I had the same happen to us. I raised hell and got a second voucher just like you did.
From now on I ALWAYS put a not on the yellow slip like: "Only if I get there by XX:XX PM as promised" it sometimes gets me funny looks, so I try to hold on to the slip till they REALLY need my seat.

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Viele Gr��e

Oliver

What you're describing is really a bait and switch, and it is absolutely illegal in most states. Since you were in California, you could probably get them in a lot of trouble for this type of activity.

Yeah, in a normal business, "bait and switch" is a reprehensible technique. We shouldn't allow an airline to get away with it any more than your neighborhood used car dealer. Complain to the DOT, "bait" CO for more vouchers and miles, then "switch" to another airline. Daze

For a company that is trying to be profitable, such "bait-and-switch" practices are very well justified. You only have to look at other airlines that do not encourage such behavior and their financial stability to convince yourself of this. If other airlines seriously wanted to make a profit instead of bleeding money, they ought to be doing the same.

The only time this is unacceptable is if the gate agents did this to customers that had paid full fares. In such cases, the responsible gate agents should be fired immediately.

At least in my case, I don't think there was intent to screw me over, it was more a problem of incompetence. The gate agent told me something existed and when it didn't, she had no ability to deal with the situation. She didn't see it as reasonable to pull the person off the plane to get my seat back and she had no alternative airline to put me on to keep her promise. She could have asked for other volunteers, but that would have created a delay in the plane leaving LAX.

As the first poster noted, his plane left 18 minutes late--the goal, as I see it, for the gate agent is
1)to board a full flight
2)identify people to bump
3)get the flight out
4)After the plane leaves, deal with compensating the people they bump and reaccomating them.

Instead of having a set schedule of compensation ($100 per hour delayed or something like that) its a negotiation each time, but its hard to negotiate when the plane is gone...which is obviously to their advantage--give him $250...what else is he going to do? Chase down the plane that left already?

OK. I won't bite twice....

Having flown many times SFO to IAH..is there no Red Eye leaving SFO at 1:00 AM arriving 6:30 AM???

6:00 AM is not the first flight out..but it does not show up on connceting flights. You have to ask for this flight. Not that it matters in this above mentioned case, but does anyone know if that redeye flight has been canceled???

JET.

There is a flight leaving from SFO at 12:50 AM for IAH, but the original poster was in OAK. He would have needed to get CO to provide a cab/rental car/SF Muni voucher to get across the bay.

[This message has been edited by bikenski (edited 11-13-2002).]

That shouldn't have been a problem:

-- he surely had time, at this point

-- CO would have saved a hotel voucher

-- the agent was willing to shuttle passengers to SFO as part of the original deal, I'm guessing-- that's assuming that at a station like OAK with few flights, the agent would know their own schedules by heart and realize the other flight left from SFO.

[This message has been edited by Viajero Joven (edited 11-13-2002).]