IDB priority
Apr 2, 2025 | 7:29 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Not here; there!
Programs: AA Lifetime Gold
Posts: 34,998
From AA's contract of carriage:
"Involuntary denied boarding
"If there aren’t enough volunteers, we will choose customers to change flights involuntarily and deny boarding.
"Boarding priority is given to certain customers, including to those who:
Have special assistance needs
Are traveling as an unaccompanied minor
Have AAdvantage elite status
Paid for First, Business or Premium Economy
Checked in earliest
"The selection of customers who are involuntarily denied seats is solely at American’s discretion."
"Involuntary denied boarding
"If there aren’t enough volunteers, we will choose customers to change flights involuntarily and deny boarding.
"Boarding priority is given to certain customers, including to those who:
Have special assistance needs
Are traveling as an unaccompanied minor
Have AAdvantage elite status
Paid for First, Business or Premium Economy
Checked in earliest
"The selection of customers who are involuntarily denied seats is solely at American’s discretion."
Apr 3, 2025 | 7:12 am
#4
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: AVL (used to be BMI)
Programs: AA EXP, United, Delta, Amtrak, Hertz PC, AVIS
Posts: 767
In the last data reported (2023), American IDB'd a total of 2,069 people over 90 days, which was by far the highest of the major airlines. That said, this is only about 1 person for every 20,000 passengers. IDB's are very rare.
My limited experience is that check in time tends to be the leading indicator of who gets booted, assuming the have no status. Last person to check in is the first one booted.
My limited experience is that check in time tends to be the leading indicator of who gets booted, assuming the have no status. Last person to check in is the first one booted.
Apr 3, 2025 | 8:14 am
#6
Join Date: Jun 1999
Location: NYC/LA
Programs: DL DM, UA Silver, Marriott Titanium/LTP, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 9,806
Apr 3, 2025 | 8:53 am
#7
Join Date: Mar 2016
Programs: AA-EXP
Posts: 708
At an outstation where the AA gate was right next to a DL gate, the DL agent was asking for volunteers. She started around $300 and made it to $800 before she announced volunteers were no longer needed. Meanwhile, the AA agent announced that she was going to bump someone if we had no volunteers at $150.
Apr 3, 2025 | 9:40 am
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: KHOU/KIAH
Programs: AA EXP | Marriott LT Plat | Hyatt Explorist
Posts: 13,284
At an outstation where the AA gate was right next to a DL gate, the DL agent was asking for volunteers. She started around $300 and made it to $800 before she announced volunteers were no longer needed. Meanwhile, the AA agent announced that she was going to bump someone if we had no volunteers at $150.
DL also manages to make a lot more money than AA, so clearly this generosity isn't hurting their margins.
Apr 3, 2025 | 1:12 pm
#9
Join Date: Feb 2022
Programs: AAdvantage
Posts: 1,462
I've also seen DL go crazy high with VDB offers. I was sitting at the gate with a client who was on a DL flight (I was on AA later) and the flight was oversold - DL offers 300, 500, 750... finally at $1000, someone walks up and says yes. They are happy with $1000, the passengers in the gate area all are cheering and saying "thank you", GA is smiling... everyone seemed to walk away happy here.
DL also manages to make a lot more money than AA, so clearly this generosity isn't hurting their margins.
DL also manages to make a lot more money than AA, so clearly this generosity isn't hurting their margins.
Apr 4, 2025 | 6:57 pm
#10
Join Date: Oct 2019
Programs: Flying Blue, Hilton Honors, Amtrak Guest Rewards
Posts: 3,645
The strategy of overbooking more aggressively (it's typical for DL to VDB more passengers in any given month than AA and UA combined deny boarding (whether vol or invol)) and charging extra high fares (to effectively cover the VDB) works well and the fact that everyone walks away from a VDB feeling OK probably contributes a small part to DL's revenue premium.