I have one tip and a question.....

The tip is: we volunteered our 4 seats on AA last week on the first leg (SAN/DFW) of our trip. Agent asked if we were willing to split up if she needed fewer than 4 seats. Fearing for the stability of our marriage ("Dear, I'm going, but you and the kids are staying...see ya!"), I said it was "all or nothing". Turned out she bumped THREE people! When I asked what would have happened if we had agreed to split up, she said the three bumpees would have met me at our final destination (MIA), after connecting through DFW, just 1 1/2 hours later. Those three would be a $300 voucher per person richer, and would have been upgraded to FC. Needless to say, EXPLETIVE DELETED! Moral of the story/tip: When volunteering, don't say you won't split up without first asking when your traveling party will be reunited if you agree to separate.

Now the question.....this past spring, we were bumped (again, SAN/DFW on AA) and were shuttled one hour up to the Orange County airport, where flights had some room. Got to Florida just 3 hours later, after connecting through DFW. Question is this.....we were first in line, and after being rerouted through SNA, the agent asked (shouted, really) if anyone else in line behind us wanted to hop on the same shuttle, with the accompanying $400 per person offer. Of the 12-15 people in line, not one spoke up. WHY? This was a Sunday morning flight, so not many business travelers, I'd guess. Did people have family or hotel commitments worth more than $400 per person for a delay of a few hours? Really, I think many people do not understand the bumping routine. They're afraid it's a trick or a scam of some sort. It's like "My ticket says this flight, at this time, on this day. That's what I reserved and paid for. Now you want me to give that back, you're going to shuttle me to another airport, and get me to my destination who knows how much later? No thanks". While people going to a specific occasion (business meeting, wedding, funeral, etc.) might not want to risk it, I continue to be amazed at all the others who remain locked in to their original itinerary, no matter what. Do FT'ers have thoughts as to why this is?