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Airline staff have been given a lot more power and have become policemen in the skies since 9-11, i think many are abusing that authority. Most of your rights and company policies—including when you are entitled to compensation for your inconvenience— are spelled out in the conditions of carriage which can be found on an airline’s website. The lengthy terms are filled with jargon and legalese, though they’re still worth eyeballing to understand the basics. Here are key reasons why an airline can bump you or otherwise make travel difficult for you: 1. The airline priced tickets for this flight too low.If a carrier realizes through its electronic reservation system that a non-stop flight fills too fast, that could indicate the ticket fares are too cheap. In such a case, your flight could be switched from a non-stop to a connecting flight. 2. The air marshal needs your seat. Because air marshals protect the public, they are sometimes seated in first class without prior warning. If one of them shows up and needs your seat, you can be bumped, reassigned to another seat, or put on the next available flight. And you won’t even get an explanation; the government doesn’t want you to blab that there’s an air marshal on board. 3. The carrier abandons the route. Consolidation within the industry has prompted some airlines to cut back on the number of available flights. Some, such as Allegiant Air and Frontier, have also abandoned routes that are no longer profitable. An airline should be required to put you on another carrier for the price you paid, says Hobica. But that’s not the case.