My wife and I had a terrible experience returning from Vieques, PR a few days ago and am trying to determine what, if any, rights we may have against the parties involved. We had purchased a package from Expedia that included a 2-stop return trip; the first leg from Vieques to SJU was on Cape Air, connecting to U.S. Airways. The itinerary provided a 51-minute connection time for this leg of the trip. The flight was about 10 minutes late (still considered "on time," apparently), and it was not possible to check our bag straight through, meaning that we had to pick the bag up at baggage claim, go through USDA screening, and then check in at the U.S. Airways counter. Predictably, the connecting flight had already closed by the time we made it to the counter, and U.S. Airways had no available flights to New York for the rest of the day.

U.S. Airways informed us that the connection time was illegal and that Cape Air should be responsible for booking a flight on another carrier. The Cape Air representative, however, said that it was Expedia's fault for booking the illegal connection. I called Expedia and was on the phone with them for an hour and a half. The rep I initially talked to said that Delta, our outbound carrier, should be responsible for booking an alternative return. I went to the Delta counter and put the Expedia rep on the phone with the Delta guy, both of whom said that the other was responsible for booking a new flight. (Everyone-- Delta, Cape Air, U.S. Airways, and the initial Expedia rep-- were in agreement that the connection was illegal). Finally, after waiting for half an hour, I spoke with the Expedia rep's supervisor, who insisted that the Cape Air-U.S. Airways connection was not illegal after all, and tried to sell me a ticket on another flight.

Ultimately U.S. Airways was able to get us on a flight to Charlotte, and on to New York the next day. But the inconvenience to us was substantial and I am still upset with Expedia for booking what appears to have been an illegal connection and refusing to do anything to assist when we were stuck in SJU.

A few questions: 1) Are "illegal connections" actually governed by FAA or other governmental regulations, or are they simply a matter of airline/airport practice? My online research is inconclusive but suggests the latter. 2) Are the minimum connection times for SJU publicly available anywhere? So far I haven't been able to locate any source to authoritatively determine whether the connection was actually illegal. 3) Assuming the connection was illegal, is there an agency-- governmental or industry-- with which I could file a complaint against Expedia for booking the itinerary? I'm a lawyer and realize I don't have much of a civil claim since my actual damages were minimal, but if there's a regulatory body to which I could make a complaint I am definitely interested in doing so.