IT CERTAINLY WASN'T

a happy new year for Independence Air. Already operating under bankruptcy protection, earlier this week the low-cost airline, based out of Washington, D.C., announced it's ending all services as of 7 p.m. Thursday.

But that doesn't mean its customers will be left completely empty-handed. Here's advice for what to do if you're a member of the airline's frequent-flier program or currently have travel booked for after Jan. 5.

1. Keep your paperwork
Whether you bought your ticket online or through a travel agent, request or print out any paperwork relating to your reservation, says Tom Parsons, chief executive of BestFares.com, a travel web site. Among other things, you'll want your flight numbers and record locator number. You'll need this information when you arrange alternative travel, and once Independence Air ceases operations there's no guarantee customers' records will be accessible online.

2. Talk to other airlines
Independence Air has announced that it's seeking bankruptcy court approval to automatically provide refunds to customers scheduled to fly after Jan. 5. However, that might take time if it happens at all.

Instead of waiting, contact other airlines flying the same route. Section 145 of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act requires carriers to honor tickets of grounded airlines if they have seats available. Better yet, they aren't allowed to charge more than $50 each way.

One caveat: You'll be flying standby, which means you may have to wait a while for a seat to open. Fortunately, this is the least busy time of year for travel, so passengers have a good chance of getting seats, Parsons says. "I do believe Independence Air gave us a break," he says. "They could have [shut down] the week before Christmas and left a lot of people stranded all over America because there were no empty seats."

Currently, United Airlines, US Airways and Spirit Air have announced they are prepared to honor rebooking requests from Independence customers for a $50 charge each way. For double that charge, US Airways is offering reserved seats.

3. Use up your frequent-flier points

Independence Air's frequent-flier program, iClub, has over a million members. (The airline doesn't disclose the number of currently unredeemed frequent-flier points.) The bad news for these folks is they will most likely be left empty-handed, says Tim Winship, publisher of FrequentFlier.com, a consumer information web site for airline loyalty programs.

Winship's advice: If you have enough points for a flight on Independence, redeem them by Thursday. According to Winship, a reward ticket could be honored by another airline the same way they're required to honor tickets bought retail. Although the law doesn't mention anything specifically about reward tickets, he says, "you would be better off on Friday if you had an award ticket in hand than if you simply had your [points] remaining in their program unredeemed."

4. Take it to the credit-card issuer
As a last resort, customers who have purchased their tickets within 60 days may dispute the charge with their credit-card company. That's because the Fair Credit Reporting Act entitles consumers to a refund of charges if the services weren't rendered, says Parsons. This may be your only option if you're unable to book a flight with an alternate airline and the promised refunds from Independence Air don't materialize.

5. Brace yourself for higher fares
With one less low-cost competitor on the scene, expect to see the legacy airlines hike fares, Parsons says. Hardest hit will be the cities where Independence Air was the only low-cost carrier. This includes Atlanta, Burlington, Vt., Charleston, S.C., Charleston, W.Va., Charlotte, Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C., Huntsville, Ala., Portland, Me., Savannah, Ga., Syracuse, White Plains, N.Y., and Washington, D.C.

According to Parsons, those cities are going to see airfares double or even triple. "Business travelers will see fares jump from $139 to $149 each way to $599 each way," he says. "These low-cost airlines, once they come, it's great. Once they go bye-bye, it's skyway robbery."