HOW TO AVOID A SCHOOL BREAK BUST.

• Position: Brief Article

Planning a school break trip? A sunny beach? A foreign country? Skiing? If you're a student using a special tour package, you may think everything's taken care of. Before you show up at the airport with your passport, boogie board, or skis, review the tour package carefully and investigate the operator. Lots of students don't get the trip they expect; others lose out completely. They didn't take the time to carefully read the fine print, evaluate the promotion, and make sure it's not run by a fly-by-night company peddling a first-class scam.

Flights for many school break trips are by public charter, which have different rules than commercial flights. Before signing a contract, do some homework and take a good look at the package. The Federal Trade Commission and the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) offer the following tips and information to help avoid a school break bust:

Check out the operator. Avoid high-pressure sales pitches for a school break package. Ask the operator to send you information about the business and the names of satisfied customers. Ask friends who have used the operator about their experience. Check with local travel agents to see if they know if the operator is legitimate, or call ASTA's Consumer Affairs Department (703-739-8739).

If the trip involves a charter flight, call the Department of Transportation Public Charter Licensing Division (202-366-2396) to make sure the operator has properly filed to run charter flights from your departure city to your destination. Charter packages cannot be sold until the charter filing is approved by the DOT.

Read the fine print. Get a copy of the operator/participant contract. This will tell you the conditions under which the operator can change flight schedules (usually charters can be canceled for any reason by the operator until 10 days before the trip), hotel accommodations...