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Airports are busier, planes are fuller, and there are more leisure travelers: It’s something every business traveler recognizes – summer! A hectic time at airports everywhere - there are some things you can do to ease your travel during these months.

• First, know your rights. A common misconception is that airlines are obligated to compensate travelers for delayed or cancelled flights. This is not required. However, most airlines have enacted procedures for their employees to follow in certain cases where they wish to compensate travelers for their inconvenience through free meals, phone cards, hotel stays, etc. These vary by airline and by situation.
• To improve your chances of arriving on time, choose a non-stop flight. Remember that a "direct" flight, with only one flight number, can still require a change in planes. And fly early in the morning—if your flight gets delayed or cancelled, you will still have several rerouting options. Select airlines and flights with good on-time performance ratings. By asking for the flight’s on-time rating when making reservations you canlearn what percentage of the time it arrives within 15 minutes of schedule or "on-time." Do not travel with expensive or fragile items, bin space is at a minimum in the summer. If you have a choice, avoid peak hours and days; and always, always get to the airport early.
• Most airlines make it standard practice to overbook flights in order to compensate for "no-shows." In the situation of an overbooked flight, the Department of Transportation (DOT) and most European governments have mandated that an airline must first ask for volunteers, before involuntarily bumping passengers; compensation differs between those passengers voluntarily bumped and those who are involuntarily bumped.
• For those who are voluntarily bumped, there is no DOT mandated compensation, so airlines will often negotiate with travelers and bump those with the lowest demands. If an airline ticket is offered in compensation, be sure to check for restrictions and length of validity.
• For those who are involuntarily bumped, there are DOT mandates. All passengers who are involuntarily bumped must be provided with a written statement describing their rights and explaining how the carrier determines the order in which passengers will be bumped.
• If the airline arranges substitute transportation to get you to the final destination, including later connections, within one hour of the original scheduled time of arrival, there is no compensation due. If the substitute transportation is scheduled to arrive between one and two hours after the original arrival time (between one and four hours on international flights) the airline must pay an amount equal to the one-way fare to the final destination, with a maximum of $200. If it is more than two hours (four internationally), or if the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements the compensation doubles (200 percent of the fare with a $400 maximum.) The traveler is always entitled to keep the original ticket and use it on another flight, the denied boarding compensation is essentially a payment for the inconvenience experienced.
• These regulations do not apply to charter flights or scheduled flights that are operated with planes that hold 60 or fewer passengers. International flights inbound to the United States are also now mandated to follow these guidelines.

A booklet detailing airline consumers’ rights, Fly-rights: A Consumer Guide to Air Travel, has been created by the DOT. For $1.75, which includes postage, the 58-page pocket-size booklet can be ordered from the Consumer Information Center, Pueblo, Co 81009. The document is also available from the DOT website: www.dot.gov/airconsumer/flyrights.htm An email address has been established for airline-related problems (airconsumer@ost.gov). (Source: DOT, others)

TRAVELING SAFELY ABROAD

When you travel abroad, the odds are in your favor that you will have a safe and incident-free trip. However, crime and violence, as well as unexpected difficulties, do befall U.S. citizens in all parts of the world. Travelers who take precautions and educate themselves lessen their chances of experiencing difficulties on the road.The U.S. State Department is an excellent source of information to travelers about foreign destinations. The department provides free information about international destinations on their web site: http://travel.state.gov, and includes consular information sheets, travel warnings, and public announcements.