Originally Posted by
geoffco
I was the beneficiary of a NW overbooked F cabin in LAS about 5 years ago. I was booked on the 1am flight to MSP. At the gate, I inquired about switching my window F seat to an aisle. The agent briefly consulted with another agent who walked over and said something like "sir, we're in an unusual situation and you seem like a nice guy, here's the situation...."
I was offered a Y aisle with empty adjacent middle seat + $300 voucher and about 3 amenity packets, which I gladly accepted.
I had a similar situation a few years ago on a flight from LGA. I was called to the podium and told they had an "obnoxious and demanding" PE (I was gold at the time) who was demanding a seat in F. I was offered a cash voucher and guaranteed upgrades for the rest of my itinerary.
In this case, I would assume some compensation was offered to those who were downgraded.