Originally Posted by
lewisc
I can't believe posters think WN can bypass IDB rules by refusing to issue BPs in excess of the number of seats on the plane. Under that interpretation WN would never have to pay IDB compensation.
I suspect the security document is treated as the BP in that case. The question seems to be if the OP had the duty to check in with the GA and specifically ask for a real BP prior to T10. OK and the GA might have said something like, wait until you're called.
Sure sounds like IDB. WN accepted checked luggage, gave them a security document and the passengers were at the gate (T-20) waiting for a BP.
Absolutely no reason for the OP not to file a complaint with DOT.
WN (like almost all airlines) overbook. Had the OP checked in at T-24 and gotten a real BP then a different passenger would have been subject to the IDB.
The OP heard an announcement asking for volunteers. The GA told the OP that announcement was an attempt to secure seats for the OP. An overbooked airline asks for volunteers, no one volunteers and a customer with a ticket isn't allowed to board (not given a BP). How is this anything but IDB?
The "10-minute rule" from WN's COC is copied below. Note that the 10-minute rule requires passengers to have obtained a boarding pass and
be present at the gate 10 minutes before departure. There is nothing in the COC that says passengers need to present themselves to the gate agent 10 minutes before departure. Is WN really arguing they can amend their COC on a passenger by passenger basis to evade denied boarding compensation by saying that this particular passenger needed to beg a gate agent to document his physical presence? Even when the agent is actively looking for volunteers in order to seat his family and after they have loaded their luggage? Are they suggesting they can get around paying denied boarding compensation by just refusing to provide a boarding pass, and claiming that the security document they provide at their kiosk does not count?
This is totally a case of denied boarding compensation--and the failure to pay up what they owe pronto is a totally flagrant violation of DOT regulations.
(1) Ten-Minute Rule. Failure of a Passenger to obtain a Boarding Pass and be present, available, and appropriate as described in Section 6 for boarding in the flight‟s boarding gate area at least ten minutes before the scheduled departure time may result in cancellation of the Passenger‟s reservation without notice at the Carrier‟s sole discretion.