Aruba Travel Tips

Do Not Get Bumped

• Have pre-assigned seats before you go. Airline policies vary, but having a reserved seat generally gives you priority. When you go to check-in you will already have an assigned seat rather than the airline trying to find one for you.
• Fly at off peak times. Vacation travelers try to travel Saturday and Sunday. Business travel is heaviest on Monday and Friday. Early morning and late afternoon rush hour are also good times to avoid.
• Arrive early for your flight. International flights usually require that you be at the airport 2 hours prior to departure. Departing Aruba, you are asked to arrive at the airport 3 hours prior to departure.
• Flights with 60 seats or more must ask for volunteers to give up their seats, but if you are not checked in 20 minutes prior to departure, the airline has the right to release your seat to another passenger.
• Check in before you get to the gate. To be counted as "arrived" check-in at the closest ticket counter. If the lines are long, get the attention of airline personnel and notify them of your impending flight time.
• If you do get bumped hold out for a check. You must be compensated on the spot. Airlines usually offer a voucher good towards future travel. Department of Transportation rules state that if you are re-routed and arrive at your destination one to two hours later than your original flight your compensation is worth a one way fare and $200 maximum. Anything over two hours the maximum rises to $400. If you feel you are being offered less than allotted amount or prefer the cash, ask for a check.
• Bargain for perks. Request a ticket to a destination of your choice or frequent flier miles credited to your account. Also try asking for additional benefits while you are awaiting your next flight. Free drinks, a free food, free admission to the airline's VIP club or even taxi fare, all sweeten the pot.

Overbooking

Voluntary Bumping aka Volunteering Your Seat

Compensation

• There is no law or regulation at this time regarding this. You the passenger can negotiate with the airline on a mutually acceptable compensation.
• Examples may include:
  • Vouchers good towards future travel
  • Frequent flier miles deposited to your account
  • Upgrade to first class on the next available flight
• If the airline offers you a voucher, make sure you are aware of time limitations or other restrictions, such as black out periods, valid for international travel before you say yes.
• Before agreeing to volunteer your seat, ask the important questions:
  • What is the time of your next flight?
  • Is this a confirmed seat or standby
  • If standby is that next flight fully booked?
  • Will meal(s), telephone calls, ground transportation or a hotel room (for a flight out the next day) be provided?

Involuntary Bumping

• If you are bumped involuntarily and the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to get you to your final destination (including later connections) within one hour of your original scheduled arrival time, there is no compensation.
  If the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to arrive at your destination between one and two hours after your original arrival time (between one and four hours on international flights), the airline must pay you an amount equal to your one-way fare to your final destination, with a $200 maximum.
• If the substitute transportation is scheduled to get you to your destination more than two hours later (four hours internationally), or if the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements for you, the compensation doubles (200% of your fare, $400 maximum).
• You always get to keep your original ticket and use it on another flight. If you choose to make your own arrangements, you can request an 'involuntary refund' for the ticket for the flight you were bumped from. The denied boarding compensation is essentially a payment for your inconvenience.

Like all rules, however, there are a few conditions and exceptions:

• To be eligible for compensation, you must have a confirmed reservation. An "OK" in the Status box of your ticket qualifies you in this regard even if the airline can't find your reservation in the computer, as long as you didn't cancel your reservation or miss a reconfirmation deadline.
• You must meet the airline's deadline for buying your ticket. Discount tickets must usually be purchased within a certain number of days after the reservation was made. Other tickets normally have to be picked up no later than 30 minutes before the flight.

In addition to the ticketing deadline, each airline has a check-in deadline, which is the amount of time before scheduled departure that you must present yourself to the airline at the airport. For domestic flights most carriers have a deadline of 10 minutes before scheduled departure, but some can be an hour or longer. (Many airlines require passengers with advance seat assignments to check in 30 minutes before scheduled departure, even if they already have advance boarding passes. If you miss this deadline you may lose the specific seats you were promised, although not the reservation itself.) Check-in deadlines on international flights can be as much as three hours before scheduled departure time, due partially to security procedures. Some airlines may simply require you to be at the ticket/baggage counter by this time; most, however, require that you get all the way to the boarding area. If you miss the ticketing or check-in deadline, you may have lost your reservation and your right to compensation if the flight is oversold.

• As noted above, no compensation is due if the airline arranges substitute transportation which is scheduled to arrive at your destination within one hour of your originally scheduled arrival time.
• If the airline must substitute a smaller plane for the one it originally planned to use, the carrier isn't required to pay people who are bumped as a result.
• The rules do not apply to charter flights, or to scheduled flights operated with planes that hold 60 or fewer passengers. They don't apply to international flights inbound to the United States, although some airlines on these routes may follow them voluntarily. Also, if you are flying between two foreign cities-from Paris to Rome, for example-these rules will not apply. The European Community has a rule on bumpings that occur in an EC country; ask the airline for details, or contact DOT."

• Essentially the easiest way to avoid being bumped is to arrive at the airport early.
• When a flight is oversold, though you may have checked in, if you were one of the last persons to do so, you are more likely to be bumped.
• Allow extra time; assume that the airport access road is backed up, the parking lot is full, and there is a long line at TSA security screening.
• Airlines may offer vouchers on future flights in place of a check for denied boarding compensation. If you do not want the voucher, you have the right to insist on a check.
• You are always free to decline the check and take the airline to court to try to obtain more compensation. The government's denied boarding regulation spells out the airlines' minimum obligation to people they bump involuntarily.
• Finally, don't be a "no-show." If you are holding confirmed reservations you don't plan to use, notify the airline. If you don't, they will cancel all onward or return reservations on your trip.

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