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Fly-Rights continued...

Smoking

On U.S. airlines, you are guaranteed a no-smoking seat worldwide.

Under U.S. government rules, smoking is prohibited on all domestic
scheduled-service flights except for flights over six hours to or from
Alaska or Hawaii. This ban applies to domestic segments of international
flights, on both U.S. and foreign airlines (e.g., the Chicago / New York
leg of a flight that operates Chicago/ New York / London). The ban does
not apply to nonstop international flights, even during the time that
they are in U.S. airspace (e.g., a Chicago / London flight). The
prohibition applies in the passenger cabin and lavatories, but not in
the cockpit.

Smoking is also banned on other scheduled-service flights by U.S.
airlines that are operated with planes seating fewer than 30 passengers
(e.g., certain commuter flights to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean).
Cigar and pipe smoking is banned on all U.S.-carrier flights (scheduled
and charter, domestic and international).

The following rules apply to U.S. airlines on flights where smoking is
not banned (e.g. international flights, domestic charter flights). These
regulations do not apply to foreign airlines; however, most of them
provide non-smoking sections (although they may not guarantee seating
there or expand the section).

The airline must provide a seat in a non-smoking section to every
passenger who asks for one, as long as the passenger complies with the
carrier's seat assignment deadline and procedures. (Standby passengers
do not have this right.)

If necessary, the airline must expand the non- smoking section to
accommodate the passengers described above.

The airline does not have to provide a non-smoking seat of the
passenger's choice. It doesn't have to seat you with your traveling
companion, and you don't have the right to specify a window or aisle
non- smoking seat. Also, the airline is not required by this rule to
provide advance seat assignments before the flight date in the
non-smoking section, as long as they get you into the non-smoking
section on the day of your flight.

The flight crew must act to keep passengers from smoking in the
non-smoking sections. However, smoke that drifts from the smoking
section into the non-smoking section does not constitute a violation.

No smoking is allowed while an aircraft is on the ground or when the
ventilation system is not fully functioning.

Carriers are not required to have a smoking section. An airline is free
to ban smoking on a particular flight, or on all of its flights.

None of the regulations described in this chapter apply to charter
flights performed with small aircraft by on-demand air taxi operators.