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Tom Scruggs pays Norwegian Airlines a $79 change fee to get on an earlier flight. However, the airline rebooks him on a later flight. Can he get a refund?

Q: I’m trying to get a refund from Norwegian Airlines. I booked two round-trip tickets from Stockholm to Oslo recently. The return flight was scheduled to arrive in Stockholm at 8 p.m. I subsequently learned of an appointment in Stockholm at about 7:30, so I changed our return flight to earlier. Because this was a more expensive flight, I paid an additional $79 for this change.

Just before our flight, I received an email from Norwegian Airlines requiring us to change to a later flight. The airline would not offer any compensation for the amount we paid for the earlier flight.

Interestingly, we arrived in Oslo with enough time to catch the earlier flight. Although there were seats available, we were not allowed to board. I then discussed this with the gate agent, even showing her my original flight itinerary, but I was still denied boarding.

I missed my appointment in Stockholm but still had to pay $79. In essence, I paid for something that was not provided to me. Can you help me get a refund? — Tom Scruggs, Decatur, Ga.

A: What you experienced was something like a trip in vain. You had an appointment in Stockholm, paid extra to get to it on time, and Norwegian Airlines rebooked you on a later flight.

The worst part of your story is that they wouldn’t let you on the correct flight, which still had seats. That’s a senseless airline rule that ruined your chances of making it to your meeting.

There’s absolutely no justification for this. Norwegian should have immediately refunded the fare difference when it changed your ticket and rebooked you when it had available seats.

I’ve found myself in a similar situation flying in Europe. I arrived a little early for a flight and saw another flight with the same airline going to my intended destination. It had available seats, but the ticket agents wouldn’t rebook me. Why? They said it “wasn’t fair” to the passengers who might want to get on the earlier flight. What nonsense! By the way, the airline went out of business a few years later. Serves ’em right.

I publish the Norwegian Airlines customer service representatives’ names, numbers and email addresses. A brief, polite email to one of them might have helped them see the situation’s absurdity and led to a prompt refund. You tried to email them, but no one has responded to you.

Airlines have many rules, but most of them are there to enhance their revenues. Norwegian Air wanted more money from you to change your flight but was unwilling to pay you back when it changed your flight. That seems profoundly unfair to me.

You might have avoided this by giving yourself more time or scheduling your meetings for the next day, which would have given you plenty of time to get from Oslo to Stockholm. Changing your ticket wouldn’t have been necessary then.

I contacted Norwegian Airlines on your behalf. The company refunded your $79.