Preface
So I was flying AUH-ORD and then onwards to SEA in UA back in March. While checking in, the overbooked offer came up and I entered $1000 without thinking. When I came to the gate I noticed the GA's talking about 'overbooked flights' and remembering my offer, I went to them and offered to get bumped. They looked relieved (no one else volunteered it was the last flight) and proceeded to bump me with the voucher, a hotel and a taxi (interestingly, another lady who got kicked got nothing except a hotel, I took her along and we flirted a bit but she told me a few hours later she was married). Long story short, I enjoyed the experience and am still using the voucher for cheap UA flights.
Current Situation
I'm taking Air China from LAX at 1:40 AM on the 20th of September and have to (separately, as always) book another flight SEA-LAX. Now, the sensible thing would be to book AA6052 which flies direct and arrives 10 PM with just under 4 hours to go for my onwards flight.
However, I wonder if I could take an earlier UA flight and hope to get bump to a later one. To be precise, I'm looking at the following flights (connection through SFO) on 19 Sept:
- UA 816 -> UA 229
- UA 1494 -> UA1200
- UA 414 (direct)
Is this a realistic shot (can some expert take a look at seat availability perhaps?) OR is it completely stupid and I should rather take the convenient AA flight rather than (potentially) pointlessly camping out at LAX for 8-9 hours.
Let me know your thoughts!
