I logged on to facebook and my friend had a status that sums up this post. He and his wife got bumped from an international flight and the two of them got $1,400 in United flight vouchers.
What does getting bumped from a flight mean?
Bumped: When an airline is over sold and asks someone to take a later flight in exchange for compensation (usually a flight voucher).
Involuntary Bump: When an airline is over sold and no one volunteers to get bumped, they have to pick someone at random to take a later flight. This person, removed from the flight against their will, is entitled to some extraordinarily large amount of cash. I heard it’s a minimum of $800 cash, and have heard of it being much more per person.
Airlines oversell flights assuming that some percent of the people are fickle business flyers (or something) and won’t show up for the flight. Often they oversell by one or two seats and need “bumps” to remedy the situation.
Right before boarding, the airline realizes how many people have checked in, and if there are too many sold tickets, they start calling for volunteers.
“Anyone willing to take a later flight in exchange for $250 in airline vouchers?”
The airlines need volunteers. Imagine if they call out for volunteers at $250, $350, $450 and no one volunteers. Clearly everyone wants to take this flight, even for a $450 voucher, they would choose to still fly.
And if no one volunteers not only do they have to pick someone who would potentially be upset, they have to pay more money. And not only do they have to pay more in dollar value, they actually have to pay money. A voucher technically doesn’t cost them anything, but if they don’t find any volunteers, the person bumped is entitled to cash.
So that’s basically how it works.
How to get bumped:
1) Check the flights
Now I’ve heard of people planning flight based on the best time and routes to get bumped. Busy business routes at busy times.
And I’ve heard of people with status (who can cancel or change flights for free) really taking advantage of these. If the flight looks like it has plenty of free seats, they might switch their flight. Although, it’s nearly impossible to use miles on a sold out flight, and there aren’t easy ways to tell which flight will be oversold. However, you can check on your flight to see if it’s no longer selling seats.
2) Ask to be put on the list
Mentioning your willingness to be bumped at checkin might not help, as it’s the gate agents who make this decision. After all, they don’t even know how many people are checked in until boarding time.
Still, persistence doesn’t hurt. At checkin, you could tell them you’re flexible and ask to be put on the list.
3) Don’t have checked bags
Agents aren’t supposed to send your bag on a different flight than the one you’re on. But the thing is, by the time they know they need to bump someone, it’s too late to get your bag. So not having checked luggage is huge.
Plus, who wants their valuables in the hands of an archaic-functioning airline?
4) Check with the gate agents
Again, the gate agents know. Maybe they don’t know yet, but they are starting to get a feel. Ask about the flight, or let them know you’re flexible and don’t have checked bags. They may say the flight is empty, or they may take your name.
5) Wait at the gate, and listen
This is the trouble, the lounge is never in ear shot of the gate. First world problems, I know. But I seriously never am at the gate early. I might not board last, but often I show up right at boarding. I care more if I have big bags.
But the thing is, the gate is where they call out for volunteers. Being at the gate early is key.
I mean, the lounge is nice and all… But I’d rather have the voucher.
6) Ask what flight they can rebook you into
If you really want to get home, or wherever, when they call for volunteers, check on this. Many times I have heard of people who booked long connections (because it’s cheaper) getting bumped to a later direct flight, and getting home at the same time they would have originally anyway.
At least check. And even if you’re sure you want a bump, still make sure you’ve got a flight soonish.
Conclusion
Compensation can generally be negotiated on. I’m not much of a negotiator, in fact, I hate the concept of bartering in foreign countries (cuz I’m not a shopper), so I hate negotiating. But it can’t hurt to ask. Or if you know they are desperate (no one is volunteering), hold on. Again, they do not want an involuntary bump.
In the end, it’s more of an awareness than it is a strategy. You can do your part to increase your chances, but in the end, you’ve got to be in the right place at the right time. Some people end up being in those situations more than others though.
That being said, I would love to hear reader tips on getting bumped. I don’t often ask for tips like this, but if you have any thoughts or further strategies, please comment below. I take enough flights that I should be taking bumps all the time. :-p
Hey Drew,
I travel a lot for business and I once volunteered to get bumped once the voucher value hit 800. It was well worth it.
As far as the involuntary bumps in my experience, primarily domestically, those are very rare! I think the involuntary bump gets 1400 per person, but only if they arrive a certain amount of time later to the destination, 3 hours I think.
My advice is this, if you fly the airline a lot their voucher may have real cash value to you.
Basically, your worst enemy is the guy who doesn’t know the system/ will take chump change as he will skip up to the desk just as soon as they offer 200 . the key is, be near the desk so if they call a number that works for you just turn around. If they need a significant n umber if volunteers and some volunteers queue up be in that line, be ready
Yea, good advice. And I agree, I’ve personally never seen an involuntary bump. They are pretty rare afaik.
In making the call whether to accept compensation or not, I always ask the question this way: “Suppose I were booked on the later flight originally and I had the opportunity to pay $350 to switch to the earlier one. Would I? Probably not. If so, compensation accepted. This is, of course, when I am flexible. There are times when the later flight simply could not work.
Right. Exactly. Would I pay $350 to see my family for an event, or not to miss work? Probably. And that’s a great way of thinking about it.
Another trick for when they need multiple volunteers is to volunteer first but ask if you will be given the same compensation as the last guy that took the offer (which generally would be higher). I’ve never personally done it but I have read that it usually works
lol, that’s awesome. I guess people really do barter.
Actually, they are required to give you the same offer as the highest. My experience on UA anyway.
To echo Brian’s comment’s above, it’s crucial that you form a mini-union of sorts with other passengers who are considering volunteering for bumping. Why? Like Brian said, there may be a chump who doesn’t realize he’s entitled to a minimum compensation in case of involuntary bumping, and who ends up accepting a lower offer in exchange for volunteering.
Here are the DoT’s rules on amounts you’re entitled to when involuntarily bumped (click on #4, “Overbooking”):
http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights
For a forced re-booking that delays you 1-2 hours, you get 200% of the one-way fare with a $650 maximum. For one that delays you 2+ hours (4+ hours for international flights), they owe you 400% of the one-way fare, up to a maximum of $1300.
Therefore, you should NEVER accept a deal that falls short of these amounts if they’re trying to get you to volunteer to be bumped. If they have to bump you anyway, you’re guaranteed those amounts above, so why not hold out for more?
Of course, you need all would-be volunteers to know this, so I guess you’d have to hang out at the desk and interrupt them to inform them of their compensation rights if they start haggling with the gate agent. Easier said than done, I’m sure. But if passengers stick together to turn down the initial low-ball offers, it would work. If you see someone about to take a bad deal, inform them of these rules!
There are exceptions to those rules listed above, which you can see in the link, so be sure to read those. For flights within and out of Europe, the compensation rules are even more generous to passengers:
http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/consumers/protection_of_consumers/l24173_en.htm
Drew, your blog has been a great discovery for me, and is truly the best one I’ve found in terms of detailing all the ins and outs of frequent flier travel. And eerily enough, I thought about this very concept yesterday–how to increase one’s likelihood of an involuntary booking–and a day later this post appears! Keep up the great work. I love the super-detailed posts about the quirks of each airline’s computer booking systems and such. Thanks for such a great resource.
*Whoops, meant to say “involuntary bumping” in that last paragraph.
That’s pretty hard core. As I said, I don’t even like bartering… so I’m not sure how easy that would be for me to go through with.
But great comment, thanks for the details and links.
Drew
If you convince everyone to hold out for the IDB compensation what would be the point of the airline accepting your offer to volunteer? They ask for volunteers in order to pay less than what they would if they have to IDB someone, that’s the point. If you’re asking for the max compensation they’d just IDB the person that it’s cheapest for them to offload (e.g a person that they can get to their destination in the quickest window or the person that paid the lowest one way fare on that flight).
Once you volunteer to get bumped, that’s the time to start asking for additional things:
For example:
If you’re bumped at noon, and the next flight is at midnight, ask for a hotel dayroom. Ask for a car, and make sure you get food vouchers. Worst case is the airline will say sorry to your request (except for the food vouchers).
Aks for an upgrade on your return flight. Always ‘ask’ for things before you confirm your bump. Several years ago, I got bumped from the above noon flight LAX/HKG. My return flight was 2 days later. When I asked to be seated upstairs on UA (business class on a 747) on the return, the agent said yes. When I asked for a biz class seat back to JFK from SFO, the agent looked at me funny, then said Ok. I still remember his name after all these years.
Agents can do anything for you in a bump situation (if you ask). Worst case is they say no.
One time I volunteered to take a bump at LGA. When I suggested a re-route via JFK, the agent thought I was crazy. Anyway, I got a voucher and an upgrade! When I asked for taxi fare between LGA and JFK, she told me she couldn’t pay for that, and I was one my own. When I suggested that a $50 voucher would make me happy, well, that she was able to do. 😉
One last thing, if you have status, remind the gate agent. You’ll go to the top of the bump list.
That is hilarious. Good for you though. Yea, why not ask? They need your help, and it’s suppose to be a win-win instead of an awkward loss for the airline.
But just be sure you’re evaluating all your options! For that LAX/HKG flight, you would have been entitled to $1300 in compensation–and that’s cash, not a voucher–assuming you were the last/only holdout, refusing to be bumped (or had held firm with a group of other would-be bumpees). Your return flight in business class was an upgrade that was obviously worth more than $1300, but a lot of travelers might prefer to take the cash and stick with economy instead. Like everything, it depends on your inherent preferences.
As a broke traveler like yourselves, I NEED the vouchers to pay for my trips. I am still establishing my credit history so I don’t have access to points/miles that way yet. $1400 on UA so far this year (I have been most successful with them and rarely have seen so many on other airlines). Then I use the miles from the new flights. Yes, always ask for food, good seat if you can, hotel.
Don’t you often get miles on the rebooked flight too? Anyways, I guess if you do the right planning, you can make out like a bandit on a bump, and be on busy flights to get the bump.
Sure do get those miles- which often are booked in a better class like full fare economy. In addition to the miles from flights you buy with your voucher.
My neighbor told me his parent fly to Florida routinely. They book a flight they know to be popular with people meeting cruise ships, in the hope of getting bumped.
The best I have done is a triple bump — three days in a row out of Salt Lake City.
That’s funny. I wonder how they know which flights those are.
Wow three days in a row, that’s awesome. And they paid for hotels every night? Well, that worked out well then.
I don’t know if it’s possible to be adequately compensated for three consecutive days in Salt Lake City, but I do know I once accepted a voucher from Spirit Air and, forgetting who I was dealing with, failed to notice it expired in 60 days.
lol, don’t like SLC?
That’s funny. Don’t fly spirit and you won’t have that problem. :-p
Some of the comments upstream suggest that the GA is all-empowered to issue most anything (rental car, day room, etc). In my experience, that’s simply no longer true. Oh, it once was, but if these things are happening domestically, they are very few and far between.
I’m a Global Services member at UA (just as high as one can go) and I get very well accommodated in the event of irrops. But, don’t think I’m getting day rooms and rental cars. Just doesn’t happen. And, I’m stuck (just like you) at the airport Ramada — not the Ritz-Carlton or Four Seasons.
A good friend of mine is a 35 year veteran supervisor at one of the NYC airports. I got in a jam there last fall on a mechanical irrops that really fouled up my connection onward to an international vacation in S America. I was top tier with her carrier, but she confided in me that her hands are completely tied these days in terms of what she can offer and what she can’t. She jumped through hoops for me, but it was a shadow of what it would’ve been 20 years ago.