Kansas City, Mo ? Vanguard Airlines’ decision this week to close down operations and file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy has left many of its customers feeling helpless and misled.

Angry Vanguard ticket holders, expecting a break from other airlines, said they were deceived by those airlines advertising special discounted fares and offers to waive advance purchase restrictions. Despite the offers, they said, those airlines still charged more than Vanguard had for tickets.

“None of the airlines are giving real discounts to Vanguard ticket holders,” said Karin Vierling, of Leavenworth. “No airline is stepping up to help anybody except themselves to our wallets.”

If Vierling still wants to get her family to a Christmas reunion in Seattle, she must buy all new tickets all at a higher cost.

When announcing Vanguard’s bankruptcy, chief executive Scott Dickson asked other airlines to accommodate Vanguard passengers “at no additional cost, in accordance with the intent of Section 145 of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act,” which President Bush signed into law in November.

The act was a response to the Sept. 11 bombings and included tightening of airport security. Section 145 states any airline that shares a route with another airline that has to suspend its service because of insolvency or bankruptcy “shall provide, to the extent practicable, air transportation to passengers ticketed” by the bankrupt airline.

But the section is not well known or understood by many aviation officials. And Section 145 is so new it hasn’t been legally interpreted, said Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Mosley.

Mosley said the vague phrase, “to the extent practicable,” more or less leaves it up to the airline to decide what it can do to accommodate passengers without jeopardizing its own operations.

The airlines said they are doing just that. They said they are not obligated to actually accept Vanguard’s tickets, although some airlines have been allowing Vanguard passengers to fly standby.

“The law asks us to help to the extent that is practicable to accommodate passengers of another airline,” said Linda Rutherford, a Southwest Airlines spokeswoman in Dallas.

For Southwest, Rutherford said, that means: “If I have seats available I’m going to give you the lowest listed fare we offer in the marketplace.”

Department of Transportation’s Mosley said an interpretation of the law’s intent hangs on someone making a complaint.

So far, he said, no one has filed a complaint.