A: Usually speaking at most airports there will be overbooked flights during the holidays.

Also since it is Christmas, TSA Security is likely to be a huge bottleneck as well.

As for upgrades: Above they said Delta moved some overbooked passengers to First Class seats but I would think if you volunteered your seat immediately at the gate, you would have a strong chance of getting a voucher and another flight out with upgraded seating. People will get upgraded whether it be coach to first class or vouchers during the holidays. There just simply is going to be additional customers and oversold seats.

Ive seen quite a few times when flying or at the airport with family during holidays where they could not confirm seating and sold the plane full so they would voluntarily bump someone else. The people I know who pay for tickets like to go on schedule and so they won't be happy if they were unvoluntarily bumped.

Usually the replacement flights were an offering of a few hundred dollars or so and upgraded seating on connection flights to a destination that is served by non stop flights.

The last two afternoons before Thanksgiving I flew out of MKE. I literally was the only one at the TSA checkpoint one hour before the flight last year. Nobody. Not at the ID checker counter and nobody going through the machines. All alone. When I walked away and looked back, there still was nobody.

Only two other people at The Club.

I said most airports. But in fact most of the USA has smaller airports.

It all depends on the route. For JFK or LGA to FLL during December, you will get overbooked. JFK to SFO or LAX as well.

It really depends on the airport pairs. In fact with Flight Aware you can enter those pairs and it will tell you how booked those flights are. It is in beta right now.

I ran it for some routes like JFK or LGA to FLL and it tells you the capacity filled on those routes though it doesn't restrict to holidays but you will get a good idea using flight aware if you will be bumped from those airport pairs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General...tional_Airport

Pax count seems to be low there.

Check flight aware for SFO-CVG-GSP.

If Delta has lost marketshare in a market due to another carrier one also won't get bumped.

So many variables, so I was incorrect when I said most. But for those passengers who are flying a very popular route with an airline, the odds are high.

http://flightaware.com/insight/airline/KSFO/KCVG/DAL

Odds of bumpage or upgrades on SFO to CVG are high. They fly at a 90% load factor so holidays should be very busy on that route.

Some people will get bumped from SFO to other flights with a stopover before CVG.

Most definitely.

What route pair was that from MKE? Check the load factor on flight aware and I bet it is one of the lower ones especially if the airport was so uncrowded.

At the busiest airports in the USA during holidays bumpage odds are extremely high.

SFO to CVG is one of those apparently. Plus Delta has the exclusive non stop.

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Answer - yes 90% load factor on the route so upgrade likely is high. Also since it is SFO expect TSA security delays.

Thanks for the responses vereyone! Very helpful!!

But unfortunately when I went to check my itinerary I can no longer view seats for the SFO-CVG-GSP legs on Dec 25th (its says seat selection is not available)...so I went to make a mock booking for the same flights and this option no longer exists!:( Looks like the canceled the nons-top SFO-CVG...)..but there is no mention of it on my itineraries?:confused:

Back to square one

You might want to wait a few days before booking this -- something about buckets being reset on weekends.

Also, I would look for SFO-ATL-GSP -- the CVG hub is about gone

Bob H

My Christmas flying horror tow years ago was discovering that the SkyClub in Detroit is dry on Christmas Day due to local liquor laws.

Needless to say, this year I'm flying through Amsterdam instead!

I've generally found Christmas Day flying busy but not obnoxiously so, going through various combinations of MSP, DTW, AMS, FRA, TXL, CGN.

strike/extended holiday
 

sorry...wrong thread...! :(

Having flown on Christmas eve, I've been treated to a carol or two over the PA by the gate agent.

I've never flown on the day itself, but I can tell you from experience that there is nothing more depressing than sitting in an empty airport on Thanksgiving night. MSP felt like Bemidji.

That law has been changed - it used to be liquor couldn't be sold before noon on Sundays etc. Now facilities can purchase a special license and many do.

Bob H

Well, I'm flying SLC to ORD the day before Thanksgiving and back to SLC the day after. Should be awesome...

One good thing is that it's almost always a sure upgrade for any Medallion level.

I hope so. Haven't been upgraded for a while. I don't remember my last battlefield upgrade. All my upgrades have been at my 3 day window.
Missed an upgrade today by 1 measly seat.

Yay, Michigan! Looks like it's only dry now between 11:59 pm Christmas Eve and noon on Christmas Day.

I, too, have had good luck with holiday upgrades, even as a silver.

Definitely expect better spirits and a little fun. Most years I travel on Christmas or the day before. Several airports have carol singers or even Santa. My favorite memory was one year connecting in CLT and someone came over the airport PA "paging Marie....(long pause)...Christmas. Paging Marie....Christmas. About half the people in the gate area laughed. The others missed a gem.

This year I am flying LAX-ATL-FCO on the 24th/25th. Hoping to pass Rudolph and the sleigh somewhere around Greenland!

Yes, My wife and I do this each year it seems.