travelthunder.com

What happens if you open the Sunday newspaper to read a full-page airline advertisement promoting $199 tickets from New York City to Rome only to call your travel agent a few minutes later to discover that the airline only had two seats on the entire airplane available at that special rate? The truth is, you have little direct recourse against an airline that engages in deceptive advertising promotions that apply only to a few seats on the flight, bait and switch deals in which the airline tries hard to push you into buying a higher fare than advertised, or major restrictions that get lost in the fine print buried at the bottom of the ad.
Airlines are not bound by state truth in advertising laws that crack down on such ads, leaving your primary option to file a written complaint with the DOT. Include the complete details about the deceptive offer and a copy of the ad in question.

Pan Am, Braniff Eastern, National - the airline industry has lost many famous brand names through the years when these carriers declared bankruptcy or simply stopped flying due to financial problems. Several weeks after 9/11, Congress passed legislation to make permanent a DOT regulation requiring U.S.-based airlines that operate on the same routes as any other air-line that declares bankruptcy or ceases operations suddenly to accept that carriers stranded passengers (on a space-available basis) on their similar flights. The replacement airline may not charge these travelers more than $25 each way in additional fees to transfer them to its Rights on the same routes. In December 2004, Congress approved a one-year extension of this rule through the end of 2005.
As another level of protection, you should always use a credit card when purchasing an airline ticket, so that you may request a charge back from your bank if the airline goes out of business before you take your trip.

Despite the threat of terrorist incident, it remains true that you are much safer flying on a commercial airplane than driving your own car. However, passengers sometimes get hurt by falling luggage from the overhead airplane bins, slipping on wet stairs or jetways leading to the airplane, or developing food poisoning from an airline meal.
To claim successfully that the airline holds responsibility for your illness or injury, you must show that the carrier caused the harm due to its negligent or intentional acts. The most common personal injury claim argues that the airline and its employees or agents did not follow federal safety rules, its own internal operations and maintenance rules, or common sense in preventing your illness or injury. For example, one passenger won a multi-million- dollar judgment after suffering a heart attack during a flight when the airline did not follow proper first-aid procedures, did not contact ground authorities for medical help, and did not land at the nearest airport,
However, the courts do not always agree in airline liability cases. For example, some jurisdictions have held airlines liable for injuries caused by falling overhead luggage, but other courts have reached the opposite conclusion.
On international flights, an airline’s liability is capped under the Warsaw Convention at $75,000 for injuries sustained on a flight that begins, ends, or stops in the United States (less in other countries). A recent DOT agreement raised the amount to $159,000 or even the full damages claimed by the passenger. U.S. citizens can now sue international airlines in U.S. courts and apply U.S. personal injury legal standards to the case.

If you have special medical concerns, alert TSA agents of your needs. If you expect difficulty in moving around or through the passenger screening checkpoint, you have the right to receive help from TSA screeners in monitoring your carry on bags as they move through the x-ray machine. They may also help in removing your shoes or helping you to navigate through the checkpoint with a walker, wheelchair, or other mobility device. Crutches, canes, and walkers must go through the x-ray machine. They must be collapsed, if possible, before entering the machine. You have the right to ask for a private inspection of your prosthetic device or body brace. If you have difficulty hearing, you may ask the screener to write down the information or look directly at you and speak slowly.

If you have a visual disability, you may ask the screener to explain the security process to you, escort you through the checkpoint, perform a hand inspection of your equipment (such as Braille note takers) if the x-ray machine will damage them, and verbally direct you toward your gate once the inspection is completed. If you use a service animal such as a guide dog, try to carry with you a card or letter confirming the arrangement; screeners are now trained to recognize service animal harnesses and tags. Tell the screener how you must walk through the metal detector with your animal as a team. If the dog’s harness or tag sets off an alarm, the screener may perform an inspection of these items, but the screener should never remove them from the animal. You should never be asked to leave your service animal for any reason.

Family members or companions traveling with a person who has a hidden disability such as mental illness have the right to advise screeners about the best techniques for touching the per-son during a pat-down inspection or performing other security measures. Companions, assistants, or family members accompanying a traveler with special needs (or unaccompanied minors) must obtain a gate pass from the airline ticket counter in order to be allowed through the security checkpoint without a ticket or boarding pass.

You should tell the screener if you have diabetes and are carrying supplies (such as insulin) with you. These supplies should be properly labeled showing the name of the medication or the manufacturer’s name. If you are wearing an insulin pump, notify screeners before you begin the inspection. If you must carry used syringes in your carryon bags, they must be kept in a hard, plastic-capped container.

Individuals with pacemakers should ask their doctor for a Pacemaker Identification Card to use when going through airport security. You have the right to ask for a pat-down inspection rather than walking through the metal detector. If you have just had surgery, you have the right to tell the screener where you maybe in pain so that the screener will exercise greater care in that area of your body during any pat-down inspection. You should alert the airline ahead of time if you will be carrying any containers with medical, lifesaving, evidentiary, or scientific items that cannot be opened (as well as crematory urns and containers). You will be asked to provide documentation when you check in for these items, such as a letter from your employer. TSA screeners should not open these containers, if you have followed these guidelines. If you must travel by air while you are seriously ill particularly if you require special medical equipment, such as an oxygen tank, or if you travel with an attendant or companion you should check with your travel agent or the airline for its specific rules governing your medical devices and the airfare paid by your companion. For example, some carriers will assign passengers carrying medical equipment to a specific row or section of the aircraft for easier transfers onto and off the airplane.

They may also require you to arrive at the airport at a near leer time than other passengers to give airport a great time to check you in and clear you through the security checkpoint. If you call the airline directly, tell the reservations agent that you need to speak with an airline official who can give you the company as rules for traveling with the specific type of equipment you will be carrying with you on the flight. (All major U.S. airlines have medical directors or other doctors on staff whose job includes working with passengers who travel with medical equipment.)

The airlines apply special rules to children five years of age and older who will be traveling without a parent or guardian. These unaccompanied minors may be required to purchase nonstop, direct flights to their destination. Along the way, airline personnel will board them before other passengers and escort them off the airplane after everyone else has left. Many airlines also charge additional fees ranging from $25 to $75 or more for any unaccompanied minor. Generally, the airlines charge unaccompanied minors the full adult ticket fare for a given flight. Parents or guardians checking in and picking up an unaccompanied minor at the airport must follow very strict guide-lines for identifying themselves and making the final travel arrangements. The airlines generally assume no special guardianship for unaccompanied minors once the trip has ended.

You have several options when you travel with a child under two years of age.

• Hold the infant in your lap during the entire flight (avoiding any extra charges for the child).
• Buy a full-fare ticket for the infant to have a separate seat.
• Buy a half-fare ticket (available from most major airlines) and use a child safety seat that is approved for airline usage.

Check with your travel agent or the airline for complete details on ticketing rules for infants, as each company may have additional restrictions.
If you are traveling with children, their carry-on bags (including diaper bags, toys, blankets, strollers, and child safety seats) must go through the x-ray machine. Never leave an infant in any seat or stroller as it passes through the machine. You may not ask the screener to hold your baby or watch a child at any time.