Compare Airline Fares Before Buying Ticket

What should your airline ticket really cost?

You can find out for free. The Domestic Airline Fares Consumer Report, developed by the Department of Transportation, lists average airfares for most domestic flights. While the quarterly news report won’t spell out how to get the best deals, it arms you for shrewd comparison shopping.

Use it to measure price differences by airline. For example, last year flying Continental from Dallas to New York cost about half as much as the same trip on American.

Or compare costs by destination, and see where prices have gone up or down. Fliers out of Las Vegas, for instance, pay an average of 10.3 cents per mile flown, while passengers flying out of Charlotte, NC, shell out 36.6 cents a mile.

For a free copy of the Domestic Airline Fares report, call the Department of Transportation at (202) 366-1053.

Should you toss last summer’s sunscreen?

Probably not. The Food and Drug Administration says sunblocks will stay potent for three years from the date of manufacture.

But watch out for lotions that contain lots of other cosmetic and fragrant ingredients, advises Dr. Sheldon Pinnell of the Duke University Medical School. With these products, the SPF can lose potency before the printed expiration date.

How to protect against hotel theft: Request that your room not be on the first two floors - this is where rooms are broken into most frequently. Ditto for those at the ends of long hallways.

The safest rooms are those clearly visible from the elevator. Never leave the “Please Make Up My Room” sign outside your door. The housekeeping staff will make it up anyway, once they’re sure you’ve left.

When you go out for the evening, leave a light and the TV on, and hang the “Do Not Disturb” sign outside. You don’t want to announce to passersby that you’re out. This way, your biggest worry will be returning to find no chocolate on your pillow.

Can film go bad? Yes, but unlike aging groceries in your fridge, film won’t give you obvious clues until it’s too late.

When film gets old, it loses sensitivity, which can result in lower contrast, more graininess, and odd color shifts.

How old is too old? Don’t worry too much about the expiration date; unused film , when kept in its original case, can last as long as six months after the printed date.

The film in your camera, however, is more fragile, especially when it’s used in high heat or humidity.

Once you load it, shoot it within a few months, and then get it processed within a week or two.

Can your pet fly coach? Maybe not.

While airlines allow almost any domestic pet in cargo, most want only cats, dogs, or household birds riding in the cabin.

There are exceptions: Delta allows rabbits, and Continental welcomes rabbits and pot-bellied pigs.

Why aren’t all pets created equal? “If the animal is perceived as offensive or dangerous, we won’t allow it,” says Delta’s Peggy Estes.

Their “danger” list includes ferrets, snakes and lizards, though they admit this is designed for other passenger’s comfort, not their protection.

Here’s a tip if your pet does make it aboard: To avoid a sloshing water dish, pack a frozen water bottle, which can be licked but won’t spill in turbulence.