What to do if an airline changes your flight plan

NEW YORK (AP) — It's the ultimate travel bait and switch.

You book a ticket on a non-stop flight but the airline cancels it a few weeks later, leaving a computer to automatically rebook you. Your new itinerary includes a layover, turning a five-hour trip into an eight-hour journey.

"You are at the mercy of the airline," says Anna Stinson, 40, of Minneapolis

In May, Stinson bought tickets for a trip to North Carolina in the middle of August. She is traveling with her four-year-old son and picked Delta because it offered a nonstop flight.

Then as part of system-wide cuts, the flight was eliminated. She was rebooked with a connection in Atlanta.

"I'm …