A reader requested our journey columnist:…

A reader requested our journey columnist: “I’m a 90-year-old Dutch American living by the beach in California since 1955. After a month visiting my home country last spring, I was set to fly Vueling Airlines from Amsterdam to Barcelona before continuing on to Los Angeles. At the Vueling check-in desk at Schiphol Airport, the agent — noting my age and how far away the gate was — offered transport assistance. I thought that was a very nice gesture and accepted. Two young women working for the airport soon appeared with an electric cart, asked for my boarding pass and took me to a very busy gate, where I managed to find a seat. But when I heard the announcement, ‘We are now boarding for Paris,’ I nearly dropped dead. I went to the counter where an agent pointed me toward the right gate, but it was quite far away and I didn’t make it in time. A Vueling representative rebooked me on the next available flight, two days later, but would not provide a hotel voucher, instead giving me an email address to seek reimbursement. I stayed at the airport Sheraton for two nights and later filed receipts totaling $1,343 for the hotel and meals. Vueling rejected the request, writing that the airport’s transportation service was not its responsibility. But it was the agent’s suggestion, and without it, I would have made my flight. Can you help?”