hotelmotel

No, not really; it's vacation and there are some non-refundable reservations on the other side of the pond. If they could assure we were put on the same flight the next night, perhaps I'd consider it for a lot of comp. But I'd rather just go on vacation

3Cforme

At < 2 hours to departure JFK-DUB is showing J8 D8 S8 I7 Y0... Op-ups to Business should be very real. There is also a routing through AMS that would arrive within four hours of the scheduled JFK-DUB flight.

flavorflav

I have a $300 electronic credit voucher (ECV) that I got after taking a bump on NW on 7/27/09. The ECV is on 012 stock and in my name. My DL SkyMiles number does not appear on the receipt. It also doesn't show up in the "my certificates and ecredits" part of the SkyMiles site.

I socked the voucher away without examining the terms and conditions. My fault. In addition, UA is my flying home so I am largely unfamiliar with the DL/NW world.

Two questions:

1. The paper ECV receipt says it is "not transferable." Is this a hard and fast rule? Mrs. Flavorflav was going to use the voucher. I can go with her to the airport to ticket it. Can we manage that?

2. The paper ECV receipt also says "valid toward travel commencing within one year of the voucher travel date." Is this also a hard and fast rule? I had assumed (I know, I know) that it must be -ticketed- within a year, not travel commencing within a year. If we have to fly within the next 10 days, we might not be able to use the voucher.

I realize there's an element of "can I get around the rules?" to this post, but am hoping to benefit from the collective wisdom here.

amolkold

I think the best compensation I ever got was on an LAX-ATL flight (Aug '09).

Got a $400 DL voucher + $8 meal ticket to use in the terminal. Got upgraded to First Class on the next flight 75 minutes later (on a first class fare which was great for MQMs). Not bad compensation for a student who at most pulls in $15/hr on a part-time job .

Kien

Recently on a Delta flight from Eugene to LAX, I volunteered to be
bumped on a full flight. I got to the airport 3 hours early and
signed up to be on the volunteer list. They needed 4 seats and I was
traveling alone. I offered up my seat and we proceed to process the
paperwork. I did not ask what the compensation was but at the end I
was told that "we cannot offer you any compensation since you will be
arriving at your destination earlier than your scheduled time. We want
to thank you for volunteering." Granted the change in my flight does
get me there early but that is because it leaves Eugene earlier too
because I got to the airport early. I was so disappointed but felt bad
for the agent who was told by her supervisor that I don't get anything
for volunteering. I almost said forget it and have her re-process my
flights back to the original flight (it took her over 10min to
re-route my flight) but I wanted to be nice to her at the same time
since it was not her fault. Anyway, I complained and they offered me a
$100 voucher which I took.

By the way, this was a very small plane (about 30 seats or less). I
know they were desperate because they were trying to get passengers
going to Europe and far away places to the Delta hub in SLC to make
their connections. I thought maybe if I had waited or if I was a
better bargainer, I could have gotten at least a free roundtrip out of
them or maybe I was lucky since they are not obligated to compensate me in any way (since it is a small flight of less than 30 passensgers and they got me to my destination within the time contracted on my ticket.) What do you think ?

Kien

Recently on a Delta flight from Eugene to LAX, I volunteered to be
bumped on a full flight. I got to the airport 3 hours early and
signed up to be on the volunteer list. They needed 4 seats and I was
traveling alone. I offered up my seat and we proceed to process the
paperwork. I did not ask what the compensation was but at the end I
was told that "we cannot offer you any compensation since you will be
arriving at your destination earlier than your scheduled time. We want
to thank you for volunteering." Granted the change in my flight does
get me there early but that is because it leaves Eugene earlier too
because I got to the airport early. I was so disappointed but felt bad
for the agent who was told by her supervisor that I don't get anything
for volunteering. I almost said forget it and have her re-process my
flights back to the original flight (it took her over 10min to
re-route my flight) but I wanted to be nice to her at the same time
since it was not her fault. Anyway, I complained and they offered me a
$100 voucher which I took.

By the way, this was a very small plane (about 30 seats or less). I
know they were desperate because they were trying to get passengers
going to Europe and far away places to the Delta hub in SLC to make
their connections. I thought maybe if I had waited or if I was a
better bargainer, I could have gotten at least a free roundtrip out of
them or maybe I was lucky since they are not obligated to compensate me in any way (since it is a small flight of less than 30 passensgers and they got me to my destination within the time contracted on my ticket.) Any thoughts ?

nfg05

Well, sounds like they did do you a favor by giving you the option to get there earlier (which you didn't have to take). I would tend to agree that they didn't owe you anything if you consented to the re-routing without asking for compensation.

In the future, you may not want to authorize any changes to your ticket unless you know what you will be getting in return.

JayRich

Sorry about your experience, recently, I was going MSP - Detroit, I had done a SDC to get to MSP earlier, but since I knew the MSP - Detroit flight was oversold by 6, I decide to hang out in MSP and not Detroit and see what happened on my flight. When I got to gate I told them I was interested, "if the price was right." I hung back and they did need my seat, they actually booked me on a direct flight in F and got home an hour earlier. I did make mistake of not confirming the amount of compensation until after the flight was loaded, and he did tell me it was $400. So I feel very lucky. Sounds like, it really wasn't a VDB, they just did a SDC prior to the flight leaving, usually they'll wait till flight has boarded to insure volunteers are needed prior to processing payments.

exwannabe

The simple answer is you really should have asked for what compensation they would give you for the VDB. The VDB is kind of like an auction. Up to you to decide how much you will accept, and if you want to much you keep your seat and somebody else gets the VDB.

The 30 seat issue means the DOT IDB rules do not apply, but DL will still try and find VDBs before IDBing those (I would be certain they do compensate in that case, but maybe not to the standard rate).

DL probably would have offered you a few hundred at the gate. I would put this up as a learning experience and be happy with the $100.

MR_MAMA

So not sure what the issue is, you got home earlier, why do you feel that you should have been compensated ? They lived up to their end of the deal. FYI don't ever volunteer to be bumped without asking about compensation first. They did offer you anything before you vcolunteered so they did not need to provide anything. I would be happy with the $100

Kien

Thanks. You are right...I should have asked what is the compensation before volunteering. Like I said, I was checking in at 4:00AM for a 6:00AM flight. I was not in a hurry to get to my destination as I did not have to be there for another 12 hours so getting there a few hours later would not have affected me in any way. I thought I had the time and assume the compensation is usually a free RT ticket but it was a bad assumption on my part. I was almost floored when I was told you get nothing for compensation. I know they were desperate because they were trying to figure out how to get other people to SLC in time to make their connections. I was just waiting around and they said they could get me there earlier than my scheduled time even though I had to fly in the opposite direction to make my connecting flight. I left an hour earlier than my scheduled flight time but I had a little longer flight. I would have rather waited, get there later than my scheduled time, and get a free RT ticket. Maybe it was my fault for chiming in so early that I got put on a flight an hour earlier than my scheduled departure time so I can get to my destination on time and hence they would not really have to compensate me at all. Then I really would have done them a big favor for nothing. Well, I did get $100 so it was not nothing. Nuff said.

Kien

Thanks. You all are right...I should have asked what is the compensation before volunteering. Like I said, I was checking in at 4:00AM for a 6:00AM flight. I was not in a hurry to get to my destination as I did not have to be there for another 12 hours after my scheduled flight so getting there a few hours later would not have affected me in any way. I thought I had the time and assume the compensation is usually a free RT ticket but it was a bad assumption on my part. I was almost floored when I was told you get nothing for compensation. I know they were desperate because they were trying to figure out how to get other people to SLC in time to make their connections and it was a small plane so there won't be too many volunteers. I was just waiting around and they said they could get me there earlier than my scheduled time even though I had to fly in the opposite direction to make my connecting flight. I left an hour earlier than my scheduled flight time but I had a little longer flight. I would have rather waited, get there later than my scheduled time, and get a free RT ticket. Maybe it was my fault for chiming in so early that I got put on a flight an hour earlier than my scheduled departure time so I can get to my destination on time and hence they would not really have to compensate me at all. Then I really would have done them a big favor for nothing. Well, I did finally get $100 so it was not nothing. Nuff said. Lesson learned.

Scott6067

I have found that the last three DL bumps I have taken DL has done them an hour to two hours before my flight left. I have been given compensation and on my way back to the lounge well before the three flights I have bumped from have started to board. I find it interesting that DL would do this. Oh well my gain!

Always go for the dollars vs. the roundtrip unless the trip you are planning to book is expensive. RT vouchers dont tend to earn miles and may have more restrictions than $$ vouchers as $$ vouchers are trated like cash.

jackal

You got to your destination early AND got more miles by going the wrong way?! I'd say you totally lucked out in this case!

The $100 is icing on the cake, but most of us here would be quite happy to have the same thing happen to us, even without the $100.

Auto Enthusiast

When I did my West Coast roadtrip this past June, I booked a multicity Delta award, JFK-SEA, SAN-SLC-JFK. The SAN-SLC flight was oversold, as were the SAN-MSP and SAN-MEM flights at the adjacent gates. The agent was saying that the next flight out of SAN with available seats wouldn't be until the next day. I asked the gate agent about volunteering, and compensation since I booked a SkyMiles flight and would miss my connection.

Several agents I asked confirmed the same thing. $400 voucher good for a year to be used like cash, since I would be delayed by more than 4 hours. Supposedly they would pay for a hotel, ground transportation to their hotel, and meals. Passengers paying cash would also receive a refund of this portion of their itinerary, or half the roundtrip price. Passengers on an award ticket, like me, would get half their SkyMiles back. But I wouldn't arrive in JFK until late the next day, I had things to do waiting at home for me, and I had an assigned seat. So the gate agents agreed that it's in my best interest to board as originally planned. In the end, the gate agent got 3 volunteers and 1 involuntary.