Question: I'm trying to get a refund for a canceled flight on Alitalia, but no one seems to be able to help me. I recently booked a ticket from Minneapolis to Rome via New York on Expedia. My connecting flight was canceled because of weather conditions. Since my ticket was booked on Delta Air Lines, which has a code-sharing agreement with Alitalia, I asked a Delta representative how I could get on the next flight.

Delta referred me to Alitalia. But Alitalia couldn't rebook me until several days later, which would have left me with two days of vacation. Since I couldn't afford staying in New York for a week, I returned to Minneapolis.

When I got home, I called Expedia to see whether I could get a refund for the unused portion of my ticket. Expedia contacted Alitalia and was able to get an authorization to refund $799, which covered the cost of my ticket.

Since then, I have called Alitalia several times. The customer service agents are rude. The last time I called, I was told that there was no record of a refund request, and when I told the agent that Expedia had filed a request, she yelled at me until I hung up.

Allison Fagerness,

St. Louis Park, Minn.

Answer: Alitalia owes you a prompt refund on the unused portion of your ticket. According to the airline's general conditions of carriage, not only must it refund your money within a week, but it should have offered food and drink "in conformity to the length of the delay" and two telephone calls or "messages via telex, fax or e-mail."

The airline fell way short of giving you those things. But there are two other parties who should have helped.

The first is Delta. If your tickets were on Delta, the airline bears some responsibility for getting you to your destination or getting you a speedy refund.

The second entity that should have helped is Expedia. The company's well-marketed "Expedia Promise" assures customers that they can "go with confidence."

From my perspective, Alitalia is the most complained-about international airline. I frequently hear from passengers with luggage, boarding or customer-service problems.

Your first call from the airport, after learning that your flight had been canceled, should have been to Expedia.

You shouldn't have let Delta off the hook, either. You should have called the airline for help. After you were home, you also should have leaned heavily on Expedia for a refund.

I contacted Expedia on your behalf, and it helped get your $799 back.

Christopher Elliott is the ombudsman for National Geographic Traveler magazine. Troubleshoot your trip through his Web site, www.csr.elliott.org.