DOT updates “Fly Rights” A Consumer Guide to Air Travel — DOT gets it kinda right

Way back in the early 1990s when I was writing Travel Rights the DOT had a helpful pamphlet titled “Fly Rights.” Finally almost two decades later, the booklet, that has lived all this time on the Internet I am told, has been updated. Does it make sense of the crazy airline world that has emerged during the last decade in terms of security and during the last three years in terms of airline fees?

Sometimes yes, and sometimes no.

I still have my yellowed, printed version of Fly Rights tucked in my basement in Boston (unless it was destroyed in the latest flooding). But, today’s version of the brochure is right on the Web at http://airconsumer.dot.gov/publications/flyrights.htm

Let’s take a look. My first comment — the type needs to be bigger.

In the section on Airfares, Fly Rights tells travelers its a jungle out there. These are a few random outtakes from the booklet. [I’ll make some limited comments in brackets.]

* Be flexible in your travel plans in order to get the lowest fare. The best deals may be limited to travel on certain days of the week (particularly midweek or Saturday) or certain hours of the day (e.g., early-morning flights or overnight “red eyes”). When searching flights and fares on the Web you can usually specify whether your dates are flexible, and in the search results the fares are generally listed from lowest to highest. If you are shopping by phone [normally phone reservations incur an additional fee] or in person, after you get a fare quote ask the reservations agent if you could save even more by leaving a day earlier or later, or by taking a different flight on the same day.

* Be aware that many airlines charge extra for checked baggage, advance seat assignments, meals, or other services. Airlines include information on these fees on their web sites. [Fees are difficult to find on airline sites and not provided by the airlines to online travel agent and regular travel agents on your street corner.]

Here are some paragraphs from the section on Schedules and tickets.

Once you decide when and where you want to go, and which airline you want to use, you will usually have to purchase a ticket in order to hold a confirmed seat. However, many large airlines will hold a reservation for 24 hours or so without payment [hardly many, only one large airline, US Airways will for telephone reservations only]. Others require payment at the time. you make a reservation but will provide a full refund if you cancel in the first day or so [Continental, Delta and United will. AA and USAir keep your money once you pay; so do the low cost carriers.] When available, both of these procedures permit you to hold a seat and a fare for a short time while continuing to shop for a better deal.

Delayed and canceled flights. DOT tells you that basically you are on your own.

Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for delayed passengers waiting at the airport; there are no federal requirements. If you are delayed, ask the airline staff if it will pay for meals or a phone call. Some airlines, often those charging very low fares, do not provide any amenities to stranded passengers. Others may not offer amenities if the delay is caused by bad weather or something else beyond the airline’s control. Contrary to popular belief, airlines are not required to compensate passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled.

When it comes to overbooking the DOT lists the surprisingly complex rules and exemptions. I will devote a section to the DOT overbooking rules in light of the coming rulemaking that may change these regulations.

DOT has not mandated the form or amount of compensation that airlines offer to volunteers. DOT does, however, require airlines to advise any volunteer whether he or she might be involuntarily bumped and, if that were to occur, the amount of compensation that would be due. [This is where most carriers fail. They do not tell passengers that they can demand cash instead of airline script among other issues.] Carriers can negotiate with their passengers for mutually acceptable compensation. Airlines generally offer a free trip or other transportation benefits to prospective volunteers. The airlines give employees guidelines for bargaining with passengers, and they may select those volunteers willing to sell back their reservations for the lowest price. If the airline offers you a free ticket or a transportation voucher in a certain dollar amount, ask about restrictions. How long is the ticket or voucher good for? Is it “blacked out” during holiday periods when you might want to use it? Can it be used for international flights?

As you can see, this booklet offers lots of good advice, but a smattering of slightly blurry advice. In future articles, The Consumer Travel Alliance is conducting a review of this DOT publication. I will go through several more of these sections based on that research. Stand by.

Finally, here is the information from DOT that tells consumers how to get a hold of this publication and When Kids Fly Alone [That’s set for another review].

In addition to Fly Rights, the Department recently developed another guide to assist the flying public. This pamphlet, entitled When Kids Fly Alone, provides air travel tips for parents of unaccompanied minors. When Kids Fly Alone is available online at http://airconsumer.dot.gov/publications/KidsAlone.pdf.

Print copies of both Fly Rights and When Kids Fly Alone may be obtained free of charge from the DOT warehouse by e-mail at [email protected] or by writing to DOT Warehouse, 3341-Q 75th Ave., Lanham, MD 20785. Copies also are available in limited bulk quantities to airlines and airports. Please specify item number X0111A for Fly Rights and X0176 for When Kids Fly Alone.