Originally Posted by
BThumme
Are you absolutely sure? That would have had to have been for a travel voucher.
correct. These payouts are in the form of TCVA vouchers which are good for travel credit on UA and UAex. For people like me, they are as good as cash.
Originally Posted by
jsloan
They generally don't. However, there have been multiple instances of UA overbooking J by 1 on international long-haul flights, presumably on flights where they have a high expectation of a cancellation or mis-connect.
I posted a few months back regarding a TATL flight my parents were on that oversold J (on the 787-10) by 1, and immediately offered $10,000 TCVA for one volunteer to move back or switch to a different flight. I have also personally seen SFO-SIN on a couple occasions over by 1 in J, though missed connectiones rectified that situation. It happens, and the statisticians are certainly interested in ensuring maximum revenue in the J cabin, even if it means issuing some significant UA funny munny.