The Wednesday before Thanksgiving was always almost impossible as a non-rev, and this was 25 years ago. Everybody's trying to get home. Thanksgiving day has almost empty planes.

Note that we're talking American thanksgiving here -- in other countries, it's just another day.

When I non-reved my whole family on a transcon, we left on Christmas Day and had no problems.

So, the days you're picking seem good for a vdb, but I'm not sure how that works TATL. It would sure be nice to pick up a handful of int'l bump vouchers. How much is it nowadays?