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December 4, 2004 08:14 AM

Traveler: Know Your Options


Excerpt: You're looking forward to that much-needed vacation or family visit this holiday season -- but brace yourself now for travel shakeups, as airlines cancel flights and adjust schedules to make the most of their stretched-thin dollars.


You're looking forward to that much-needed vacation or family visit this holiday season -- but brace yourself now for travel shakeups, as airlines cancel flights and adjust schedules to make the most of their stretched-thin dollars.

While airlines make most schedule changes months in advance, thus affecting fewer travelers, frequent fliers are well aware carriers sometimes call just weeks ahead to warn of a cancellation and offer a spot on an alternate flight.

Travelers' options at that point: Take the proffered flight, ask the airline to find you a better flight on a competing carrier or get a refund -- but the busy holiday season means travelers should mull these choices carefully.

And at this time of year, the issue may be more pertinent: Some say airlines are likelier to jigger their schedules given the more disparate highs and lows of holiday travel.

Know how quiet an airport can be on a Saturday night? The same happens on holidays, said Henry Harteveldt, vice president of travel research at Forrester Research.

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Shopbots: Your Own Automated Shopping Assistant On The Web (December 04, 2004)
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Read all 21 posts in the same category of Spending:

Cell Phone Calls In Flight? - Dec 09, 2004
Holiday Tipping - Dec 09, 2004
Tunes Coming To Callers? - Dec 08, 2004
Electronic Ways to Pay Eclipse Checks in Number - Dec 07, 2004
The Trouble With Rebates - Dec 07, 2004
Customers Tire of Excuses for Rebates That Never Arrive - Dec 07, 2004
'Phishing' Attacks Surge In 2004 - Dec 06, 2004
Bush Signs Internet Tax, Special Ed Bills - Dec 05, 2004
The Wide World Of Online Shopping - Dec 04, 2004
Shopbots: Your Own Automated Shopping Assistant On The Web - Dec 04, 2004
Worried Merchants Throw Discounts at Shoppers - Dec 04, 2004
Regifting 101 - Dec 02, 2004
Health Costs Up 7.5% - Dec 02, 2004
5 Popular Holiday Shopping Scams - Nov 30, 2004
Slick Tips for Holiday Shopping - Nov 28, 2004
Give Gifts That Give Back - Nov 28, 2004
Tips For Stretching Your Holiday Budget - Nov 26, 2004
Meet The Bargain Hunters: Three Everyday Experts Share Their Tips - Nov 26, 2004
Smart Holiday Shopping - Nov 25, 2004
Some Shoppers Find Fewer Happy Returns - Nov 07, 2004