WilcoRoger

I'm on AY 69 to HKG tomorrow - the pre-flight email from AY has this line

"NOTE: Are your travel plans flexible? This flight is overbooked and therefore we are looking for volunteers to change flight if needed. You can volunteer in the online check-in"

I am off a connecting flight (a stopover, really) and continue on the same ticket fm HKG to TPE. All in C.

Now I really need to be in TPE Tue morning, so it's crucial that I'm on this flight. Will AY kick its own Gold off? Or do I have a better chance as OWE (BA)?

Or am I overreacting? I did OLCI (seq 11 )

sethb

You're over-reacting. They're looking for volunteers and you aren't one so they'll pay somebody else to take a different flight.

WilcoRoger

Yeah, VDB is cheaper (300€ offered) than IVDB and EU261 amount so they start asking for volunteers. Hope there'll be takers.

YuropFlyer

Let us know how it goes. Overbooked C is always something

Jainzar

And even if you would chose to volunteer it doesn't mean necessarily that you will not take that flight. The last time I got that message during check-in even the ones who were volunteering could board when the gate was closed. Some pax just didn't show up in the end.
But in your booking class I would be probably not keen on any kind of low compensation.

intuition

Are you sure C is overbooked?

Anyway, since you have passed OLCI, you are one step further away from getting kicked. Sometimes when they kick people, they chose from those who didn't yet check in and then block OLCI with message "contact AY for more info"

AFAIK, status plays no role in who is getting kicked. For instance, if you are on a corporate fare you are more likely to get kicked, regardless of status.

intuition

That statement is only true if you intend to pay EU261 penalties...

gcuk

I had the same message on one of my Finnair flights recently. There were empty seats in both economy and business when we flew.

WilcoRoger

Sitting in 8A waiting for take-off. ^ Full flight.

ffay005

I'm glad it worked out for you.

What is AY policy in overbookings overall, how important is the sequence number actually? If I check in early but someone with higher status or more expensive tickets checks in later, will/can they still deny me from boarding?

I've received the volunteer message a couple of times, but always in intra-European Y and haven't bothered since they offer such low amounts of money. I've never been denied boarding.

Ed Size

First of all they kick those traveling on a non published fare i.e. corporate fare, no matter what class of service and status.

Happend to me as a Plat booked in J and AY told me that this is standard procedere

ffay005

I'll be flying BKK-HEL in J on 29JUN and the preflight email tells me the flight is overbooked. I wonder if it really applies to J as well. I actually wouldn't mind another day here + €500 voucher, but when I go to OLCI, it doesn't give me any instructions about volunteering. The wording in the email is the same as in the OP's post. I guess I could volunteer at the check-in desk, too.

I did OLCI long before the email arrived, at about T37 with seq. 2. Nothing about overbooking at that time. The email seems to have arrived about 4 hours after that.

What's your experience, if you volunteer and they need your seat:
- will they give you confirmed alternative arrangements at the gate?
- would those alternative arrangements be something you could negotiate, ie I'd rather fly eg via HKG on CX than via FRA on LH etc?
- what's more typical, to be put on the next AY flight or to have me fly out as soon as possible with a competitor; or would this vary on a case-to-case basis?
- if they put me on the next day's flight, I assume they pay for accommodation?

And if they have more volunteers than they need, on which basis do you think they choose them? I'm flying alone which might be a good thing.

YuropFlyer

More often than not on such routes, Y is oversold but J isn't.

They'll (usually) prefer to take volunteers from Y rather than J (if the total load of pax is more than total seats) and having to upgrade another Y pax for an offloaded J pax.

So, unless J is overbooked itself (I doubt so!) there is hardly any chance for you to volunteer. You can try, of course, but I wouldn't hold up any hopes.

Generally speaking, if they're looking for volunteers, it's kinda "free for all" game. If next days flight is also very well booked, they might put you on an alternative carrier, otherwise they'll prefer their own metall. And whoever they choose, that will depend on what you're asking.. the less, the better your chance

ffay005

Yeah, so it's probably AY IT again: "Let's overbook Y and then send J pax a message that we've overbooked. Then let's refer them to our OLCI which won't mention the overbooking at all. That's gonna be so much fun!"

I sure would like to eaversdrop on AY's IT people's sauna conversations. They must have a jolly good time.

intuition

I would assume volunteering means you accept anything they throw at you. Ie, no wiggle room for CX and such. And certainly no accommodations.