On 12/21 EWR-SNA, I volunteered, and received $500.00 voucher. All flights that day and the next day were sold out, so they converted the volunteers' E-Tickets to paper tickets, and then "force booked" us onto subsequent oversold flights. When I checked-in for my 12/22 EWR-LAX flight, they were also soliciting volunteers, and the going rate was again $500.00. This time, I decided not to volunteer, but it seems like they will go from the starting point ($300) up to $500 very quickly.

sorry, my above msg was meant to be a reply to the (in)voluntary bump thread, not its own topic.

Hi. I am new to flyertalk. Read it all the time but posting for the first time.

I recently flew on a flight from AUS-HOU
on 20DEC01. I booked over the phone and
had E-Ticket issued. When I arrived, they
FA advised me that the flight was in a sold-out situation. Luckily, there were enough volunteers so I was able to make it on my flight. I guess I have been lucky enough that in 8 or 9 years of flying I have never had this happen to me. Delayed/and I have done my fair share of stand by etc but never overbooked to where a confirmed paid for ticket was possibly not going to be honored.

Is there anyway to avoid having this happen again? Or is it just a part of the airline biz?

Thanks !

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"Worry is interest paid on a debt that never comes due."

If you buy a ticket and cannot get a seat assignment because all seats are under airport control, that is an indication you may have to work hard to get one, like checking in especially early. You can also call back periodically to see if one's released or periodically check seatmaps for the flight on the web. Having a seat assignment usually avoids being put in the position of being INvoluntarily Denied Boarding. (Anything can happen when equipment changes, or cancellations occur.) In some cases it may be worth a special early-in-the-day extra trip to the airport to get that seat assignment for an important flight.