Many years ago when there was a Miami flight from LGW we were delayed for a connecting flight from Verona - which was scheduled to land after the MIA was supposed to take off - and there was an announcement asking people in WT without checked in baggage to voluntarily get off and travel on a later flight to Tampa in club, with connecting flights and a few hundred pounds. If no one volunteered the announcer said he would remove some people - not sure what the criteria for off loading were.

Possibly linked to the group from Vernona, maybe a school group that couldn't be split up, it must have been very difficult to be asked to leave, though perhaps if there was no one without checked in luggage they would have taken a volunteer with checked in rather than forcing someone. All in all for someone in WT and in no rush it seemed a reasonable offer.

Only other times I have seen it involved being asked at check in if I would take vouchers (more than the flight had cost) and return to London via an indirect route from Scotland and on a United flight where it was noted that they might need volunteers though it turned out they didn't. Service was so bad though I wished I had been bumped off and flown with someone else !