Richard Havers and Chris Tiffney: We increasingly live in a world where knowing your rights is key to just about everything. Of course there's also the question of whether your ticket is flexible or not. We'd certainly advise checking the small print before you book and then re-read it before you fly. There's no question delays are going to get more not less.

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San Diego, Calif.: I've had my luggage lost a couple times when transferring flights. What steps can I take to prevent that in the future (aside from carrying-on only) and if it does happen again, what's the best way to maximize compensation from the airline?

Richard Havers and Chris Tiffney: Check out Globalbagtag.com for a start. It won't stop bags from going missing but it'll sure help to get them back. Other than that, always try and book on non-stop point to point flights whenever you can. The compensation is governed by international rules and regulations so our advice would be don't pack too much Gucci.

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Houston, Tex.: How do airlines determine the price of a seat? What can I do to get the lowest priced seat?

Richard Havers and Chris Tiffney: Easy, how desperate are they for revenue! Airlines lower prices for several reasons, and one is to try and see off the competition. There are formulae for determining how much a seat actually costs but this is variable by how many people are booked on the flight. The more people the more the average cost of the seat reduces. Sometimes book early, sometimes book late. It's a lottery.

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Milwaukee, Wis.: Hi, What's your opinion of Skybus, the start-up airline that offers limited one-way fares as cheap as 10 bucks? Are they the new Southwest airlines? Or is it just a passing fad? Tim from Milwaukee

Richard Havers and Chris Tiffney: Only time will tell. If they're going where you want to fly in the near future, book 'em.

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New York, N.Y.: I recently heard about a British Airways flight that went across the Atlantic on only three engines out of four. Was that a rare occurrence for any airline? How many engines does a plane need to have to fly safely?