Travel Question: Will insurance pay for delayed and missed flights?

Q I booked a return ticket from Gatwick to Seattle on Norwegian and continued to Portland by train. On the return journey, I flew from Portland to Seattle on Alaska Airlines. But the flight was over three hours late, and I missed the flight from Seattle to Gatwick. I bought more tickets at great expense – almost $1,000 (£755). I also had extra costs for my travel home from Gatwick to Plymouth.

I have been in contact with Alaska Airlines, who blame air traffic control at Seattle. Norwegian, of course, do not take responsibility, but have returned the taxes from the original flight I did not take. I have submitted a claim to my travel insurer, but I am not confident. Have you any ideas?

Robin Y

A Unfortunately all I can do is set out some advice about how to avoid such expensive experiences in future.

You were very badly advised to buy a flight from Portland to Seattle as a separate purchase from the Seattle-London ticket. Had the journey home appeared all on one ticket, then once things started unravelling in Portland you would have been rebooked – quite possibly on a different route home, for example via Denver, Los Angeles or New York. Otherwise you would have been rebooked on the first available flights via Seattle, probably the following day.

Even with separate tickets, as you had, once the scale of the delay became apparent, you could have found two or three other passengers in the same situation as you at Portland Airport and shared a taxi. It should take as little as two hours to reach Seattle-Tacoma Airport from Portland Airport by road. While the fare could have reached $400-$500, split between three or four passengers the amount would be small compared with the financial loss you incurred – and you might have been able to claim the Alaska Airlines fare back.

But perhaps it was one of those awful “creeping delays” that starts at half-an-hour (mildly annoying), then an hour (worrying) before scuppering your plans completely.

Given the situation, all you can do is hope that your travel insurance will pay up for your losses. But I am not very optimistic: while many policies cover “missed departure” from the UK, not all of them pay out for subsequent transport snarl-ups.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder