Get Ready to Get Bumped

If you've flown this past spring and summer, you've probably noticed fuller flights. Hate to tell you this, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, you can expect more of the same.

Fuller flights mean more than just getting stuck with the dreaded middle seat. For airline passengers, it means a greater chance of getting involuntarily bumped from a flight, continuing an already worrisome trend. From January to June, the latest period available, 33,513 passengers were forced to give up their seats. That's up 34 percent from the 25,041 bumped during the same period a year ago, according to the Department of Transportation's Air Travel Consumer Report. "The worsening problem with bumping reflects the intensifying push by airlines to fill a greater percentage of seats," says E. Christopher Murray, an attorney with the New York law firm of Reisman, Peirez & Reisman, who knows what it's like to be bumped from a flight.

A lot of bumping happens because airlines overbook, counting on some folks not making their flight. But when everyone does show up, it can be a turbulent time for passengers and airline personnel. Often the situation is resolved by people who voluntarily give up their seats in exchange for such incentives as a free ticket on a future flight.

Overbooking is not illegal, although the DOT does require airlines to ask for volunteers. But how much you get for giving up your seat varies from airline to airline. The DOT does not tell carriers what they must give volunteers to compensate for the missed flight.

Southwest Airlines, which bumped more than 5,400 passengers from January to June, offers the cost of the ticket for the leg of the trip from which volunteers are bumped. The airline also offers a $100 travel credit if volunteers can take the next available flight, and $200 for the flight after that.

"This is definitely not happening to the majority of our customers," said Southwest spokeswoman Whitney Eichinger. So what do you do if you're bumped involuntarily?

The airlines do have to follow certain guidelines required by the Federal Aviation Administration. If you are forced to give up your seat, here's a summary of your rights as outlined in the DOT's consumer guidelines (You can find information about all your rights as a passenger by going to http://www.dot.gov . In the search field, put "Fly-Rights"):

· If the airline can arrange to get you on another flight that will get you to your final destination (including later connections) within one hour of your original scheduled arrival time, there is no required compensation.

· If the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to arrive at your destination between one and two hours after your original arrival time (between one and four hours on international flights), the airline must pay you an amount equal to your one-way fare to your final destination. Unfortunately, the amount the airline has to pay is capped at $200.