Originally Posted by
CMK10
Checked in at IAH yesterday for IAH-ATL-RDU. The machine said ATL-RDU was oversold, I put in a bid of $200. I got to ATL, went to the SC, then got to the gate 5 minutes before boarding. I asked if they still needed me and they said they'd made their own announcement for volunteers. Kind of makes you wonder what the point of bidding at the machine is.
As it was they took one person that they made an announcement for on the plane. Not sure how much she got.
Would be much better if the airline just made an initial minimum offer at check-in and then deal with the bidding war at the gate if they don't have enough volunteers from the check-in kiosks. Then they can raise the offers up.
The GA's probably had it sorted out before you were able to connect into your gate. My VDB chances reduce dramatically if I'm not able to make it to the gate 60 minutes or more prior to departure.