starry-eyes, bumping occurs as a result of what the airline industry calls "overselling" or "overbooking" Because a certain percentage of people decide not to show up to their flights for one reason or another, the airlines take a calculated risk and sell more tickets than they have seats for. Sometimes they can sell as many as 20-30 or more tickets than they have seats. Well, as you can imagine there are times when everyone DOES show up and not everyone can fit on the plane.

Knowing this and having access to the tools on FT which you will learn about you can increase your chances of getting bumped. While the ordinary traveler is terrified at the possiblity of getting bumped, many people on FT go crazy at the chance to get bumped.

The airline has a contract with you to get you to your destination, so if you volunteer to get bumped you will be placed on the next available flight to where you are going. Because of your inconvenience the airline will give you a voucher good towards airfare on that airline. The general rule of thumb is that if you are delayed between 0 and 4 hours from your original arrival time they will give you $200. If you are delayed 4 or more hours you will get $400. Additionally, if you get bumped overnight, the airline will give you a hotel voucher and a food voucher.

If your travel plans are flexible, and you would like to get bumped, get to the gate an hour before the flight is scheduled to board. Tell the gate agent you would like to volunteer your boarding pass to get bumped, and around boarding time they will let you know if they used you. If you get bumped, rush to your next gate and try it again! I got bumped 4 times over 2.5 days flying from JAX-ATL and made $1600 in Delta money, 2 nights in a hotel, and $50 in food vouchers.