The U.S. State Department’s upgraded advisory on travel in Japan has prompted officials to begin evacuating Americans to safe havens throughout Asia.

According to the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, there are a limited number of seats available on evacuation flights from Tokyo airports Narita and Haneda, and priority will be given to persons with medical emergencies or severe medical conditions.

Peter recently sat down with Jane Engle, assistant travel editor for the Los Angeles Times, to review options for those scheduled to travel to Japan and how the airlines are dealing with flight cancellations and rebookings.

Jane Engle: This is a very typical pattern that we see during the disasters like this; things move very, very fast. Those airports, except of course for Sendai, are open now, but of course there are still lots of cancellations, lots of disruptions and an issue for people going there is rescheduling flights.  The key there, I like to say, is get online, not in line. Don’t get on the phone to find out about this as reservation lines are jammed. You want to go to the airlines’ Web sites and see what they’re offering.

PG: In many cases, my understanding is that most of the airlines are offering waivers on the penalty fees or or the trip cancellation fees.

JE: Yes, all those things are being offered. If you have a travel agent they can also save you a lot of time, as they can do the research to get you rebooked on a flight. But the key here is reading every individual airline’s policy, which is a headache because every single one is different.

[Ed. note: all flight updates below are as of March 17, 2011.]

American Airlines – If you have at ticket to fly between March 11 and 18 to or from Narita airport, and your ticket was issued no later than March 11, you can travel as late as March 25. If you were scheduled to fly to or from Haneda airport between March 19 and April 10, and your ticket was issued no later than March 13, you can begin travel as late as May 10.

Delta – Flights to and from Haneda have been temporarily suspended. Travelers booked to Haneda may change their flights to Narita with no fees or penalties. Flights scheduled to or from Narita airport between March 11 and 31, issued on or before March 31, can travel on or before April 25 with no change fees.

United/Continental – Flights booked to and from several airports in Japan (Sendai, Narita, Osaka, and more) between March 11 and March 31 can be rebooked without penalty by April 30, 2011. All rebookings after that date, within a year of the ticket issue, will be subject to a fare difference but change fees will be waived.

Need more help with your Japan-related travel plans? Check out Travel Advice On Dealing With The Japan Earthquake & Tsunami

PG: Anytime you have situation where you have a disruption in service—whether it was the Iceland volcano or anything else—you have planes out of sequence, you have crews out of sequence and it takes anywhere between 36 to 72 hours to get back into the cycle.

JE: Yes, just because an airport is opened up again doesn’t mean you are good to go. You may not be good to go for days.

PG: One of the things I’m suggesting is to be a contrarian traveler. So, for example, if you’re in Japan and you need to get out to come back to the United States, don’t think of non-stop flights from Tokyo to the U.S. Go Tokyo – Hong Kong – U.S.; Tokyo – Taipei – U.S.; Tokyo – Bangkok – U.S. because you might have a better chance of getting out. By the same token if you need to get to Tokyo right now you might be better off going from Los Angeles or New York or Chicago to Hong Kong and doubling back.

JE: You do want to zig when everyone else is zagging. Everybody is going to want those non-stop flights and they are going to be jammed, so you do want to look at the alternatives there. And it is good for people to simply watch the news. Find out which airlines are flying, which airports are open, and again, contacting a travel agent or getting online will help you cut through this stuff pretty quickly to help find out what’s what.

PG: I’m going to tell you something that gets me really angry at a time like this: Normally, when airlines have draconian rules and they hose people with these ancillary fees, I’m the first guy to go to war. But on this one I have to defend the airlines. I’ve had several calls from people saying, There’s an disaster in Japan and what do the airlines owe me? What do I get out of this deal? What are my rights here? What am I entitled to because I can’t get on my flight? Excuse me, the airlines didn’t conspire to do this to you. It’s an act of god. The airlines are usually at fault for a lot of things, but they’re not at fault for this one.

JE: I think we get such a small amount of vacation time that people kind of freak out when their plans get disrupted; they get mad. But disasters happen. I think the airlines, for the most part, do a good job trying to help people get where they need to go. In this type of situation, you can’t get mad; you have to get calm. You have to look at the types of alternatives you have.

Click here for more information from the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on current evacuations out of Japan.

Click here to read the upgraded travel warning from the State Department.

By Peter Greenberg for Peter Greenberg Worldwide.

Related Links on PeterGreenberg.com:

• Travel Advice On Dealing With The Japan Earthquake & Tsunami
• Japan Earthquake Damages Tourism Worldwide
• Flights Rerouted As Japanese Radiation Leaks Affect Airspace
• Japan Earthquake Update: Travel Advisory Issued
• 8.9 Earthquake in Japan: Assessing The Damage, Death Toll
• Natural Disasters section