• What's elliott?
• About elliott
• Contact us

t o p i c s

• Business
• Commentary
• Destinations
• Help
• Leisure
• Technology
• Vault

Copyright Elliott Publishing. All rights reserved. For more information, call (305) 453-4781 or send e-mail to us.

Avoiding Fly Traps
US News & World Report · September 20, 2002

Gayle Miller suspected she was in trouble when a ticket agent at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport dangled a measuring tape in front of her luggage. Sure enough, her big bag exceeded the new limit. "No one has ever looked at that bag twice when I've checked it in," complains the Ann Arbor, Mich., pharmacist.

Expect more double takes during these downtimes for the airline industry. In the first half of 2002, the nation's major carriers lost an astounding $3.8 billion. And now they're socking it to the passengers. Miller, for example, had to pay a $75 excess-baggage fee. Here's what the jumbo cost-cutting binge hath wrought-and how you can skirt the penalties.

Bag blues. The watchword at Continental is "no waivers, no favors." Gate agents break out the measuring tape, keep an eye on the scale, and charge excess-baggage fees if warranted. (At Continental, your check-in bags can't exceed 70 pounds or 62 "linear inches"-calculated by adding height, width, and length.) Most airlines have unofficially adopted similar measures. Delta Airlines even charges $40 for checking a third bag.

Solution: You can't fight the rule, but the bigger your family, the better off you are, notes John Frenaye, owner of Carlson Wagonlit Travel in Arnold, Md. Little Caitlin and Cameron can each check two appropriately sized bags. Granny, too. Traveling alone? Most luggage manufacturers now offer new compact bags that meet the stricter criteria. And don't forget carry-ons-you can still bring a small bag plus a purse or laptop.

Paying for paper. Many major airlines now charge for a bona fide paper ticket. American Airlines, for example, bills $20 for a pulp pass. So does Continental.

Solution: Book an E-ticket. But when you go to the airport, take a record of your trip-an itinerary printed out from the Internet or at the very least the alphanumeric "record locator" from your E-ticket. "You'd be surprised how many passengers forget to bring a printout of their schedule," says Anita Potter, a former flight attendant who now edits the Web site AnitaVacation.com. But you wouldn't be surprised how mad they get when airline computer systems fail and they have no physical proof of a reservation.

"Use it or lose it" tickets. The bargain-priced nonrefundable ticket used to come with a lot of loopholes. Too late for a flight? You could fly standby free. Missed a flight altogether? You had up to a year to rebook. To push fliers to buy pricier tickets, airlines are sewing up loopholes. Starting October 1 on many carriers, holders of nonrefundable tickets can rebook before the scheduled flight, but not after. And in 2003, a passenger with a nonrefundable ticket will have to pay a $100 fee to fly standby.

Solution: Shop around. The new policies are "stupid, stupid, stupid," says Tim Winship, publisher of the Web site FrequentFlier.com. Ask an airline's policy before you book. And remember, regional carriers tend to have bigger hearts than do the majors.

Vanishing flights. With fewer fliers, airlines are slicing flights to save money. American and Continental, for example, each now fly about 10 percent fewer flights than a year ago. Result: Future flights may be involuntarily rescheduled. That's what happened to Scott Bechtel. "I just received an envelope full of involuntary schedule changes from US Airways," complains the vice president for a technology investment company in Fairfield, Conn. "One of them changed a 6:29 p.m. departure to 2:40 p.m., forcing me to take a half a vacation day or forfeit the value of the ticket and purchase a new ticket on their 5:30 p.m. flight."

Solution: "Pay close attention to schedules and routing," advises Charles McCool, author of Winning the Airfare Game. If your airline forces you to reschedule because of a cancellation, he says, don't automatically accept the proposed flight or rerouting. "Maybe there's an alternative airport you can fly into-or out of-that would be more convenient." Instead of accepting a rescheduled flight from San Francisco to New York, try flying out of Oakland or San Jose at a more convenient time on the same carrier. Otherwise all you can do is complain. Bechtel is now trying to get a refund for his original US Airways ticket.

SECURITY SHIFT
Wait-lessening

It's called "federalizing"-replacing private security guards at U.S. airports with better-trained Transportation Security Administration workers. By November 19, every airport should have switched; the learning curve could lead to delays. How to avoid them? TSA's Web site (www.tsa.gov) tells what you can and can't carry on, but it's a bit obvious. (What, no whips?) Tips: Before leaving home, put pocket metallica in a pouch for the X-ray machine. And ask to send your shoes through. Metal parts, like eyelets, might set off detectors. - C.E.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion.