Originally Posted by
ConciergeMike
Yes. IDB is when the airline comes to you and says, in essence, "You are not getting on the plane, despite what you may think." Not agreeing to VDB terms and then as a result of losing that time being unable to board should not create an IDB payout. The I in IDB was created by the passenger, not the airline, since the hypothetical customer refused the terms of the VDB.
(I'm playing devil's advocate here)
If that were the case, then the same logic should apply to the airline refusing the initial (but not signed) VDB offer. The customer should be able to say to the airline "You offered me a voucher in exchange for not getting on board, and I accepted. Give me the voucher."
One time CO asked for volunteers and I was the one to accept the offer of a few hundred $ voucher. CO gave my prime 14F (73G) seat to someone else (lawyers: would that be considered "consideration"?). A few minutes later and everyone is on board... lo and behold there was a no show. Now, CO had already offered me a voucher for a specific $ amount. Should I have been able to demand that voucher? It was still within my power to complete my part of the agreement (not get on board). In my case it all worked out and I was happy (the actual actions taken by the GA would cause a riot here, so I won't reveal the details).
(The following is legal garbage from a non-lawyer.)
Of course not... the deal isn't done until the contract is complete and the conditions met. The fact that a passenger agrees to come to an agreement for a VDB does not mean an agreement has been made. What if it turned out that the certificate was only valid for flights on Tuesdays?
To this non-lawyer, the fact that CO has one sign a form agreeing to the terms of the certificate implies that the VDB agreement is not complete until customer signs the form. Otherwise why bother? CO could just print out a voucher and save some paperwork (keeping the form).
Originally Posted by
ConciergeMike
The VDB should not be processed until acceptance is acquired. If an airline really were dumb enough to deboard someone who had not accepted the terms of the VDB, then they deserve to pay out an IDB and deal with the resulting ding from the DoT and such. I doubt this would really happen all that much in practice.
In the case above I was deboarded before I got/signed the VDB certificate (IIRC). Someone else was given my seat. If the no-show had showed up, the situation you describe could have happened.
I guess this is why CO has the kiosks print out the "Volunteer Information" thingies.