Compensation for getting bumped going up

BY CINDY LOOSE

Washington Post Service

When airlines deny you a seat you've reserved because they've oversold the flight, they typically offer you a voucher for the inconvenience. But there are two things you need to know: Under U.S. Department of Transportation rules, you are entitled to insist on money instead, and as of May 19, airlines must pay you up to twice as much as the DOT previously required.

More specifically, if you are involuntarily bumped from a domestic flight and the substitute flight offered is scheduled to arrive between one and two hours later than your original flight, you soon will be entitled to a refund of your one-way fare, up to $400. If the new flight is scheduled to make you more than two hours late, payment jumps to as much as $800.

For international flights, the airlines are given more time: You can claim up to $400 if the substitute flight is scheduled to arrive within one to four hours of the original. If it's more than four hours, you get $800.

If you choose not to take an alternative flight, you are entitled to a full refund plus the compensation.

Before bumping a passenger involuntarily, airlines must ask for volunteers, and they typically offer vouchers for a free ticket or a given amount off your next flight. This column is guessing that the new rules about involuntary bumping will encourage airlines to be more generous with offers to volunteers. If you do volunteer, check restrictions on vouchers, know when you'll get an alternative flight and, if the delay is long, find out whether food and shelter will be provided.

And remember: This compensation applies only if you're bumped, and certain very small planes are exempt. You may be equally inconvenienced by weather, in which case the airline owes you nothing. If you're inconvenienced by mechanical problems or other factors within an airline's control, you are owed whatever the airline promises in its contract of carriage, which usually is not much.