Originally Posted by
star_world
They also have one of the lowest denied boarding rates in the US industry so the number of flights impacted by this is dramatically lowered as a result.
Which is countered by them consistently having one of the highest involuntarily denied boarding (IDB) rates in the industry.
It's possible that their inability to solicit enough volunteers results in them being forced not to oversell by as much. That in turn leaves real money on the table.
While you look at it from an impact perspective, I see it as a lost opportunity for the airline. I think playing the auction game turns people off the process, so fewer people participate.
Originally Posted by
star_world
On-time performance is skewed by having a hub in EWR more than anything else. It would be hard to argue that GAs negotiating with pax on VDB payouts has a material impact on on-time performance.
Many airlines have hubs in congested airports. UA has ORD and SFO; DL and AA have JFK; DL has ATL; CO has EWR; DL (formerly US) has a focus at LGA; etc. While EWR makes an impact to CO's stats, the other airlines are also burdened as well by their congested hubs.
On my last CO VDB they most certainly took a delay because of the oversale. I talked to them beforehand, we agreed on an amount, but protection was the issue (maybe it was too difficult to do in SHARES, I don't know). I wanted a flight they didn't want to do. So I passed and got on the plane.
Once fully boarded, they come on the plane begging for vols. I ask this GA about my protection. They radio someone and they say it's okay. Off I come, and they push late.