http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/business/06bump.html

I confess, I've been looking forward to making some Delta Dollars this summer. Looks like the airlines are on to us.

The big question is what is Kingsbury's FT handle?

Airlines are constantly refining their algorithms in hopes of getting the balance between overselling and filling the seats. Less bumps make sense.

"�If I see a big weather system, I see big dollar signs." Since when is there bump compensation for weather?

Right. Especially given that airlines often proactively zero out flights during major weather events, preventing overbooking.

Perhaps they know that big weather systems can cause airplanes to be weight restricted, which will cause bumps.

I used to think this way too, since all of the passengers from other cancelled flights have to go somewhere, but then I realized that this only works when the flight you're on was already close to full, since:

IME, bumps are pretty hard to come by during storms because of this, and on top of that, you end up at the bottom of the upgrade list due to all of the IRROPS Y class pax.

The DOT statistics cited in the article are not relevant for gauging whether voluntary (as opposed to involuntary) bumps are more or less frequent than they have been in the past. DOT numbers are involuntary bumps only. Fifteen people could have volunteered their seat for a flight, thirteen of those could have been used, and as far as DOT is concerned there were no bumps. I'm not saying this is wrong. It is arguably far more relevant to the public who was kicked off a plane involuntarily than how many volunteers were needed. In fact I don't see any reason for the airlines to have to report on volunteers. They volunteered so they are perfectly happy!

Now the American statistics may be relevant.

Just something to keep in mind.

Delta (& other airlines) have been trying to "work smarter" in this area for some time. You can't blame them -- fewer bumps equates to fewer free vouchers &/or fewer unhappy customers. It's a cost of doing business that they can & should minimize.

Personally, I've always felt they should scrap the current system and have the computers rebook those who are most easily rebooked.


+1

My first thought was, "Is this guy a FlyerTalker?"

Umm.... I am happier when I GET bumped .

Me, too. We're basically in the middle of a year of free domestic flying, haven't paid anything substantial for a ticket since last August, now booked to next September.

But sometimes unfortunately there aren't enough volunteers ....