The empty value of airline ticket credits

[WASHINGTON] Bethany Tully might have been forgiven for her confusion. After cancelling a flight from San Francisco to Boston under unhappy circumstances, she discovered that her ticket credit on United Airlines was worth about half of what she expected - an increasingly common complaint among air travellers.

Earlier this year, Ms Tully had booked three tickets on Hotwire.com to visit a close friend. "Tragedy struck just before the trip," she says. "He committed suicide."

A Hotwire representative assured the grief- stricken customer that she didn't need to worry. "I was told that I could cancel the tickets and Hotwire would issue a full credit to be used within 12 months," she said. "But I have tried numerous times to use the credits - one being for his funeral service - with no luck."