MEDIA RELEASE

The U.S. Department of Transportation has unveiled an updated version of Fly Rights: A Consumer Guide to Air Travel, its popular guide to air travelers’ rights.

“We take the rights of airline passengers very seriously,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “Ensuring that the flying public has access to the best possible resources and consumer information is an important part of our mission, and this new version of Fly Rights will help air travelers better understand their rights as consumers.”

Since it was first published in 1973, Fly Rights has provided air travelers with helpful advice on such issues as how to get the best airfare, what to expect when a flight is delayed or canceled, and how to avoid travel scams.

The guide provides easy-to-read information on federal airline regulations in a number of areas, including accommodating air travelers with disabilities and rules for bumping and baggage compensation.

Fly Rights also contains information on airline safety, air traveler health and how to file official complaints against airlines.

The latest version of Fly Rights includes updated information on the Department of Transportation’s new consumer protections, including the three-hour limit on tarmac delays for domestic flights, the requirement for large airlines to display on-time performance information for domestic flights on their websites, and the requirement for airlines to respond to consumer complaints about an air travel experience.

Fly Rights is available online at http://airconsumer.dot.gov/publications/flyrights.htm

In addition to Fly Rights, the Department recently developed another guide to assist the flying public. This pamphlet, entitled When Kids Fly Alone, provides air travel tips for parents of unaccompanied minors. When Kids Fly Alone is available online at http://airconsumer.dot.gov/publications/KidsAlone.pdf

Print copies of Fly Rights and When Kids Fly Alone may be obtained free of charge from the DOT warehouse by email at dotwarehouse@dot.gov or by writing to DOT Warehouse, 3341-Q 75th Ave., Lanham, MD 20785.

Specify item number X0111A for Fly Rights and X0176 for When Kids Fly Alone.