The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) does not want commercial flying in America to be a 36,000 foot tall hurdle. 

As part of its ongoing initiative to provide better information to consumers about flight delays, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today issued a fact sheet to help consumers reduce their chances of encountering flight delays and assist them in coping with unavoidable delays.

"Coping with Flight Delays" is the latest in the "Plane Talk" series of fact sheets for air travelers issued by DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division.

"Consistent with President Clinton and Vice President Gore’s commitment to ‘put people first,’ the U.S. Department of Transportation is undertaking a broad effort to improve customer service and information flow for air travelers," U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater said. "Improving customer service ranks second only to safety here at DOT, and this new fact sheet will help consumers avoid flight delays and cancellations and provide advice about coping with flight problems when they do occur."

The new fact sheet includes such tips as:

• A departure early in the day is less likely to be delayed than a later flight, due in part to the "ripple" effects of delays throughout the day.
  
  
• In general, you are least likely to be delayed on nonstop flights.
  
  
• Certain airports are more congested than others, and flights during peak times of the day -- such as 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. -- are more susceptible to delay. Consumers can find the on-time performance of major carriers’ flights to their destinations by asking the airlines’ reservation agents.
  
  
• Each airline has its own policies about what it will do for delayed passengers. If you are delayed, ask the airline staff if they will pay for meals or phone calls. However, airlines are not required to compensate passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled.
  
  
• Consumers can obtain information about on-time performance by major carriers and flight delays at major U.S. airports in DOT’s monthly Air Travel Consumer Report at www.dot.gov/airconsumer, and more detailed flight information on the site of DOT’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics at www.bts.gov/oai.

Be sure to print those out and tape them where they can be easily read as you rush out the door at the last minute on your way to the aerodrome. Have a good flight!