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Holiday Travel Gets Some Help From the Government

November 15, 2007 at 2:36 PM | by juliana | 2 Comments

Holiday travel is expected to be so bad this season that President Bush has stepped into announce some temporary practices that will reduce air traffic congestion and reduce long delays.

Military air space will be opened as an "express" travel lane for civilian flights and all nonessential maintenance projects will be suspended at FAA facilities. Additionally, real time reports on airports will be updated on the FAA website.

And if you get bumped from an airline, you just might get some more "spending" money:

The Department of Transportation will propose increasing the bump fee that airlines must pay to travelers who buy tickets but wind up without a seat. The department has been considering hiking the fee from $200 to more than $600.

However, the government didn't say exactly when these practices would start and begin only Thanksgiving and Christmas time frames were mentioned. Let's just hope nobody has to spend Turkey Day on a military-inspired cot at O'Hare Airport.

Related Stories:
· Federal Aviation Administration [Official Website]
· FAA Staffing Up for Busy Holiday Travel [Associated Press]

2 Comments

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  1. Alex Sung

    Jaunted Member

    money money money

    I already secretly hope to be bumped just to get the payout (and because I kind of love airports)  For $600 I'd be signing up in a heartbeat.  

    The other changes seem kind of extremist though.  Is commercial travel really that important?  what kind of chaos could this cause if an emergency happened.

    November 15, 2007 at 3:29 PM
    #Permalink

  1. TourismKim

    Jaunted Member

    Congestion - it doesn't just happen to your nose

    I'm wondering how successful the government will be at compelling airlines to duke it out for peak arrival and departure times and pay more for landing fees, other elements of President Bush's announcement Thursday.

    Also, I read the increase in penalties paid to travelers won't increase beyond the current $400 until next summer. Enough cash to put in the iPhone fund at least.

    November 15, 2007 at 6:44 PM
    #Permalink

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