Get Ready to Get Bumped

By Michelle Singletary
Thursday, September 21, 2006

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.

· If the substitute transportation is scheduled to get you to your destination more than two hours later than scheduled (four hours internationally), or if the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements for you, the compensation doubles, to a maximum of $400.

· You always get to keep your original ticket and use it on another flight. If you decide to make your own alternate travel arrangements, you can ask for a refund on the ticket for the flight you were bumped from.

Now, you know there are exceptions to everything, and compensation for being bumped is no exception. To be compensated, you must have a confirmed reservation. Look for an "OK" on your ticket.

You also have to meet the airline's deadline for buying your ticket. Typically, discount tickets must be purchased within a certain number of days after the reservation was made. Other tickets normally have to be picked up no later than 30 minutes before the flight.

In addition to the ticketing deadline, each airline has a check-in deadline that you need to meet. If you want to decrease the chances of being bumped, get to the airport early or check in online as soon as you are allowed, typically 24 hours before the flight. On oversold flights, the last passenger to check in is usually the first to be bumped.

This isn't in the rules, but you have a far better chance of being compensated nicely and treated kindly when you're involuntarily bumped if you don't act like a jerk. Yes, the airlines shouldn't overbook. But that doesn't give you a free ticket to be nasty.

Of course, there are some people who pray for a bumping situation. These seasoned travelers are usually the ones who sprint to the counter when the call goes out for volunteers.

I love these passengers. I say more power to their penny-pinching sprinting because it lets the rest of us get to our destinations on time.

· On the air: Michelle Singletary appears on Washington Post Radio (107.7 FM, 1500 AM) at 6:20 a.m. Thursdays. She also discusses personal finance Tuesdays on NPR's "Day to Day" program and online athttp://www.npr.org.

· By mail: Readers can write to her at The Washington Post, 1150 15th St. NW, Washington, D.C., 20071.

· By e-mail:singletarym@washpost.com.

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