Thanks for the info. If they have Gordon Gekko skills then I'm in over my head and may end up paying them for the VDB privilege.:D

OT, can you believe that they are making Wall Street 2? Maybe the story will involve airlines again.

Makes DL look really dippy
 

Flew SEA - SLC a few days ago as an Alaska elite. An older couple was standing in the mid-cabin aisle (I was near the back); I wondered why they weren't sitting down. Well ... there was no seat for them to sit down in! Before the boarding door could be closed, there ensued a game of musical chairs where one fellow gave up his seat so they could sit together, and then an announcement "We need one volunteer who checked no luggage, nor has a connection, to leave the plane, and be re-ticketed on the next flight in F, plus $600." Two of us dithered while the FA's at the back made shoo'ing motions; someone nearer the front beat us while we hesitated, thinking one of us would be "officially selected" by the crew. The announcer had to make a sheepish announcement "Yes, it's true - we at DL cannot count!" regarding boarding more pax than seats.

Do they do gate volunteering anymore, or was my experience the norm? If so ... ugh!

Yes we do it 99.9% of the time. It was just a mistake the GA made and had to take corrective action.

Thanks, Z, but I'm curious how this could've happened?

Not paying attention more then likely when the GA was scanning boarding passes.

A few years ago, I was flying CO EWR/PIT on a Christmas weekend (on a Friday). They were offering $200 and a new flight on Tuesday! I told the GA that I was interested in volunteering, but not at that rate. He said - That's ok. I'll just put your name on the list, but if I can't get enough volunteers and I have to raise the $$$ amount, everybody get the highest amount! I ended up with $650 and home late the same night - - -

CO EWR/ABE (bus service with a flight number)
NW ABE/DTW/PIT

They had a few volunteers and still had to IDB a few. Everybody got $650.

I agree that the GA's can go up and beyond whatever the computer is programmed for, but often do not have to do it as inexperienced travellers go for lowball offers.

Recently volunteered on a Delta-operated award flight that I had booked on nwa.com (012 ticket stock)...when the tickets were reissued, they had the Y ticket designator (which excited me for the surefire upgrade and extra miles), but under my name it said NO UPG/NO MILES.

Typically, Ive always found that miles/upgrades are based on the fare class code. But, no upgrade was processed (with 11 out of 12 seats going to nonrevs) and no miles posted. Is this small benefit of volunteering one's seat gone now that the nwa.com backend is running the system?

Not necessarily. Keep an eye on your mileage balance. ;)

Same happend to me last week.

I had a similar situation. When I got to the gate I asked if they needed volunteers and they said they already had all they needed. I boarded and took my seat in F. Entire plane was full. Unfortunately two passengers (husband and wife) both had the same seat assignment. A FA went to the GA and came back saying one was supposed to be in seat xx, which unfortunately was also already occupied. The GA finally came on with a printout. He looked for a while then turned to me and asked, "Do you still want to volunteer?" So off I went and got my $300 voucher.

Wow, I will be sure to be careful when I volunteer that I ask about this. No miles just because you volunteered? Now that is not right. I guess it can't hurt to take the extra few seconds to add "I will receive my miles for this flight and still be eligible for an upgrade, correct? when I ask, "What is the compensation for being bumped?"

John

Yep...it usually happens when the GA takes the seat(s) away from customer(s) that look like a sure misconnect. But, the aircraft makes it in time for the customer to get to the gate. If using a gate scanner it should give an audible indication that that seat number is already onboard. If the GA is in a hurry or the scanner is down...sometimes you get more than one person assigned to the same seat. Delta's computers are programmed for either 400 or 600 Delta Dollars.

He stated award ticket.

Sorry - I missed that part. Read too fast. Still don't like the "no upgrade" part - hopefully that will go away once the upgrades on award tickets are implemented again sometime in 2010.

I gather that only vouchers are offered in the US by DL, but do they offer vouchers or cash in Europe?