What to Do When Bumped From a Flight

Oooomph! Another wheelie suitcase is bashed into your shins as the mob jockeys toward the overwhelmed attendants at the gate. They've just announced that your "red eye" home from a business trip has been canceled. That charming news after sitting in the terminal waiting for two hours because it was delayed! With your pulse skyrocketing and your hopes plummeting you jostle through the crowd while dialing your wife on your cell phone to let her know that you might not be making it home this evening.

Familiar experience? High on your list of most dreaded travel experiences? Well, there's good news. Sort of... Technology is stepping into the fray to help speed up the re-booking process when you get bumped or a flight gets canceled.

"Now the computer is supposed to guarantee priority to the airlines’ most important customers. That’s good for elite fliers and passengers paying full fare, since they get pushed to the top of the list when a flight is canceled. But passengers who bought a cheap ticket or booked their seat with frequent flier miles generally have less standing."

So what can you do if you're flying on a bargain ticket? Try plunking yourself down on the floor and crying! No, that's not your only choice. Check out these slightly more proactive suggestions:

• FLY RIGHT Book your flight on an airline "that still rewards those with sharp elbows. Some airlines, including Continental, JetBlue and Southwest, still rebook passengers manually for most, if not all, canceled flights. In such cases, a passenger typically has to wait in line to speak to a gate agent or customer service desk agent at the airport or call a reservation line to be rebooked. But either way, who gets on the next flight out “basically ends up being whoever gets to the desk,” said Sarah Anthony, a Continental spokeswoman. “It’s as simple as that.”
• START DIALING "Call your airline or travel agent as soon as you learn your flight is canceled. This can help you jump ahead of passengers waiting in line to be rebooked on airlines that still reaccommodate passengers manually."
• INVOKE RULE 240 "The term, a remnant from the years before 1978, when airlines were regulated... referred to the section of the airline tariff that explained the airlines’ individual policies on what they would do for passengers during a delay or cancellation. In the regulated era, most airlines agreed to transfer a traveler of a canceled flight to another airline provided it could get the traveler to his or her destination sooner..."