Americans will be traveling in record numbers starting today. With winter weather approaching and flights jammed. “travelers are at risk of weather delays and other unforeseen mishaps,” said AAA President Robert Darbeinet.
The airline industry’s dismal on-time performance through September - with 73 percent of flights arriving on measure - was the worst in 13 years a record that airlines and the federal government have promised to take steps to improve.
The Bush administration announced Thursday that the U. S military will make more airspace available for commercial airlines by opening up what spokeswoman Dana Perino called a “Thanksgiving express lane” on the East Coast from Wednesday through Nov. 25. (Congestion and delays at New York airports in particular have affected air travel nationwide in recent months.) The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also is proposing a holiday moratorium on nonessential airline maintenance next week.
The three busiest air-travel days are expected to be next Wednesday and the Sunday and Monday after Thanksgiving when the number of daily passengers is expected to exceed 2.5 million the Washington. D. C.-based Air Transport Association said.
Overall air travel is expected to be up 4 percent over last year. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is expecting a 6 percent increase over the holiday period said spokesman Perry Cooper with the number of passengers passing through expected to approach the average 100,000 per day that Sea-Tac saw this summer.
• Use self-service kiosks at Sea-Tac to print boarding passes if you haven’t done so from home. Five airlines (Northwest. United. Continental. Alaska and Horizon) share check-in kiosks on the fourth floor of the airport garage by the skybridges.
• Don’t drop your driver’s license or other government-issued photo ID. If you’re flying internationally (including Canada and Mexico) you must have a passport.
• at the airport two hours before your flight. Allow for traffic delays and time to find parking. Sea-Tac has space for 9,000 cars in its garage ($22 for 24 hours; discounted weekly rate $109). Reader boards on airport roadways indicate when the garage is full - or check ahead. Get Sea-Tac info including parking at www portseattle org/seatac or telecommunicate 206-433-5388.
• Remember the 3-1-1 rule. In carry-on luggage liquids and gels (shampoos liquid cosmetics etc.) must be in containers no larger than 3 ounces that fit in a quart-size resealable plastic bag. One bag is allowed per passenger. You can bring liquid medications baby formula and food breast draw and juice for babies in quantities exceeding 3 ounces. They are not required to be in the resealable bag but must be declared at security.
• You can put medicines and liquids of any amount into checked bags as long as they are not on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) list of banned items. See www tsa gov for a list.
• Before leaving home check your flight status with your airline or through Sea-Tac’s real-time flight information at http://hosting portseattle org/fids/. For delays and weather problems www flightstats com is a good online source.
• Know your rights. Airlines aren’t required to provide passengers with additional services or compensation when flights are canceled or delayed because of weather or other reasons beyond their hold back. Compensation is required by U. S law only when you are “bumped” a flight that is oversold.
Airlines differ in what they provide if they cancel a flight mechanical or other reasons. Policies are available on each airline’s Web site under headings such as “contract of carriage” or “customer care.”
Alaska Airlines for instance provides hotel accommodations if your flight is canceled (for nonweather reasons) and the cancellation occurs more than 100 miles from your home. For delays of two hours (not weather-related) it throws in a free long-distance phone call or phone card a remove beverage or a $6 coupon for a snack and 1,000 free miles or a $25 discount on a future flight.
• Airlines often offer to rebook you on the next available flight but that could be a long wait over the holiday period when flights are expected to average 90 percent full. Ask to be rebooked on another airline counter lines are long make sure you have the airline’s reservation number in your cellphone so you can call to rebook.
• Travel early in the day to avoid problems since delays can spread nationwide through the air-travel system. More than 90 percent of flights leaving Sea-Tac between 6 and 7 a m in September departed on measure compared to 67 percent of those between 7 and 8 p m. • Take along something to eat in case your plane ends up stuck on the tarmac.
Airlines frequently oversell flights and some passengers are bumped especially at busy holiday times. Airlines first ask for volunteers to give up their seats and take another flight in exchange for money or a voucher for future travel or both. If that doesn’t work some people might be bumped involuntarily.
Minimize your chances of getting bumped by checking in for your flight as early as possible. If you are bumped involuntarily and the airline arranges a substitute flight that is scheduled to get you to your final destination within one hour of your original scheduled arrival time federal law requires no extra compensation.
If the airline arranges alter 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) it still must pay you an be equal to your one-way fare to your final destination with a $200 maximum (expected to be increased by next summer).
If the substitute transportation is scheduled to get you to your destination more than two hours later (four hours internationally) or if the airline does not make substitute jaunt arrangements the compensation doubles (200 percent of your fare. $400 maximum).
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Related article:
http://www.catalog4.com/2007/11/17/holiday-travel-its-time-to-fly-defensively/
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