This post is part of our “Airlines Behaving Badly” series, which chronicles the oft-wicked ways of the air travel industry.

A Vietnam War veteran dying of cancer recently had insult added to injury when Spirit Airlines refused to refund his plane ticket, reports FoxNews.com. Jerry Meekins, 76, booked a flight last month with the ultra-low-cost carrier to visit his daughter, who was undergoing surgery. But a couple of weeks later, his doctor told him that the cancer he’d been battling for two years was terminal and that he was simply too ill to fly.

Meekins’ ticket was nonrefundable, so the airline refused to give him back the $197 he’d paid, or to allow him to transfer the ticket to his daughter. Instead, Spirit has offered only a credit for a future flight — one that Meekins will likely never be able to take.

Spirit’s stance on nonrefundable tickets isn’t unusual in the industry. On most airlines, the cheapest available fares are “nonrefundable and nontransferable”; if you want the option to change or cancel your plans, you’ll have to pay a premium for more flexible fares. But it’s not unheard of for airlines to make exceptions to their policies based on extenuating circumstances such as Meekins’. Take this example from consumer advocate Chris Elliott, who successfully got US Airways to give a refund to a traveler suffering from from liver disease. Sure, we understand that rules are rules for a reason. But isn’t there any room for a little compassion?

The Real Reason Fliers Hate the Airlines

Apparently not at Spirit, where things seem to be business as usual. The airline’s home page is currently advertising its latest summer sale fares, illustrated by a woman in a bikini holding a couple of provocatively positioned beach balls:

Stay classy, Spirit.

– written by Sarah Schlichter