Bumped From Your Flight? Airline Could Owe You $800

Passengers who get bumped off overbooked flights will be eligible for up to $800 for their inconvenience, the Los Angeles Times reports. The US Department of Transportation today doubled the amount passengers can receive, with the exact figure depending upon the ticket price and how long it takes passengers to reach their intended destination. The rule goes into effect next month.

"This is a good thing for passengers," said the chief of an airfare website. "The airline mergers and the inevitable cuts in capacity that are going to be occurring certainly give the airlines an incentive to overbook, and this will slow them down." Airlines don't have to shell out cash for canceled flights—only those for which they overbooked. (More airline passengers stories.)