Extraordinary make goods for bumped fliers

April 16th 2008

The government is forcing airline carriers to double the compensation they pay passengers bumped from oversold flights to as much as $800 depending on the circumstances.

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters announced Wednesday that individuals that are involuntarily bumped will receive as much as $400 if the rescheduled flight brings fliers to their destination within two hours from their original arrival time, or four hours for international flights. Anything longer could give passengers up to $800 in compensation.

Effective in May, the change is among numerous aviation procedures intended to reinforce passenger protections, enhance consumer choice and decrease congestion. To combat congestion and delays, aircrafts will be able to fly alternative routes to avoid severe weather into Canadian airspace from the New York area. What's more, the FAA will open up an additional westbound route for aircraft carriers. Simply put, this will add another highway lane in the air. This parallel route should reduce westbound delays from the New York metropolitan area.