Last edit by: Prospero
AA Bump Rates: Volunteer Compensation / Voluntary Denied Boarding
Passengers involuntarily denied boarding on AA are denied usually after calls for volunteers to accept vouchers (and occasionally variable other benefits), usually beginning at $200 or $300 but possibly going significantly higher, depending on passenger response. See more below, including AA Conditions of Carriage.
See IDB / Involuntarily Denied Boarding on AA & Compensation (master thread) for INVOLUNTARILY denied boarding.
Link to US Dept. of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division's "Fly-Rights - A Consumer Guide to Air Travel" section on Overbooking
"IDB" (involuntarily denied boarding) compensation is governed in the USA by "14 CFR 250.5 - Amount of denied boarding compensation for passengers denied boarding involuntarily".
Link to CFR §250.5; as well:
14 CFR § 250.2b Carriers to request volunteers for denied boarding.
(a) In the event of an oversold flight, every carrier shall request volunteers for denied boarding before using any other boarding priority. A “volunteer” is a person who responds to the carrier's request for volunteers and who willingly accepts the carriers' offer of compensation, in any amount, in exchange for relinquishing the confirmed reserved space. Any other passenger denied boarding is considered for purposes of this part to have been denied boarding involuntarily, even if that passenger accepts the denied boarding compensation.
(b) Every carrier shall advise each passenger solicited to volunteer for denied boarding, no later than the time the carrier solicits that passenger to volunteer, whether he or she is in danger of being involuntarily denied boarding and, if so, the compensation the carrier is obligated to pay if the passenger is involuntarily denied boarding. If an insufficient number of volunteers come forward, the carrier may deny boarding to other passengers in accordance with its boarding priority rules.
14 CFR § 250.9 Written explanation of denied boarding compensation and boarding priorities, and verbal notification of denied boarding compensation.
(a) Every carrier shall furnish passengers who are denied boarding involuntarily from flights on which they hold confirmed reserved space immediately after the denied boarding occurs, a written statement explaining the terms, conditions, and limitations of denied boarding compensation, and describing the carriers' boarding priority rules and criteria. The carrier shall also furnish the statement to any person upon request at all airport ticket selling positions which are in the charge of a person employed exclusively by the carrier, or by it jointly with another person or persons, and at all boarding locations being used by the carrier.
Link to AA Conditions of Carriage, "Oversales"
In the European Union, EC261/2004 governs denied boarding compensation.
Link to EC261 / EC 261/2004 complaints and AA (master thread)
On American Airlines, you are sometimes ineligible for IDB as allowed by the USDOT:
If a flight is oversold (more passengers hold confirmed reservations than there are seats available), no one may be denied boarding against his or her will until airline personnel first ask for volunteers who will give up their reservation willingly, in exchange for compensation of the airline’s choosing. If there are not enough volunteers, other passengers may be denied boarding involuntarily in accordance with the following boarding priority of American. In such events, American will usually deny boarding based upon check-in time, but we may also consider factors such as severe hardships, fare paid, and status within the AAdvantage® program.
If you are denied boarding involuntarily, you are entitled to a payment of
‘‘denied boarding compensation’’ from the airline unless:
- You have not fully complied with the airline’s ticketing, check-in and reconfirmation requirements, or you are not acceptable for transportation under the airline’s usual rules and practices; or
- You are denied boarding because the flight is canceled; or
You are denied boarding because a smaller capacity aircraft was substituted for safety or operational reasons; or
- On a flight operated with an aircraft having 60 or fewer seats, you are denied boarding due to safety-related weight/balance restrictions that limit payload; or
- You are offered accommodations in a section of the aircraft other than specified in your ticket, at no extra charge (a passenger seated in a section for which a lower fare is charged must be given an appropriate refund); or
- The airline is able to place you on another flight or flights that are planned to reach your next stopover or final destination within one hour of the planned arrival time of your original flight.[/code]
The previous thread is http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
Passengers involuntarily denied boarding on AA are denied usually after calls for volunteers to accept vouchers (and occasionally variable other benefits), usually beginning at $200 or $300 but possibly going significantly higher, depending on passenger response. See more below, including AA Conditions of Carriage.
See IDB / Involuntarily Denied Boarding on AA & Compensation (master thread) for INVOLUNTARILY denied boarding.
Link to US Dept. of Transportation Aviation Consumer Protection Division's "Fly-Rights - A Consumer Guide to Air Travel" section on Overbooking
"IDB" (involuntarily denied boarding) compensation is governed in the USA by "14 CFR 250.5 - Amount of denied boarding compensation for passengers denied boarding involuntarily".
Link to CFR §250.5; as well:
14 CFR § 250.2b Carriers to request volunteers for denied boarding.
(a) In the event of an oversold flight, every carrier shall request volunteers for denied boarding before using any other boarding priority. A “volunteer” is a person who responds to the carrier's request for volunteers and who willingly accepts the carriers' offer of compensation, in any amount, in exchange for relinquishing the confirmed reserved space. Any other passenger denied boarding is considered for purposes of this part to have been denied boarding involuntarily, even if that passenger accepts the denied boarding compensation.
(b) Every carrier shall advise each passenger solicited to volunteer for denied boarding, no later than the time the carrier solicits that passenger to volunteer, whether he or she is in danger of being involuntarily denied boarding and, if so, the compensation the carrier is obligated to pay if the passenger is involuntarily denied boarding. If an insufficient number of volunteers come forward, the carrier may deny boarding to other passengers in accordance with its boarding priority rules.
14 CFR § 250.9 Written explanation of denied boarding compensation and boarding priorities, and verbal notification of denied boarding compensation.
(a) Every carrier shall furnish passengers who are denied boarding involuntarily from flights on which they hold confirmed reserved space immediately after the denied boarding occurs, a written statement explaining the terms, conditions, and limitations of denied boarding compensation, and describing the carriers' boarding priority rules and criteria. The carrier shall also furnish the statement to any person upon request at all airport ticket selling positions which are in the charge of a person employed exclusively by the carrier, or by it jointly with another person or persons, and at all boarding locations being used by the carrier.
Link to AA Conditions of Carriage, "Oversales"
In the European Union, EC261/2004 governs denied boarding compensation.
Link to EC261 / EC 261/2004 complaints and AA (master thread)
On American Airlines, you are sometimes ineligible for IDB as allowed by the USDOT:
If a flight is oversold (more passengers hold confirmed reservations than there are seats available), no one may be denied boarding against his or her will until airline personnel first ask for volunteers who will give up their reservation willingly, in exchange for compensation of the airline’s choosing. If there are not enough volunteers, other passengers may be denied boarding involuntarily in accordance with the following boarding priority of American. In such events, American will usually deny boarding based upon check-in time, but we may also consider factors such as severe hardships, fare paid, and status within the AAdvantage® program.
If you are denied boarding involuntarily, you are entitled to a payment of
‘‘denied boarding compensation’’ from the airline unless:
- You have not fully complied with the airline’s ticketing, check-in and reconfirmation requirements, or you are not acceptable for transportation under the airline’s usual rules and practices; or
- You are denied boarding because the flight is canceled; or
You are denied boarding because a smaller capacity aircraft was substituted for safety or operational reasons; or
- On a flight operated with an aircraft having 60 or fewer seats, you are denied boarding due to safety-related weight/balance restrictions that limit payload; or
- You are offered accommodations in a section of the aircraft other than specified in your ticket, at no extra charge (a passenger seated in a section for which a lower fare is charged must be given an appropriate refund); or
- The airline is able to place you on another flight or flights that are planned to reach your next stopover or final destination within one hour of the planned arrival time of your original flight.[/code]
The previous thread is http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...solidated.html
AA Bump Rates; compensation for VDB / Voluntary Denied Boarding (master thread)
#631
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: LBB
Programs: UA 1K 1MM ★G | Marriott LTT | Hilton ♦ | Hertz PC | Global Entry TSA Pre ✓
Posts: 2,820
FYI ... the voucher portion was in the form of a gift card that can only be used to make purchases for AA operated flights. The cash payment was in the form of a cashier's check.
And yes... I have flown nearly 2MM across various airlines, and never saw something like this. I usually cash in for $4000-$6000 per year on VDB vouchers, but THIS is unheard of, and I reminded him very strongly of how lucky he was to be in the situation, and that he would probably not see another like it in his career.
#632
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: DL Gold, AA Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 253
He was telling me that they held the flight for 40 minutes beyond departure time trying to negotiate people off the flight. My colleague told them he wanted cash in addition to the offered compensation, the flight attendants went off, came back a few minutes later and began making offers with vouchers + cash.
FYI ... the voucher portion was in the form of a gift card that can only be used to make purchases for AA operated flights. The cash payment was in the form of a cashier's check.
And yes... I have flown nearly 2MM across various airlines, and never saw something like this. I usually cash in for $4000-$6000 per year on VDB vouchers, but THIS is unheard of, and I reminded him very strongly of how lucky he was to be in the situation, and that he would probably not see another like it in his career.
FYI ... the voucher portion was in the form of a gift card that can only be used to make purchases for AA operated flights. The cash payment was in the form of a cashier's check.
And yes... I have flown nearly 2MM across various airlines, and never saw something like this. I usually cash in for $4000-$6000 per year on VDB vouchers, but THIS is unheard of, and I reminded him very strongly of how lucky he was to be in the situation, and that he would probably not see another like it in his career.
#633
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 29,603
And why wouldn't AA just issue a company check in such circumstances?
#634
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: LBB
Programs: UA 1K 1MM ★G | Marriott LTT | Hilton ♦ | Hertz PC | Global Entry TSA Pre ✓
Posts: 2,820
Not sure because I wasn't there. He told me they handed it to him at the gate. I do know based on my own experience that UA has issued them right at the gate from a stash of cashier's checks they keep at many gates (in IDB situations).
#635
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: LBB
Programs: UA 1K 1MM ★G | Marriott LTT | Hilton ♦ | Hertz PC | Global Entry TSA Pre ✓
Posts: 2,820
#636
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: ORD
Programs: AA PLT
Posts: 2,781
Unreal! I'm sure the GAs were told to "get the FAs on the plane", and did so at any cost -- surely AA scheduling could've found 4 reserve FAs in LA on 6 hours notice for less than $44,000 if someone had checked with them.
#638
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: LBB
Programs: UA 1K 1MM ★G | Marriott LTT | Hilton ♦ | Hertz PC | Global Entry TSA Pre ✓
Posts: 2,820
Yeah for a domestic flight... certainly. I have seen on other airlines big-time comps offered to move business class pax down to economy recently... and an occasional instance of a $10,000 voucher issued for a short hop out of IAD's junky A terminal.....
Spring break is ending, and a lot of flights coming out of Florida have been full / oversold for the last few weeks (I've seen it in both MIA and MCO in the last 2 weeks). I haven't been lucky enough to score a cert this time around, but a couple people I know personally (evidenced by the aforementioned situation) have walked away with incredible compensation in MCO and SFO.
Spring break is ending, and a lot of flights coming out of Florida have been full / oversold for the last few weeks (I've seen it in both MIA and MCO in the last 2 weeks). I haven't been lucky enough to score a cert this time around, but a couple people I know personally (evidenced by the aforementioned situation) have walked away with incredible compensation in MCO and SFO.
#639
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2006
Programs: AAdvantage PP
Posts: 13,913
That's nuts. I will say a few weeks ago I was on a JFK/MIA flight that was oversold by 12. I went down from the AC to the gate at T-1 when the flight opened and put my name on the list as a volunteer. 20 minutes later the GA called and told the AC for me to come down to board, so many paxs had missed check in.
#640
Join Date: Mar 2018
Location: PHL
Programs: AA EXP, HH Diamond, Owner of 2,000 TWA shares
Posts: 812
#642
Join Date: Dec 2018
Location: BOS, LAX
Programs: AA PLAT
Posts: 60
2 data points from today 4/22 at LAX
My flight AA1784 to IAH was oversold by 3. GA said the offer was $475 and could go up. Checked with her just before boarding and I was no longer needed.
The 7am to PHL AA1799 boarding next door on the 767, was oversold by 6 offering $675. Those GAs were already announcing apologies in advance to customers that got Involuntarily denied.
My flight AA1784 to IAH was oversold by 3. GA said the offer was $475 and could go up. Checked with her just before boarding and I was no longer needed.
The 7am to PHL AA1799 boarding next door on the 767, was oversold by 6 offering $675. Those GAs were already announcing apologies in advance to customers that got Involuntarily denied.
#643
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: CLE
Programs: UA, AA Plat Pro, DL, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 477
2 data points from today 4/22 at LAX
My flight AA1784 to IAH was oversold by 3. GA said the offer was $475 and could go up. Checked with her just before boarding and I was no longer needed.
The 7am to PHL AA1799 boarding next door on the 767, was oversold by 6 offering $675. Those GAs were already announcing apologies in advance to customers that got Involuntarily denied.
My flight AA1784 to IAH was oversold by 3. GA said the offer was $475 and could go up. Checked with her just before boarding and I was no longer needed.
The 7am to PHL AA1799 boarding next door on the 767, was oversold by 6 offering $675. Those GAs were already announcing apologies in advance to customers that got Involuntarily denied.
#644
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Programs: DL, HH, Bonvoy
Posts: 204
4/16 PHL > MCO overbooked flight and volunteered for $800 to delay four hours to the next flight. Never dealt with this and I was the first volunteer, and the gate agent said "OK, we're all set". Left for the Centurion lounge. Got a phone call asking where I was, was told that when they said I was "all set" that they meant they didn't need any volunteers after all, and that they couldn't pay the $800 voucher if it wasn't needed. Ran to the gate and didn't make the flight, but was told that I got lucky because they did end up being totally booked by the time they closed the doors.
Still not sure what wires got crossed there, but it worked out at least.
Still not sure what wires got crossed there, but it worked out at least.
#645
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 214
4/16 PHL > MCO overbooked flight and volunteered for $800 to delay four hours to the next flight. Never dealt with this and I was the first volunteer, and the gate agent said "OK, we're all set". Left for the Centurion lounge. Got a phone call asking where I was, was told that when they said I was "all set" that they meant they didn't need any volunteers after all, and that they couldn't pay the $800 voucher if it wasn't needed. Ran to the gate and didn't make the flight, but was told that I got lucky because they did end up being totally booked by the time they closed the doors.
Still not sure what wires got crossed there, but it worked out at least.
Still not sure what wires got crossed there, but it worked out at least.