# Strategy for receiving perks on an Oversold Flight??



## #1 Cowboys Fan (Feb 28, 2006)

I have an upcoming trip home from Orlando, in which the flight to Detroit has NO empty seats.

Am I to assume that it is probably oversold?

It is a Friday evening flight; so I wouldn't mind much to spend an extra night and come home Saturday.

I have seen TUGgers post before who seem to be EXPERTS at this!!!

I have never found it convenient to volunteer; but think I might this time.

So, I think I need ALOT of advice. (EX: How to get the most worthwhile perks, should I volunteer once I arrive, should I be 'low-key', etc.)

Thanks,
Pat


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## jackio (Feb 28, 2006)

I have been trying for years to get a bump, without success.  Last Saturday we came THISCLOSE.  Our flight from Las Vegas was oversold, and I got there early and approached the desk and told them if they were looking for volunteers, my husband and I were interested.  As we were getting ready to board, they called us over.  They offered us travel vouchers for $200 each plus the cost of our one-way fare home, which came to almost $700 for the both of us.  They could not guarantee a seat for us from Las Vegas for the next day, so they told us they would fly us to Kansas City in a couple of hours, put us up in a hotel, then fly us to Long Island the next morning.  We would arrive home 14 hours late.  We agreed and signed for the vouchers.  It was a party of 3 that they were trying to get on, and they kept calling for one more volunteer.  One lady stepped up and they gave her the same deal.  She said she was willing to go for the $200 and the hotel room, but she had booked her fare with Rapid Rewards and only paid $5 for it.  She wanted at least $100 more in vouchers to make up the difference. Southwest firmly refused, and she told them to forget it.  There were no more volunteers.  So they refused to let the party of 3 board, and gave us back our boarding passes. I was so disappointed!  Hope you have better luck.


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## JBRES1 (Feb 28, 2006)

*bump*

We have had some great sucess with bumps over the past 9 years of vacations.
1 - get to the gate early, before anybody else has a chance to get ahead of you in the bump line
2 - offer your seat the the gate/ticket agent.
3- check back a few times with the gate agent, but don't be a pest.
4- be willing to take a flight the following day , or to an alternate ariport that will connect to your final destination.
5- This is the big one  BE NICE.  The ticket agent is under alot of stress, so don't add to it.
We get bumped so often that my wife and kids and I  pack a " Bump Bag" when we go on vacation.  The bump bag contains whatever we would need for an extra day of vacation ie swim suit, toothbrush, and some extra clothing.
Good luck, Jim Breslin


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## riverside (Feb 28, 2006)

We get bumped often.  For two years we never bought a ticket...we just flew on free vouchers or dollars off vouchers.  We dress up, get to the gate early and often check with the agent when we check in to see if they are oversold.  Sometimes they will offer a bump right then.  If we make it to the gate we ask the agent if we know it's been oversold or we sit near the desk so that we can be the first up if they ask for volunteers.  Always have your ticket in your hand because that will be the first thing they ask for.  We always decide in advance whether we would be willing because there's no time for discussion once the announcement is made.  You also take the chance of having them give someone else your seat and then when they find out they don't need you, you are sitting in a different seat and often not with the person you're with.


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## #1 Cowboys Fan (Mar 1, 2006)

hmmm---it sounds a little more complicated than I thought.

My wife's family is still vacationing in Orlando the night we 
leave------so I thought -----"...why not get some benefits and stay an extra night".

If this flight has NO EMPTY SEATS, can I assume it has a HIGH possibility of being oversold?

It is a 5:31 pm flight from Orlando to Detroit---do you think that is probably the last one of the day?  (I don't really want to fly to Detroit later that night, and have to stay over that night before coming back to Maine the next day---again I'd rather see my wife's family in Orlando.)

Who are you referring to when you say "...speak to the agent"?  (Sometimes when we get to our Gate, they haven't yet set up for the next flight)----should I go to an agent at a different gate?

Any MORE strategies?

Thanks,
Pat


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## arlene22 (Mar 1, 2006)

Check out this thread from the TUG Travel Archives.


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## Dave M (Mar 1, 2006)

#1 Cowboys Fan said:
			
		

> If this flight has NO EMPTY SEATS, can I assume it has a HIGH possibility of being oversold?


High possibility? Yes. High probability? Not necessarily. 

Airlines routinely overbook flights because they know a significant number of people will cancel, miss connections or just not show up. Thus, your flight could be oversold by 15-20 people and still take off with empty seats. Your airline has carefully calculated, based on historical experience, how many extra seats it can sell without having to pay some people to take a later flight.



> It is a 5:31 pm flight from Orlando to Detroit---do you think that is probably the last one of the day?


No. There is another NW flight at 6:43 p.m.



> Who are you referring to when you say "...speak to the agent"?


Get to the gate more than an hour early. Gates are usually staffed for a flight about an hour before the flight. If you really want to be bumped, be the first one in line at your gate about an hour and 15 minutes before the flight is scheduled to leave. Then when the counter at your gate is staffed and an agent says, "May I help you?".... 

Respond, "We are all checked in, but we would be happy to volunteer for a later flight, if the flight is oversold."


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## Dave M (Mar 1, 2006)

Thanks, Arlene! 

I was just getting ready to post a copy of that tutorial from my personal archives and had forgotten that Tom had saved it here at TUG!


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## T_R_Oglodyte (Mar 1, 2006)

Also be aware that some airlines give first bumping preference to their elite frequent flyers, then to ordinary frequent flyers, and last to general customers.

The airlines know that getting bumped can be a perk, and they will first offer the perk to their best customers.

So the bump doesn't always go to the first person who volunteers.


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## Lee B (Mar 1, 2006)

*Additional Questions*

If you check in at the front counter, before going through security, could you volunteer then, or do you need to talk to the gate agent (after s/he shows up) to do it?  If the answer is Yes, I'd still introduce myself to the gate agent, but perhaps I'd more surely be at the top of the list that way.

They ask if you checked bags, which of course they would need to know to take yours off the plane.  Does that make a difference in whom they would take as a volunteer?

Does your final destination matter?  For example, say your flight to DFW is overbooked but that's just the first part in getting to Miami.  Does their volunteer-choosing depend on what they can do for your final destination, or just to DFW?  I think it would/should, but have no experience.

I would think that if I can take a later flight to my destination, they would prefer me to someone that they would have to put up for the night, no?  What if that later flight is on another airline?  I'm guessing that this depends on the class of ticket I bought.  Maybe they don't put cheapos on other airlines.


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## riverside (Mar 1, 2006)

Lee,
There have been times when we have been able to get a bump right at the check in counter.  That's happened 3 times in the last 3 years (and we only fly 2-3 times a year).  Once they offered without us even asking and then put us in first class on a different plane.  (Hence the dress nicely, be friendly advice)

Yes, it does  matter where you are going.  They will give it to people first who they would not have to put up overnight.  It also matters how many people they need.  If you are a party of 4 and they need 3 they will probably chose other volunteers if they are available.

When I got a bump last week they did not take my suitcase off the plane.  I picked it up at my home airport when I arrived the next day.


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