Outside:
As airlines pack more passengers than ever onto each plane, a single storm can reverberate through the system—leaving flyers stranded as agents scramble to find ever-rarer empty seats on later flights. But you aren’t entirely at the mercy of the airlines. Should your itinerary be delayed, cancelled, or overbooked, knowing your rights can be the difference between a $300 voucher and a long night at the airport.
As air travel gets more and more onerous, it’s important to know what you are supposed to receive when the airline makes a mistake. As always, be firm but polite with any airline agents you speak to.
I used to be a road warrior, but I gave up that 90% travel BS. However, ‘back in the day’ I heard a couple of times that the mere utterance of the phrase “rule 240” was enough significantly change the tone of the conversation between you and the counter agent. Since nowadays everyone is tied to the frequent flier carrier of their choice, it pays to know how yours “interprets” the rule. Especially important is how a different airline you don’t usually use handles it. Of course come Thanksgiving and Christmas, unless you’re a valuable (i.e. full-fare and/or “status holding” passenger) forget about it! FYI http://airtravel.about.com/od/travelindustrynews/qt/rule240part1.htm