Ask George: Since when have the airlines charged to go standby on the same day, either for a later or earlier flight? I was charged $50 recently on Delta to do this. Do all airlines have the same policy?

Answer: No they do not. Delta has one of the most expensive same day change fees, but many airlines now charge $25. Keep in mind, though, that if it’s in the airline’s best interest to let you go on a different flight (for example, if your original flight is oversold) they will probably waive the fee, and sometimes gate agents are just nice and will let you change for free (especially if you show up a few minutes before the gate is closed and they don’t want to bother doing the paperwork). These fees are just another way for airlines to make money, and have replaced the prior free standby policies, but on the plus side, at least you do get a confirmed seat vs. a standby.

Here are the policies of some of the carriers, with language from their official policies. Note that these policies apply to domestic flights and may be different for international travel.

Airtran

This is the only airline we found that doesn’t charge a same day change fee. “Customers may standby at no charge for flights other than the one for which they have a reservation on the same day of departure” plain and simple.

American

Fee: $25

“You can now get a confirmed seat for same-day flight changes for domestic travel† on all fares for a $25 fee. Passengers can call
Reservations or handle the transaction at the airport ticket counter or Self-Service Check-In machines. If eligible seats are available within 12 hours of departure of alternate flights for your same itinerary, your flight change can be confirmed. American continues to offer the same day option of standing by for an earlier or later domestic flight for eligible fares at no charge.”

Continental

Fee: $25

“You can now get a confirmed seat when changing your flight for travel on the same day for a fee of $25. This new convenience means you no longer have to wait as a stand-by customer if there is an available seat on an alternate flight.

You may take advantage of this same-day change option when traveling on Continental Airlines, ExpressJet Airlines, Inc. dba Continental Express and/or Continental Micronesia. Changes may be confirmed within three hours of your new desired flight at any airport check-in kiosk or with an airport agent. You may also contact Continental Reservations by phone.”

Delta

Fee: $50

“The same-day confirmed option allows you to change your flight time on the same day of travel for a fee of $50. To use the same-day confirmed option, you must confirm your new flight within 3 hours of the scheduled departure time. If you have a flexible fare (usually a refundable ticket), you may be able to change your itinerary without a fee.

You can use the same-day confirmed option for travel within the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands on Delta and Delta Connection(r) flights.

No changes between origin, destination, or co-terminals (such as New York’s LaGuardia and JFK airports).”

JetBlue

Fee: $25-$45

“For travel to the same destination, reservations can be changed to standby travel only on the flight immediately prior to the original departure without an additional charge. Standby travel is not available in markets that only have one flight a day or if there are no flights prior to the original departure. Confirmed seats are available for $25 on an earlier or later flight on their same day of departure. Confirmed $45 changes can be made via 1-800-JETBLUE or at the airport on the same day of the originally booked flight prior to the original departure.”

Northwest

Fee: $25

“Northwest Airlines today expanded its popular FlyNow option, which permits confirmed flight changes within three hours of scheduled travel for a $25 fee, to now include flights throughout the entire day of departure. Previously, customers wishing to confirm day of departure changes for flights departing outside of the three hour window were assessed a $100 change fee.”

Southwest

Fee: None, but you may end up paying more than on any other airline

This airline is a whole different animal. While most customers love the fact that if you change your travel dates on a non-refundable fare and decide to travel within a year from the original flight (even on a different route), you’ll be able to do so without a fee, it’s a whole other situation if you want to fly same day on a different flight. Although they don’t state this anywhere on their site (that we can see anyway), if you’re on, say, a $99 one-way fare leaving at 5 PM and you want to leave now on the 2 PM flight, while there’s no “fee” as such, you will have to pay the difference between your $99 fare and whatever the current “walk up” (no advance purchase) fare is on that route, which could be hundreds more. As with other airlines, Southwest sometimes looks the other way, but if the gate agent isn’t in a generous mood that day, prepare to pay.

United

Fee: $50

“You can confirm a seat on an alternate flight on the same day of travel anywhere United flies within the United States and within four hours of the time of your request. If eligible seats are available on an alternate flight, your change will be confirmed and you will be charged a $50.00 fee.

To request a same-day travel change, please check-in at an EasyCheck-in kiosk at the airport or at EasyCheck-in Online. You may also contact a customer service representative at the airport check-in counter or call 1-800-United-1 (1-800-864-8331).

* Discounted economy class ticket holders may confirm an available seat for a $50.00 fee instead of traveling standby

* Business and full-fare economy class customers can make changes without paying the $50.

* Same-day travel changes are available within the 50 United States.

* Alternate flights must be scheduled to depart within four hours of your request; flights outside of four hours do not qualify and the existing change fee policy applies.

* Flight changes can be made during check-in at EasyCheck-in Online, at the airport at an EasyCheck-in(r) kiosk, with a United
customer service representative at the airport or by phone at 1-800-United-1 (1-800-864-8331)

* The $50.00 fee is nonrefundable and will be collected at the time the change request is made.”

US Airways

Fee: $25

“We allow you to ‘move up’ to any earlier flight on the same day of your originally scheduled departure time at the airport (with the exception of flights to Hawaii and Europe). You can only make day-of-departure changes at the airport (and not by calling
Reservations).

If there is an open seat available on any earlier flight that departs on the same day as your originally scheduled departure, you may change to that flight and we will automatically confirm your reservation for $25 for flights within the 48 contiguous United States and $50 for flights to Latin America, the Caribbean, Canada and Alaska. This lower confirmation fee replaces the usual $100 change fee, plus any differences between your old fare and new fare, for non-refundable tickets.

If there is not an open seat on an earlier flight that departs on the same day as your originally scheduled departure, you may stand by for that flight at no charge. Standing by at no charge is not permitted if we can confirm that there is an open seat available for that flight. Seats on completely booked flights may become available if passengers with confirmed reservations don’t show up for the flight. Please note: Unlike a confirmed reservation, flying standby does not guarantee that you will get on the particular flight that you want and may involve waiting for two or more flights before a seat is available to you.”

George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.

Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.

Ask George: I was bumped off a flight recently and the airline said I wasn’t due any compensation because of the size of the plane (it was a small regional carrier). Is this accurate? What exactly are the rules, and any advice on preventing this from happening again? Are all passengers treated equally in an “oversell” situation?

Answer: For starters, if you’re involuntarily bumped off your flight and the airline can’t get you to your destination within an hour of the original arrival time, federal law requires that you be paid the equivalent of your one-way fare up to $200 or $400, depending on the length of the delay.

According to David Stempler of the Air Travelers Association, passengers should insist on a check instead of a travel voucher since they come with restrictions and can be difficult to redeem.

Instead of waiting in line with other disgruntled bumpees for a gate agent, try sneaking off to call the airline 800 number directly (or call while you’re waiting in line). Speaking immediately to an agent on the phone can help you skirt any airport computer systems that give priority to frequent fliers or those who paid top dollar for their fare. So it’s a good idea to call in for first crack at seats.

One way to avoid getting bumped altogether is to fly JetBlue Airways, which refuses to overbook and consequently has the best track bumping record among all major US carriers, followed by Airtran. And flying to or within the Hawaiian Islands should be a breeze, since both Hawaiian and Aloha Airlines always score in the top five carriers with the least involuntary denied boardings. And if you really can’t afford to take any chances, you should know that Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Comair, and Delta Airlines consistently score the worst. You can find these and other rankings on the Department of Transportation website at http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov.

And you should also know that the folks in the cheap seats have lower priority on some airlines than the ones who paid full fare. If you’re a very frequent flyer at the highest tier of your airline’s program and/or paid a full fare (or are a business or first class passenger) you’re more likely to get on board than the poor chap who paid next to nothing for his coach ticket.

Of course, the easiest thing you can do to prevent getting bumped is arrive early. On overbooked flights, the last passengers to check in are among the first to get kicked off. And for those days when time is most definitely not on your side, call the airline in advance to let them know you’ll be late and reserve a seat on the next flight.

There are, however, a few exceptions to the bumping rule, as you discovered. For example, if the airline must substitute a smaller plane for the one it originally planned to use, the carrier isn’t required to compensate people who are bumped as a result. Compensation also does not apply to charter flights, or scheduled flights with 60 or fewer passengers. Also remember that these rules vary for international flights, even if they’re on US-based carriers. Not sure where you stand with your airline? Check their contract of carriage. In fact, it’s a good idea to print this out and have it with you for reference incase of such an emergency. Sure, it may sound unnecessarily nerdy now, but hey, it just may save you from sleeping on the airport floor.

George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.

Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.

Ask George: My husband and I will be renting a car for 10 days this fall with a pick-up and drop off at Ft. Lauderdale. I am currently holding an online reservation with Thrifty, however I have been told that there is an additional $9.95 per day charge for an extra driver. Since my husband and I are covered under the same insurance policy on our two vehicles and we drive one another’s vehicles do we need to pay the extra driver charge for my husband to also be able to drive the rental vehicle?

Answer: It appears that Thrifty and also Dollar Rent a Car now charge extra driver fees even for married people, at least in some Florida locations. Whether you’ll pay the fee really depends on what state you’re renting in, according to Thrifty. Why have they changed their policy in Florida? Perhaps it’s too difficult to determine, absent a marriage license, if two people really are married. But more likely, it’s a way of making extra money, while still advertising an initial low rate. I notice that Hertz was offering a Family Pack Offer that waived the extra driver fee on certain rentals, and I wouldn’t be surprised if other rental car companies, at least from time to time, don’t waive the fee or include it in a package. That Hertz package includes a free tank of gas on a minimum 5-day rental of a full size four door and certain other more expensive rental classes, for rentals through October 31 at participating locations. You can find details in their special offers section at www.hertz.com.

George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.

Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.

Ask George: I recently traveled on Amtrak’s Acela train from Boston Back Bay to New York, and found it to be a much more pleasant experience than flying, even though we departed 45 minutes late (the crew never explained why). But here’s my question: somehow, we managed to arrive in New York just 5 minutes late, which makes me think that Amtrak could easily operate a much faster schedule, perhaps traveling Boston to New York in far less than the current 3 hours and 25 minutes or so. Any idea why they don’t go faster? It would certainly increase their ridership if they did.

Answer: As do the airlines, Amtrak builds in extra travel time to compensate for delays. That way, they can boast a higher on-time performance record. In fact, were it to operate nonstop, and not run into other rail traffic along the way, the Acela could easily travel from Boston to New York in far less time than its current schedule. The real question is why, if the Acela can travel 150 miles per hour, it can’t make the approximately 250 mile trip from Boston to New York in under a scheduled two hours, and there are two main reasons:

1) Amtrak doesn’t own the tracks between New Haven and New Rochelle, NY. The Metro North Railroad, part of New York City’s MTA, owns and operates this part of the route, and because the overhead electrical wires are so antiquated on this stretch, trains are limited to 80 MPH (any faster, and the trains pull down the wires, especially in warm weather when they tend to sag). Also, Metro North gives priority to its own trains along this heavily traveled portion if there’s a delay or heavy traffic.

2) Amtrak had hoped to eliminate all grade crossings, straighten some especially curvy stretches of track, and replace antiquated bridges (which mandate slower speeds) along the part of the route it owns, but they ran out of money, in part because they faced legal challenges from property owners and environmental groups. This litigation dragged on for years, and by the time it was settled, costs had skyrocketed and legal bills drained Amtrak’s budget for the reconstruction of the route. You’ll notice that in some of the more wealthy communities along the route in Rhode Island and Connecticut there are still old-fashioned (and potentially dangerous) grade crossings (that’s where a gate comes down to block vehicular traffic). A representative from the Acela’s manufacturer explained to me that these communities sued Amtrak to force the railroad to maintain these crossings, which requires the trains to slow down when passing through them.

George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.

Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.

Ask George: In a previous Q&A on coping with airline delays and cancellations, you stated: “Know your rights. If you are heading out to a wedding or other scheduled event (such as a meeting or funeral), and you’re going to miss it entirely because your outbound flight is canceled or delayed, the airline is required to refund you in full even if you have a nonrefundable ticket. You do not have to take whatever flight the airline gives you.”

How can this be? Is it too good to be true? This happened to me several years ago, and I got the short end of the stick from the airline. Can you give more information on this wonderful idea please? Also, could you give me a reference for it that I can present the next time the need arises? Which law or industry agreement does this come from? Are there any other sneaky gotchas or conditions that must be satisfied?

Answer: You might find this list of Airline Contracts of Carriage from the airfarewatchdog.com site interesting. Here, you’ll find links to the airlines’ contracts of carriage.

Click on the Delta link for example. Page 48 of this PDF document reads:

RULE 240:

C. Schedule Changes, Delays, & Flight Cancellations within Delta’s Control

When, as a result of factors within Delta’s control, you miss a connection due to flight delays, your flight is canceled, or a substitution of equipment results in a change in the class of service that you purchased or prevents us from transporting you, Delta will provide you with the following:

1. Transportation to Your Destination

Delta will transport you to your destination on our next flight on which seats are available in the class of service you originally purchased. At our sole discretion, we may arrange for your travel on another carrier or via ground transportation. If acceptable to you, we will transport you in a lower class of service, in which case you may be entitled to a partial refund as set forth below. If space on the next available flight is available only in a higher class of service than you purchased, we will transport you on the flight, although we reserve the right to upgrade other passengers on the flight according to our upgrade priority policy to make space for you in the class of service you originally purchased.

2. Full or Partial Refund

If some or all of your ticket is unused, you may be entitled to a refund. Any refunds will be made as provided in Rule 260.

Rule 260 reads:

RULE 260: INVOLUNTARY REFUNDS

A) The amount carrier will refund upon surrender of the unused portion of the passenger’s tickets:

1) If no portion of the ticket has been used the refund will be an amount equal to the fare paid (editor’s note: this applies if you decide not to embark on a “futile journey” from your origin point.)

George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.

Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.

Ask George: I have read that shipping a pet by air in the cargo hold (if it’s too big to fit under your seat in the cabin) carries some risks, but we have no choice because we are relocating to California and cannot drive 3000 miles. What advice do you have for those of us who absolutely must ship a large dog and a house cat underneath the plane?

Answer: Here are some tips from a reader in a similar situation:

1. Do not tranquilize your animal. The biggest danger for pets traveling by air, especially in the cargo hold, is dehydration. Tranquilizers dehydrate animals even further, making it especially dangerous to medicate them for air travel. Many airlines will not even take a pet they suspect has been tranquilized. Yes, the experience of air travel can be traumatic, but your animal will get over it. Better not to take the more grave risk to its health.

2. Buy the kind of water dish that attaches to the inside of the kennel door and fill it with ice cubes at the airport. They’ll melt slowly so your animal can drink throughout the flight.

3. Get your animal accustomed to the kennel. If your dog/cat has never been in a kennel before, buy the appropriate one at least a month before you travel. First set out just the internal pad for your pet to use as a bed for about a week. Then put the pad in the bottom half of the kennel (if it’s a large kennel) for about a week. Next, put the top of the kennel on for another week, and finally, put the door on. By the time you travel, the pet should regard the kennel as a safe and comfortable place.

4. Tape a note on the top of the kennel with your pet’s name, your name, any instructions and phone numbers, including your cell phone which you should keep on until the last possible minute before the doors close.

5. Remove your animal’s collar before locking him/her in the kennel. It can get snagged on the kennel latch or partially slip off, causing discomfort, or even choking.

6. Search online for personal stories and tips from passengers about the specific airline you’ll be using. Domestically, Continental appears to have the best reputation for transporting pets, and also tends to be the most expensive. Note that even the best airlines have a statistically significant death rate for animals.

7. Check the embargo dates for both outbound and return flights. These vary by airline.

8. Try as best as you can to be on the same flights as your pet.

9. If your animal is traveling via cargo, once you board, ask a member of the flight crew to check with the ground crew that your animal is safely onboard before the aircraft departs the gate. That way, if there is a problem, you can get off too.

10. It’s best to take nonstop flights if they’re less than about 6 hours. However, if you must change planes, ask to see your pet during the transition. (Continental is very good about this.)

11. After you de-plane, stand at the window and watch the baggage handlers remove the kennel. If it’s sitting too long in the sun or in a very noisy area, talk to a supervisor and get them to move it into a cool and quiet area.

12. When traveling internationally, make sure you have all the appropriate paperwork and make sure it’s up to date. Sometimes you’ll run into an issue where the health certificate needs to be no older than 10 days, but it also needs to be authenticated by the consulate of the destination country, which takes 7 days to get done, so the window is very short.

George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.

Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.

Traveling today? Never fear. Friday the 13th doesn’t necessarily have to mean bad travel karma. We’ve got some time-honored tips for traveling smoothly today - and, for that matter, any day:

1. Before you leave home, make sure your you’ve taken steps to Keep Your Home Secure During Vacation.

2. There’s no reason to ever get stuck paying for overweight bags. Pick up one of the Best Collapsible Travel Bags and say never again.

3. Don’t let your bags go on vacation without you. Put identification inside bags, as well as out.

4. Don’t trust your eyes to find airport power outlets, trust the Air Power Wiki.

5. Ask about your hotel’s early check-out policy before skipping out. Some hotels even have special check-out policies to help you maximize your stay.

6. Heading out of town for a wedding this weekend? Check out the Frequent Guest’s Wedding Travel Survival Guide before you go.

7. Driving to your destination? Don’t pay too much for gas. Let your cell phone find cheap fuel.

8. Renting a car? Get the low-down on car insurance from George Hobica before you fork over cash for the rental company’s insurance.

9. Hate the smell in your hotel room? Learn How to Handle Hotel Room Odors once and for all.

10. And remember, if things don’t go your way, you can always fight stress with a D.I.Y. in-flight facial.

Ask George: I know that using an ATM card when traveling abroad is a convenient way to get cash at a favorable exchange rate, but is it a good idea to bring some cash or travelers checks as well? What if my card gets stolen? And what about the new “stored value” prepaid debit cards?

Answer: I still like ATM cards for getting cash abroad. But they’re not perfect. What if you’re in a foreign country, and the ATM system is down because of a power failure or computer glitch (which always seems to happen on nights or weekends, when you can’t call the bank)? Or maybe the ATM doesn’t have multilingual instructions, so you can’t figure out how to get cash. In these frustrating situations, it would help to have a bit of local currency before you can resolve your issues, which is why it’s a good idea to convert some currency before you leave for an international trip. Most major financial institutions (such as Chase and Citibank) have foreign currency on hand.

Another option is to purchase travelers checks in the foreign currency through big companies like American Express or Visa, which are easily obtainable through the larger branches of many local banks or the American Automobile Association (AAA). But even though traveler’s checks are advertised as being “safer than cash” because the issuers promise to replace them if they’re lost or stolen, the issuer may refuse to refund or replace the amount if they decide you’ve been “negligent.” And more importantly, smaller merchants and some hotels may not accept traveler’s checks.

Some major credit card companies (like Visa and American Express) also offer stored value cards, but I’m not a big fan. These prepaid debit cards can be used throughout the world to make purchases or withdrawals from ATM machines. If your card is lost or stolen, the issuer will issue a new card or refund the unused balance. However, the fees associated with using these cards can add up—depending on the card, fees are deducted per withdrawal, when you add more value, and every time you make a purchase in a different currency than the one on the card. So if you fill it with US Dollars and purchase something in Euros, another fee is added for the currency exchange service. Sometimes, there’s even an activation fee.

Your best option for getting foreign currency is by simply using your ATM card. But we’ll say it again and again—it’s essential to notify your banking institution before you leave home, in case the bank freezes your account because of unusual activity. In addition, it’s advisable to carry a second ATM card from another bank or the same bank but a different account (keep it in a safe place, separate from your primary ATM card) just in case you lose your first ATM card or it gets eaten by a machine. The bottom line is that ATMs are such a common feature nowadays that it often makes more sense to withdraw money in local currency with an ATM card than to bring along loads of cash or travelers checks.

However, if you’re going to use an ATM, find a bank at home that doesn’t charge to use foreign ATMs (some do, which can wipe out any savings on smaller withdrawals). For example, in the New York and Pennsylvania areas, Commerce Bank doesn’t charge for using another bank’s ATMs. And the foreign bank you withdraw from may also have its own fees. Since I travel to the UK frequently, I have a savings account with Halifax, a UK bank. It doesn’t pay interest, but I leave a few hundred dollars in it and pay no fees when I withdraw money from an ATM.

George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.

Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.

Ask George: We rented a car in Costa Rica a few years ago, and the rates seemed reasonable until you added in the mandatory insurance. We showed the rental car agent our American Express rental car coverage, but they insisted that the law required us to buy additional insurance anyway. Is this still the case?

Answer: From what I can gather, it is. You are required by the government to buy liability insurance, which covers you, for example, in case you hit a pedestrian, but does not cover the rental car itself. This insurance can add $10-$20 per day to the cost of the rental. Many people don’t realize it, but their credit cards do not cover personal liability when renting a car, leaving them open to potentially devastating law suits (personal auto insurance on your own car may cover you in the United States , but not overseas). In addition, when renting a car in Costa Rica (and many other countries), you may be required to purchase collision damage insurance (CDW or LDW), which costs an additional $10-20 per day depending on vehicle type. But this insurance has loopholes too: as its name suggests, it covers only collisions with another vehicle. It does not cover a collision, say, with a building, nor does it cover vandalism to the vehicle or a damaged wheel if you have a close encounter with one of Costa Rica’s notorious potholes. So you may want to buy additional insurance that reduces your liability to near zero. You’ll also be stuck with an airport concession fee of 12 percent and a fee for additional drivers. These extra charges can easily surpass the daily rental fee itself. Almost makes you want to take a taxi everywhere or public transportation!

George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.

Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.

Ask George: I saw on the news that if you purchase a plane ticket and the price goes down you can get a refund. How does this work?

Answer: Southwest, United, Alaska , JetBlue, and US Air will refund a difference in fare if you buy a non-refundable ticket and it goes down in price before you depart. The refund issued by these airlines is in the form of a voucher good for future travel for up to a year, and they do not deduct an administrative or change fee. You cannot change your flight times or days of travel. Only the fare may have changed. Other airlines also offer refunds, but they deduct between $25 and $100 (on a domestic ticket) from any voucher they issue you. So it’s wise to check your fare even after you purchase, and to fly with airlines that don’t deduct fees. A new site called Yapta promises to alert you if a fare you purchased has gone down in price and you qualify for a refund. Yapta works with most major US-based airlines but not with Macintosh computers or the Firefox browser (only Internet Explorer).

George Hobica is a travel writer living in New York City.

Do you have a question to ask George? Send us your question, and George may feature it in an upcoming column.