HOME for the holidays? If the past is any guide, some fliers won't make it because blizzards or other emergencies grounded their jet-fueled sleighs or because overbooking bumped them from their flights.
Many of these strandees will garner goodies for their troubles: airline vouchers for free seats, hotels, meals and more.
Tidings of joy.
But you'd better watch out for the fine print. Otherwise you'd better not pout if you don't get what you want.
"I'm not saying vouchers are bad," said Terry Trippler, a Minneapolis-based airline expert with www.cheapseats.com. "But they're not gold."
That's because vouchers nearly always carry restrictions.
You may have to redeem flight coupons in person or by phone, incurring a fee. Or they may be good only for certain fares or categories of seats. They may expire after a year. A hotel may refuse to accept a voucher or, especially during weather delays, run out of rooms.
"Vouchers often aren't worth what they seem at first glance," said Edward Hasbrouck, the author of "The Practical Nomad" books who works with Airtreks .com, a San Francisco-based travel agency.
You may be better off bargaining for cash, experts say -- if you can get it.
And bargain you will, under a curiously unregulated free-for-all bidding that airlines employ to entice you to relinquish your seat on overbooked flights. Negotiating for a hotel or meal voucher if your flight is delayed by weather or other causes -- not a given -- is equally unregulated.
"There are no ground rules," Trippler said.
Except for one situation: getting bumped against your will from an overbooked flight.
Depending on how long you're delayed, the airline, under federal rules, may owe you up to $400 if you're denied boarding on an oversold domestic flight or certain international flights, plus it must let you use your ticket on another flight or get a refund. (For details and exceptions -- as with all regulations, there are many -- go to airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/pubs.htm, and under "Other Publications" click on "Fly Rights.")
The U.S. Department of Transportation also requires that before bumping anyone involuntarily, a carrier must try to get volunteers to give up their seats. But the DOT doesn't say what type of compensation must be offered.
These days, it's likely to be a flight coupon.
"They're going to offer a voucher first because they don't want to give you a check," Trippler said.
