photo: Jim Ferri

Now that airlines have elevated "overbooking" to an art form, passengers are being "bumped" from flights more regularly.

Since airlines overbook to compensate for "no-shows" all the time -- it's not an illegal practice -- the U.S. Department of Transportation has set rules to protect you.

Whenever passengers need to be bumped, airlines are required to first ask for volunteers, and they usually sweeten their request with some type of compensation, such cash or a free ticket, although none is required by DOT.

But before you grab the offer, ask a few questions since it's all a bargaining game. When is the next flight on which they'll provide a confirmed seat? If it's not soon ask if they'll provide meal / hotel vouchers, since you don't want to spend your compensation. Also inquire if any free ticket has restrictions -an expiration date, any blackout dates, is it good domestically and internationally, etc.? The airlines are also required to tell potential volunteers they may be involuntarily bumped and what compensation they could then expect.  

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Consumer Reports just released its survey of ten U.S. airlines and in terms of overall satisfaction Southwest landed on top and JetBlue in second place. US Airways hit the tarmac in last place, just as it did in CR's last airline survey back in 2007. Of those surveyed who said they had cut back on air travel, 40% said added fees were the reason.  

Read more about your favorite (or least favorite) carrier here. 

188 road trips in the West

The Los Angeles Times has come up with close to 200 road trips worth taking throughout California, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Texas. Even better, they've included both the mileage from downtown LA to each destination as well as a trip calculator to help you estimate the cost of the trip. A great idea that you can use even if you're not from LA! 

Click here to read the article   

With travel costs heading skyward, who's not looking to save a buck these days? This week The New York Times Practical Traveler published some of the secrets of slashing costs with cruise companies, hotels, airlines and convention and visitors bureaus, while traveling with a group of your friends, relatives, whomever. 

Click here to make yourself more knowledgeable.

Brett Snyder, who writes the travel blog The Cranky Flier, wrote an interesting article for CNN on dealing with jet lag. I'll vouch for how well some of his suggestions work - I've been using several of them for years. (Photo: Daniel Lobo) 

 Read his suggestions here.