JeffISU

Resurrecting this thread in particular because it is linked in the FAQ...

I volunteered on a SLC-DEN flight back in Nov 2006 and got $200 + $7 food voucher for a <2 hr delay and was put on UA. The agent printed off the VDB rules and stapled them to my ticket.. of course I did not save them <smacks forehead>. But, I remember the compensation being $200 for < xx hours, $400 for > xx hours, or I think $800 overnight. But don't remember what the value of xx was. From what I have read on here through searches the compensation seems to be either $200 or $400. Does anyone have the actual RULES that we can post/link so we have a definitive answer? I am referring to DOMESTIC bumps at this point.. thanks.

AndyTLe

There are no set rules as there will be times where agents might have to up the ante to get volunteers. What's generally given... $200 if new flight is within a few hours. $400 if greater than 4 hours.

OHDL1

It is actually...under 1hr = no comp....over 1hr to 3.5hr = $200DD....over 3.5hr = 400DD. Those figures are for VDB. IDB is less than 2hrs up to $400 cash/check....over 2hrs up to $800 cash/check. IDB will be paid in equivalent USD. BTW...GA's are not supposed to play "Let's Make A Deal" but, I know it happens

mersk862

Interesting...I was offered $200 for a flight 4h15 later than the one I was volunteering from a couple of weeks ago (sadly, there were 3 no-shows and they didn't need me after all.... )

A lot of it depends on gate agent discretion though. I was on a MSP-SLC flight a couple of weeks ago and got on board, and then they realized they needed a volunteer for Weight and Balance. I jumped at the chance, and our GA gave me $400, saying that in times like that where they get someone to cooperate really quickly (thus avoiding flight delays while asking for people, etc.), they appreciate it being made easy on them, so they'll print up the $400 voucher. He made it sound like the GAs have some discretion over it.

Normally, I can also negotiate for a $7 food voucher as well, if that's not included. I've never had a GA say no to that one (in fact, I have plenty of old $7 vouchers in my briefcase that have expired from agents giving them to me for delays, bags coming in on the next flight 20 minutes later, etc.).

MikeMpls

AndyTLe is correct, although the cutoffs generally are more rigid: $200 for 2 hours, else $400. Remember that VDB compensation is negotiated. If you don't like what's offered, you can counter, although they're free to deal w/ others and/or IDB someone.

Wrong, nobody would bother to volunteer for zero compensation. We once got $200 vouchers for a rebooking departing a few minutes later on AA (in F, no less) that got us to ORD hours ahead of our original schedule.

bostonbali

My wife has a $400 bump voucher that's about to expire. If I purchase a cheap ticket for, say, $100, I assume the remaining $300 would be issued on a new voucher.

Would the voucher with the remaining value have a NEW expiration window of one year from the date of the reissue, or would it still revert to 1 year from the issue date of the original voucher??

Thanks,
BB

craz

You are wrong unfortunately. It wasnt recent nor DL but I remember that they were asking for 4 or 5 vols. Of cause I was already #2 when they were down to getting their last and it wasnt happenin they UPed the ante which UPed me from $200 to $500, when 3 people approached and said we will vol only if you take all 3 of us and all we want is FC on another flight.

Well I was back down to $200 and #3 & 4 were told to board they werent needed.

So although there was compensation of some form there werent any vouchers for those 3 IDIOTS

AndyTLe

A better idea is to purchase a fully refundable ticket for around $400 (ATL-DTW around $390 or ATL-NYC around $420). You then cancel that ticket and you will have 1 year from the purchase date of that ticket.

MikeMpls

How am I wrong? I said it was negotiable. They asked for FC, they got it.

With regard to the specific amounts, if it wasn't DL, the amount is irrelevant. VDB compensation amounts vary by airline. This is the DL forum & we were discussing DL bumps. Standard compensation levels for domestic DL bumps are $200 & $400, plus meal & hotel vouchers as appropriate.

decibel08

more info can be found on this topic at this previous thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta...s-bumping.html

or to go right to the DOT source, try this document that spells out the Invol Bump rules. i know we are talking about VDB, but the invol rules are key in negotiating with the GA - eg, "i am aware that if you IDB me i am entitled to 2x my one-way fare, or $500 cash, tyvm"
http://airconsumer.ost.dot.gov/rules/part%20250.pdf

the key section in the above pdf is 250.5

OHDL1

No Mike...I'm not "wrong". Under 1 hr is no compensation PER THE WRITTEN RULE. If a GA or whoever decides to comp it's on them if a manager asks why. On Dl...the VDB cutoff for 200/400DD IS 3.5hrs. AGAIN...if an GA gives more...it's on them to justify why.

MikeMpls

You get volunteers for no compensation?

Unlikely ...

OHDL1

Yep...likely. I've gotten customers off of flights by getting them on an earlier flight when their later flight was oversold. Met them at their inbound aircraft...pitched the idea of any earlier flight...and away they went...happy to get out early. Yes Mike...it doesn't happen alot...but it has happened. If a customer was going to a connection and I had a direct flight...again...they were happy to volunteer just to skip the connection.

MikeMpls

But you're not really asking for volunteers there. You're working proactively to divert them at an earlier step. ^ I can see where you're coming from -- You can actually avoid having the overbook situation at the gate later.

motytrah

That's not really fair. How many hundreds of dollars would that cost a customer if it wasn't convenient for the airline trying to avoid of IDB?

Though I find the tactic interesting considering most airline analysts think airlines should encourage early stand-by, not discourage it with excessive fees.