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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQS);faqs.015 Students may purchase discount books of 10 tickets on the Trump (now USAir) shuttle for $499. Delta has a similar program for their shuttle. Age restrictions can be as low as 18-22 on these tickets (Continental 18-22, USAir 18-24 some routes, 18-22 others, Delta is 18-24). Times are restricted from 10am to 2:30 pm and after 7 pm. A variety of discounts are available if you have an International Student Identity Card. Ask your travel agent for details on how to get such a card and what discounts are available. Youth fares: Passenger must be between 12 and 22 (25 for international travel) years of age. Seats may be limited. Tickets must be purchased from the point of origin. Some require picture identification such as Youth Fare identification Card, birth certificate, government ID card or drivers license. Southwest gives the offpeak rate for *all* flights for youth (21 & under), although this is still more expensive than their supersaver fares. Family fares: Some carriers offer discounts on family travel. For the purposes of the discounts, a family is defined as a husband and wife with or without accompanying children age 2-17, or one parent with one or more accompanying children age 2-17. Age restrictions on children differ from airline to airline (some set the maximum age at 20 or 21 years; and some break children into two classes, 12 & under and 12-21). Some include legal guardian and grandparents within the definition of parent. It is usually not necessary for the family to travel under a common surname. Proof of family relationship must be established to the satisfaction of the carrier and all family members must travel together for the entire trip. Fares are typically 100% for first family member, 50% each additional. Some have further discounts. ;;; ******************************** ;;; Flying Standby ***************** ;;; ******************************** On the other hand, an empty seat doesn't earn the airline any money. So some airlines offer what is called "standby tickets". Using such a ticket you are NOT guarranteed a seat on a particular flight, but on the next flight with empty seats. (In other words, standby means on a space available basis.) If there are available seats, flying standby can be much cheaper. If it is a busy day and the flights are full, you may have to wait several hours to get a seat, or maybe not get a seat at all. Don't fly standby on the day before Thanksgiving or the Sunday after, you won't get a seat. On Thanksgiving day itself, you're likely to find a seat. A standby ticket does not guarrantee you a seat, but if you do not absolutely, positively have to be there tomorrow, you can get some good deals. [Days which are bad for standby seats are usually good days for getting bumped.] Note that even if every seat isn't taken, an airline sometimes won't accept standby passengers because it might mean having to unload fuel to change the weight distribution of the aircraft. If you're on a later flight but get to the airport early, check with the attendant at the gate. You may be able to get on the earlier flight is there's space available (but this may result in your getting no "snack"). This works even for "non-changeable" tickets. One way to "ensure" the availability of standby seats is for the agent or the passenger to make a large number of regular reservations, and then an hour before the flight release the block of seats, virtually ensuring that standby passengers will get aboard at cheap standby fares. Travel agents don't do this very frequently, since the airlines don't appreciate it. This probably doesn't do you any good with the way airlines overbook flights. [And causes a lot of bad will with the airlines. If people start doing this frequently, airlines will probably eliminate standby fares.] Many airlines have eliminated the discounts for flying standby for precisely this reason. When flying standby, make sure you get to the gate EARLY. If several people are flying standby, you want to make sure that your name is first on the list. Note that connecting passengers, bumped passengers, etc., get priority over local boarding standbys. On really busy days it might pay to show up early for the *first* flight of the day, since standbys who don't make it will "roll over" to the next flight. Note that although most airlines no longer sell standby tickets, you can go to the gate agent at the airport with any unused ticket from that airline and ask to be placed on the standby list. Your luck will vary by airline and gate agent. ;;; ******************************** ;;; Getting "Bumped" *************** ;;; ******************************** Airlines tend to overbook their flights in case of no-shows. Occasionally this will mean that more people show up with confirmed reservations than there are seats on the plane. (Or if the flight is a particularly full one, it may exceed the weight limit even with empty seats.) The airline will ask if there's anyone willing to be bumped from the flight in exchange for compensation (e.g., USAir will give you a free round-trip ticket anywhere they fly). The airline will then put you on the next available flight to your destination, along with your free ticket. So another way to reduce the cost of flying is to purchase a confirmed reservation for 8-9 am or 5-6 pm on a weekday. These are the times most businessmen fly (trying to make early morning meetings or to get home for dinner in the evening), and hence when the airline is most likely to be overbooked. Airlines are also likely to be overbooked on Sunday nights and the beginning and end of holidays, since that is when non-businessmen typically fly. Receiving a free roundtrip ticket effectively cuts your air travel costs in half. And if you get bumped while using a previous free bump ticket, it gets even cheaper. If you have a confirmed reservation, and you notice the flight is overbooked but first class is underbooked and you don't necessarily want to be bumped, try being the last person on line. If you are lucky the coach and business class will be full, and they will have to upgrade you to first class at no charge. (Also, having a pre-issued boarding pass will decrease your chances of an involuntary bump.) This is risky, though, because you might wind up being bumped anyway, so only do it if you don't care whether you'll be bumped. It always pays to volunteer to be bumped, even if the flight isn't overbooked. If the airline needs adjacent seating for a family, they will sometimes bump you into first class if you are in a row by yourself. If you definitely want to be bumped, volunteer when you check in and again at the gate. This will give you priority if there are only a few bumps. Good days to get bumped include: Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Sunday after; couple days before and after Christmas; ditto with New Years. Friday afternoons, evenings, and Sunday afternoons and evenings also bump a lot. If the airline still has plenty of coach seats a day or so before the flight, it is unlikely that they will bump. Here's what some airlines usually give volunteers: Continental, Delta, United, USAir: Open roundtrip American, America West, Southwest: $$ off another ticket (usually $150 to $300; American has been known to go as high as $1000.) Dollar-denominated vouchers are not subject to tax, so they stretch further. Amounts depend on the degree of overbooking of the flight. United sometimes will also issue a dollar-denominated voucher. United bumps more than average, Delta less. Northwest bump tickets are non-transferrable. Air Canada offers $150 cash or $300 in travel vouchers. If you get bumped or your flight is canceled and need to stay at a hotel overnight, hotels near the airport will often give you a substantial discount if you ask for it (50% discount is not unheard of). Ask for the "Distressed Passenger Rate". Airlines also have overnight kits they can give you. Under Department of Transportation rules, an involuntarily bumped traveler who is delayed more than one hour but less than two on a domestic flight is entitled to $200 or 100 percent of the one-way fare, whichever is less (the airline must also honor the original ticket). For delays longer than two hours, the compensation doubles. Airlines can offer you a travel voucher (for a free domestic round-trip ticket) in lieu of cash, but must give you the cash if that's what you want. Airlines like bumped volunteers because free travel costs them less than the cash compensation they're required to offer involuntarily bumped passengers. (If the involuntarily bumped passengers are put on a flight which brings them to their destination within an hour of the original flight time, the airline has met its requirement.) Anything more is strictly the policy of the airline, which is stated in its Conditions of Carriage statement. (To obtain this statement, get it either from your travel agent or by writing to the customer affairs office of your airline. Be sure to ask for the full copy of the conditions; otherwise they'll give you just a three page summary of the limitations of liability sections.) There are no rules governing compensation for volunteers -- airlines can offer as little or as much as it takes to bid you off the flight. Delta restricts reservations using volunteer bumped vouchers to two days in advance. Re-booking: Most volunteers are routinely booked on another flight within a few hours, but re-routing isn't a legal requirement. Before giving up your seat, ask when the next flight leaves, whether you'll have a confirmed or standby reservation and (if the flight is with another carrier) whether you'll have to pay additional fare. Negotiating: Most airline managers can escalate compensation offers in an attempt to get enough volunteers. So you might get a better deal by simply asking for one. American Airlines, which has the lowest rate of involuntary bumpees in the industry, tends to be the most generous with compensation for volunteers. ;;; ******************************** ;;; Sympathy Fares, Emergencies **** ;;; ******************************** If you have to go to a funeral, most airlines will give you 50% off of the discounted rate, at very short notice. They call this the sympathy fare. Similarly for a medical emergency. For example, Continental will waive advance purchase requirements for cheap fares for an emergency. This is their bereavement rate for people who have to attend funerals. Other airlines that do this are United and USAir ("compassionate fare"). American gives 50% off of the non-discounted rate, and will ask you for the name, address and phone number of the funeral home. This is a tradition carried over from the "funeral fare" of the railroad days. Airlines do this because it is simply good PR, and doesn't cost them all that much. In any case you have to ask and sometimes be persistent as these are nonstandard and not widely publicized policies. Many low level airline workers are not aware of them or do not have the authority to allow them. United "Rule 120" describes the rules governing sympathy fares. ;;; ******************************** ;;; Refunds ************************ ;;; ******************************** In the same vein, many airlines will refund a ticket, even a nonrefundable one, for good cause. Medical emergencies, jury duty, and a death in the family generally qualify as a good cause for not using a ticket. Some sort of proof must be provided (death certiicate, note from doctor), and it is completely up to the airline as to whether or not the particular instance warrants a refund. Some airlines may issue a new ticket or provide a flight credit voucher instead of offering a refund. A useful trick for normal circumstances: When they ask for your name for printing on the ticket, use your first initial instead of your full first name. (Many airlines now require your full first name, even if you purchase the ticket through a travel agent.) Thus if you can't use your "non-transferrable non-refundable" ticket, your spouse or some other member of your family might be able to. Another trick is to have your travel agent talk to the airline, assuming you used him to purchase the ticket. Sometimes they will be able to swing a deal. Nontransferable tickets may still be useable by other people in your organization, if the address listed on the ticket was your business address. Normally a reservation will cancel out automatically if you don't purchase a ticket within 24 hours. However, if you ask the airline to invoice you, usually this timeout is extended to 10 days to allow enough time for the invoice to reach you. You can still pay the invoice using a credit card. ;;; ******************************** ;;; Advance Purchase Fares ********* ;;; ******************************** Typically, tickets must be purchased 4, 7, 14, 21, or 30 days in advance of the departure date. All require confirmed reservations. Seats are always limited. Most do not permit changes/cancellations, and those that do will usually charge you. Some require a roundtrip ticket, though there are some that give lower rates for one-way tickets. Most do not permit open-jaw travel (most require circle-trip for excursion fares). Some permit stopovers, and may or may not charge you for the privilege (typically $15-30 per stopover). Fares are often seasonal. For those that have a minimum and maximum stay period (e.g., stay over the weekend, must return 150 days after departure), the day of departure is not included as part of the minimum and maximum stay period. Children's rates are usually discounted against the applicable fare. (Some airlines now apply children's discounts against the highest fare only.) As usual, children must carry proof of age. Note that fares are almost always not applicable to/from intermediate points. This means a ticket from Boston to Chicago passing through Pittsburgh could be cheaper than a ticket from Boston to Pittsburgh! But, of course, you can get off at Pittsburgh so long as you don't have checked bags nor have subsequent legs on the same ticket. ;;; ******************************** ;;; Travel Agents ****************** ;;; ******************************** It pays to use a travel agent only if you know a *good* one. A good travel agent will know when a small change in your schedule can save you a lot of money. If you buy direct from the airline, you may not find out such information, since they will only quote you the rates for the times you ask. So if you're going to use a travel agent, make sure that you find one who is willing (and able) to search through the morass of fares and restrictions to find a good deal for you. A travel agent who just punches your data into the computer and tells you the prices is no better than the airline's 800 number. A good travel agent can probably save you about 10-15%. [Actually, if the airline goes bankrupt between ticket purchase and flight time, and you bought your ticket from a travel agent, you may be able to get a refund, especially from some of the larger agencies. If the airlines goes bankrupt within 10 days of the purchase of the ticket, the agency may not have paid the airline yet (they are allowed 10 days to do so), so you can ask them for a refund. Better yet, buy your airtickets with a credit card, and the federal credit protection act will allow you to get a refund from your credit card company.] Also, airlines sometimes sell bulk tickets to large travel agencies at bargain basement prices if they think they cannot fill the seats. So depending on the travel agency, you might be able to get a really good deal. Travel agents sometimes get complimentary tickets (e.g., one free ticket for every 25 sold), which they can sell as they wish. (These are called "Promotional Tickets" and are for standby travel.) But then again, travel agents get a commission on air tickets and hotels. The commission is a fixed percentage of the fare (if you order direct from the airline, the airline pockets the difference). So the agent can earn more money by selling you a more expensive ticket. So be cautious when using a travel agent. Look over the agent's shoulder and see if they're overlooking a really cheap flight. Since discount flights have restrictions on day of week and flight times, make sure that you let the travel agent know that you are flexible and will change a day either way if that will save you money. Airport ticket agents tend to be better informed than the people at the toll-free reservation number, since they often have to deal with special situations (missed connections, bumped people, etc.) that require really knowing the reservation system's ins and outs. But beware. Airport ticket agents are not beyond lying. ;;; ******************************** ;;; Pets *************************** ;;; ******************************** If you are travelling with a dog, you must say so when you make your reservation. All airlines will allow at most one dog in the presurized portion of the cabin (to prevent barking fights). The dog must be in a travel cage which fits under the seat in front of you and sedated. (If the dog is small, try to get a cage which fits under the seat, so you can keep watch on the pet. Otherwise, the dog will travel with the baggage, and you won't see the dog until the flight is over.) Some airlines will charge you extra (~$20) for the dog. I don't know about cats. America West and Southwest do not take pets. (Southwest will take seeing-eye dogs. I believe all airlines are required to allow seeing-eye and hearing-ear dogs to accompany their blind/deaf masters on flights.) AA, UA and US all take dogs. US charges $30. AA and UA charge $50. (Small dogs.) All carriers require a recent (10 days old or less) veterinary certificate of health, but rarely look at it. All airlines embargo pets if the outside temperature is in the 90's (or perhaps even 80's). AA won't carry a pet if the temperature is less than 45F (enforcement of this rule is uneven). UA says they won't handle pets when it is -10F. US says they always handle pets except on certain commuter flights. US allows you to bring your pet out to the gate and have it boarded just before you get on the plane. AA sometimes will, but usually won't, allow this. Many airlines require that the dog be given a tranquilizer supplied by your vet. The following is what the airlines charge (1-way) for a pet which fits under the seat in front of you, as of August 1, 1992. $30 Alaska $45 Delta, Northwest, USAir $50 American, America West, Continental, TWA, United ;;; ******************************** ;;; Lost Baggage ******************* ;;; ******************************** The domestic baggage liability limit is a minimum of $1250.00 per passenger. Some airlines may provide greater limits for checked/unchecked baggage. For international flights, the baggage liability limit is approximately $9.07 per pound ($20 per kilogram) for checked baggage and $400 per passenger for unchecked baggage. A minimum waiting period of one week is required before baggage can be declared lost. Airlines will not reimburse for currency, photographic or electronic equipment, rare and expensive jewelry or artistic works, or medication, unless prior arrangements were made (e.g., excess valuation insurance was purchased). Some credit cards will cover these items if the tickets were purchased with the card. ;;; ******************************** ;;; Baggage Limits ***************** ;;; ******************************** Checked baggage weight/size/number limits vary depending on the airline, the class of fare, and the country of origin. Typically one is limited to 2 pieces of checked baggage (excluding luggage carriers), each of which has a total length + width + height less than 60" (or 72") and weighs less than 70 pounds (32 kg). Unchecked baggage is usually limited to 2 bags, which must fit under the seat in front of you or in the overhead compartment. Purses, cameras, coats, and similar items are usually excluded from the limit. Garment bags are also often excluded, especially for first class customers. Sometimes the limit will be reduced to 1 bag, especially on very full flights. Oversize articles (e.g., skis, bicycles, moose heads) must be checked. If you do have excess baggage, it is cheaper to pay the excess baggage charges than to ship it by air freight. Rates airlines charge for excess baggage vary considerably, so it pays to call around before purchasing a ticket. Baggage limit rules are enforced very unevenly, particularly on flights which aren't very full. ;;; ******************************** ;;; Hub Cities ********************* ;;; ******************************** Try to avoid hub cities. For example, since USAir's hub is Pittsburgh, they have a virtual monopoly on flights to PGH, so if you're so unlucky as to be flying to Pittsburgh, the rates are not cheap. Occasionally you may be able to take a flight which makes a stop or connection at Pittsburgh, and walk off the plane in Pittsburgh (i.e., a ticket from Boston to Cleveland on a plane which makes a stop in Pittsburgh might be cheaper than a ticket from Boston to Pittsburgh on the same plane). This only works when you can carry on all of your baggage. (Or if your connecting flight is more than two hours after your flight arrives or on a different plane, you can usually arrange to claim your baggage at the hub and recheck it yourself. 8*) Several airlines are currently being investigated by the justice department for anti-trust violations based on their dominating the airports at their hubs. Here's a list of airline hub cities. I've asterisked those that I'm sure are monopolized by that airline. # indicates the main hub of the airline. Alaska Airlines (AS): Anchorage (ANC)#, SEA America West (HP): Phoenix (PHX)#, Las Vega$ (LAS), Columbus OH American Airlines (AA): Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW)#, Raleigh/Durham (RDU)*, SJC*, SJU, ORD, BNA, Continental Airlines (CO): Newark (EWR)#, Cleveland (CLE)*, IAH, DEN, MSY Delta Airlines (DL): Atlanta (ATL)*#, Salt Lake City (SLC)*, DFW, CVG, LAX, ORL Midwest Express (YX): MKE Northwest Airlines (NW): Minneaplois (MSP)#, Milwaukee (MKE)*, Memphis (MEM)*, Tokyo, BOS, DTW Southwest Airlines (WN): Dallas Love (DAL), Houston Hobby (HOU), PHX, ABQ TWA (TW): St. Louis (STL)*#, New York (JFK) USAir (US): Pittsburgh (PIT)*#, Philadelphia (PHL), Charlotte (CLT)*, Baltimore (BWI)*, Dayton (DAY)*, LAX, SFO, SYR, IND United Airlines (UA): Chicago#, DEN, Washington Dulles (IAD), SEA, SFO, Raleigh, Tokyo Airport Abbreviations and Hubs: ABQ Albuquerque, NM WN ANC Anchorage, AL AS ATL Atlanta, GA DL BNA Nashville, TN AA BOS Boston, MA NW BWI Baltimore, MD US CLE Cleveland, OH CO CLT Charlotte, NC US CVG Cincinatti, OH DL DAL Dallas (Love Field), TX WN DAY Dayton, OH US DEN Denver, CO CO UA DFW Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX AA DL DTW Detroit, MI NW EWR Newark, NJ CO HOU Houston (Hobby), TX WN IAD Washington (Dulles), DC UA IAH Houston (Intercontinental), TX CO IND Indianapolis, IN US JFK New York (Kennedy), NY PA TW LAS Las Vega$ HP LAX Los Angeles DL US MEM Memphis, TN NW MIA Miami, FL PA MKE Milwaukee, WI NW YX MSP Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN NW MSY New Orleans, LA CO ORD Chicago, IL AA UA ORL Orlando, FL DL PHL Philadelphia, PA US PHX Phoenix, AZ HP WN PIT Pittsburgh, PA US RDU Raleigh/Durham, NC AA SEA Seattle, WA AS UA SFO San Francisco, CA UA US SJC San Jose, CA AA SJU San Juan, PR AA SLC Salt Lake City, UT DL STL St. Louis, MO TW SYR Syracuse, NY US AA American Airlines AS Alaska Airlines CO Continental Airlines DL Delta Airlines HP America West Airlines PA Pan American World Airways TW Trans World Airlines UA United Airlines US U S Air WN Southwest Airlines YX Midwest Express ;;; ******************************** ;;; Flying International: ** ;;; Couriers, Consolidators ** ;;; ******************************** One way of getting cheap international flights is to fly as a freelance courier. There are a few companies which will pay you for the right to use your baggage allowance, yielding a heavily-discounted fare. Non-refundable, and usually very short notice -- 1-2 weeks. You do not deal with the baggage, other than to hand-carry a set of paperwork. You are allowed a carry-on. For example, the following courier company will let you fly as a courier to Israel (TelAviv) on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, round trip, for $525: Dworkin Cosell, (212) 213-0036. Other couriers include: Now Voyager NY 212-431-1616, Halbart NY 718-995-7019, IBC NY 718-262-8058, TNT NY 516-338-4180. Some books about flying as a courier include: o The Air Courier's Handbook, $9.95 Big City Books, PO Box 19667, Sacramento, CA 95819 o A Simple Guide to Courier Travel, $15.95 1-800-344-9375 Guide Books, PO Box 2394, Lake Oswego, OR 97035 o Travel Unlimited, $25/year Attn: Steve Lantos, PO Box 1058, Allston, MA 02134 o Travel Secrets, $30/year Box 2325, New York, NY 10108 Also, ticket consolidators (wholesalers, ``bucket shops'') are often 30-40% cheaper than buying direct from the airline. They buy blocks of unsold seats from the airlines and resell them at a slim margin. Such tickets are usually heavily restricted and are for a standard profile (e.g., no special meals, no changes, no transfers, no refunds). The Sunday NY Times travel section has a list of wholesalers. For example, Nippon Travel 800-662-6236. Although "consolidator" and "bucket shop" are often used interchangeably, they refer to different kinds of wholesalers. Consolidators buy large blocks of tickets at discounted rates direct from the airlines. The restrictions on these tickets are governed by the consolidator's contract with the airline, and not by the rules for published fares. Usually they sell only through retail agencies and not directly to the public. Bucket shops are retail agencies that specialize in getting discounted prices on tickets. They are familiar with the full range of consolidators for all the carriers (every airline has many consolidators) and in other techniques of fare construction, importing tickets, etc. International airfares are set by international agreement and regulated by the airline cartel, IATA. Most interantional airlines are closely related to, if not directly owned by, their national governments. Thus most governments have an interest in protecting the profits of their national airline, with the result that the IATA fares are artificially high. IATA rules prohibit discounting, and in some countries these rules are actually enforced. Bucket shops work around the rules by buying discounted tickets direct from the airlines or through consolidators. These tickets are discounted with restrictions that attempt to ensure that the airlines fill otherwise empty seats instead of diverting full-fare passengers to cheaper tickets. Some restrictions include limitations on the advertising of such tickets, forbidding mention of the name of the airline, or restricting the promotion of such tickets to a particular geographic or ethnic market. Another method of discounting tickets is through rebating a portion of the consolidator commission to the public.