| How Travelers Can Cope with Airlines' Woes |
|
|
|
advertisement
|
By Janet Fullwood
Sacramento Bee
August 2002 American Airlines is cutting service, US Airways has filed for bankruptcy protection and United Airlines is threatening to follow suit, leaving travelers in a quandary when it comes to booking flights. What should they do? Proceed as usual -- but with caution. "It's important for travelers to realize that bankruptcy is nothing new in the airline industry," said Atle Erlingsson of AAA Travel, the nation's largest leisure travel agency. "When airlines file for protection, it can make them stronger and more financially sound. Continental is a perfect example." None of the airlines in financial straits has stopped flying, but consumers are sure to notice some changes. American, for example, is cutting capacity 9 percent and spreading out arrivals and departures at its Dallas/Fort Worth hub. United likewise is altering its schedules in and out of Chicago. As a result, travelers are likely to face longer layovers between connecting flights. "There's absolutely no reason to stop flying with US Airways or United," said Erlingsson, who is based in San Francisco. "In fact, this may be the right time to fly with one of those airlines -- specifically United -- because of the great deals to be had. They're doing everything they can to fill the empty seats on their planes." Still, the experts urge travelers to take certain precautions. "Insist on a paper ticket," said Peter Greenberg, travel editor for NBC's "Today" show and author of the best-selling consumer guide The Travel Detective. "Now more than ever, you need to be holding a tangible, negotiable document in your hand in the event of any suspension in service. That's about the only way another airline might honor your ticket on standby basis." Paper tickets are especially important on international flights because not all airlines use the same computer system with which they can check the validity of an electronic ticket. They're less important on domestic flights, however, because nearly all airlines now have access to the same reservations database, and, over the past year, electronic ticketing has become the norm. "Paper tickets still move faster if you need to do an interline or a flight change, but making changes with an e-ticket is easier now," said Tom Parsons, publisher ofwww.bestfares.com."It used to be you'd be flying on American and needed to switch to United, and United didn't have the (electronic) records. Now they share their information between them." Some airlines, including United and American, now charge a $20 fee to issue a paper ticket. Regardless of ticket type, travelers should pay with a major credit card, rather than by cash or check. Parsons also advises not making reservations more than 60 days out from departure date. "That way, if anything goes wrong, you have the right to decline your credit card fees." A new federal law provides additional protection. "If an airline ceases operations between two points, all other carriers flying between those points must accept the other airline's tickets and accommodate the passengers on a standby basis," Parsons said. The maximum fee for rewriting that ticket is $25. Travelers worried about safeguarding frequent flier miles can rest easy -- at least for the moment. US Airways has said no major changes are in the works; United hasn't even addressed the subject. To be on the safe side, though, frequent fliers "may want to consider using a different credit card that allows you to cash in your points for free flights on several airlines," Erlingsson said. Looking ahead, industry watchers see more turbulence -- including airline consolidations and failures. "There are now 16 airlines applying for loans under the $10 billion federal loan program established after September 11," Greenberg said. "However, only one line -- America West -- has received any money." Nevertheless, most observers foresee an airline like United staying in the air indefinitely, even if it does file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. "Remember," Parsons said, "we've been through this before. During the Gulf War, six airlines filed for bankruptcy. TWA stayed in the air 10 years after filing for bankruptcy. National filed two years ago and is still flying. I don't see any of the top 10 airlines flying away anytime soon." The bottom line for travelers: Carry on, stay alert -- and check with your airline before leaving home to make sure your flight hasn't been changed. (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.shns.com.)
RESOURCES :
The Travel Detective: How to Get the Best Service and Best Deals from Airlines, Hotels ...
Model: 0375756663
Author: Peter Greenberg
(April 2001, 1st Edition)
To order this title from Amazon, click here.
Villard Books/Random House, Inc.
New York, NY 10022
Phone: 212-572-2878
| 
