.