US PASSENGER RIGHTS

VOLUNTARY BUMPING At the check-in or boarding area, airline employees will look for volunteers when it appears that the flight has been oversold. If you’re not in a rush, you can give your reservation back to the airline in exchange for compensation and a later flight.

Carriers can negotiate with their passengers for mutually acceptable compensation. Airlines generally offer a free trip or other transportation benefits to prospective volunteers. The airlines give employees guidelines for bargaining with passengers, and they may select those volunteers willing to sell back their reservations for the lowest price.

INVOLUNTARY BUMPING Travellers who don’t get to fly are frequently entitled to denied boarding compensation in the form of a cheque or cash. The amount depends on the ticket price and length of delay: If the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to get you to your final destination (including later connections) within one hour of your original scheduled arrival time, there is no compensation.

If the carrier arranges substitute transportation that is due to arrive at your destination between one and two hours after your original arrival time (between one and four hours on international flights), it must pay you an amount equal to 200 per cent of your one-way fare to your final destination that day, with a US$675 maximum.

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 any substitute travel arrangements for you, the compensation doubles (400 per cent of your one-way fare, US$1,350 maximum).