airmotive

Had a strange one yesterday...MSP-IND.
The GA said the flight was oversold by 8. Offering $300 Amex gift cards (not DL vouchers).
T-minus-10 minutes, oversold by 6 and the offer hits, $400, then $500.

I'm not really paying attention, because I've been on the road for 2+weeks and I am going home today. So I board (and got upgraded at the gate, too).

We're getting ready to close the door, and the GA comes on board and offers a $900 gift card to anyone willing to get off the plane.
Still...no takers....and the GA leaves.
A couple minutes pass and the GA comes back on board....$1000 Amex gift card, dinner vouchers and a guaranteed seat on the next flight 6 hours later.

We had a winner.
People were patting him on the back as he carried his carry-on off the plane.
I must say, I would have taken the $900 gift card if it didn't come with $10,000 worth of hell to pay when I got home.

mridley2

Really wow? Obviously everyone's situation is different at home (kids, lonely partner, illness, etc) but my bf would kill me if I didn't take a VDB opportunity just because I didn't want to delay my return home. But each of us have to make our own choices.

JSprague24

Just got $400 (x2) in Delta Funbucks off the 12:25pm CMH-ATL MD-90. Rebooked out at 5:35pm.

Got damn lucky, too. There were two who asked seconds before I did who backed out because the next flight out wouldn't have gotten them to ECP when they wanted to get there.

After all those times where the kiosk asks only to not have an actual oversale, we get one with no warning. Good job, Delta.

kop84

Who knows, maybe there was a last minute purchase or two. I recall a thread a while back about Guaranteed Y, and it was after you'd checked in. With thousands of flights a day there are bound to be some hiccups. But glad you got your $$$.

JSprague24

Yeah, it's a dynamic system no doubt. Everything was full that day- the flight we ended up on wound up even and the agent had said if we'd been bumped off that one that getting out at 7 on the last flight out would've been iffy.

Wound up in F on the connection to DAB, so it was a good day overall.

sethb

Except sometimes. I was on the last flight of the day DFW-SLC (connecting to JFK). It was oversold, I took a VDB and got put on a non-stop DFW-LGA leaving before my original flight. Had they waited, they'd have had to supply a hotel room in addition.

JSprague24

In a potential oversale last fall going CMH-MSP-SAN, the agent at MSP had offered VDB AND was going to put us on a slightly earlier-departing routing of MSP-LAX-SAN if she were to take us.

It didn't end up happening, though our bags did wind up at LAX anyway somehow!

MrTL

Guys, what would be the strategy on an International flight to get bumped to a flight that departs earlier? I am booked on a KIX-HNL flight which is oversold by 14 in Y/Y+ with 6 seats available in D1, so overbooked by 8. Flight leaves at 8.10pm. There is KE connection via ICN leaving at 6.10pm getting me in at HNL one our later then the original flight.
I would not mind getting bumped to fly the 748! I will be in KIX all day anyway as KLM has rebooked my AMS-LAX-HNL to a AMS-KIX-HNL and one day less day in paradise
Thanks!

kop84

No way they're going to bump you to a flight on a different carrier that much earlier. They won't even know if they'll 100% need volunteers until 730-750.

They'd have to bump you by 5ish realistically to catch a 610 flight. Not going to happen.

mot29

Isn't this a KL question? Who issued the ticket?
I agree that it is unlikely that DL would bump you early. But I'm guessing you are on a KL ticket given the situation you describe. Maybe a call to KL would get them to reroute you if you can give them the details of what you want. Especially given that this is causing you to lose a day of your booked trip.
I think your sig shows you as KL FB gold. Not sure how well KL treats its status customers but a friendly, polite call might do it for you.
Or if it is in fact an 006 ticket, then a call to DL now might get them to give you what you are asking for. But KE is not the close partner that KL is.

MrTL

KLM already rebooked me via KIX after asking them to do so (I am on a KLM ticket). The other option was traveling the next day via LAX, losing a complete day iso half a day.
They also rebooked me in M-class which was nice of them. But I guess I will just have to try in KIX when check-in opens and see if they need volunteers.

tentseller

Home Run

YYZ ATL oversold, I was doing YYZ ATL TPAC.
I am out of GUC so I negotiated re-route YYZ DTW TPAC with TPAC upgrade to D1.
Since the other VDB pax got $500, the GA gave me the $500 as well on top of the D! TPAC upgrade.

Sweet

TYSDoc

Hi All,

I've gotten a few bumps of late which, as many if you do, goes to fund elite status runs. The process seems to be a bit of a crap shoot, but I'm trying to develop my own predictive model of bump opportunities. I've read a lot on the subject thanks to various posts and bloggers.

To test and refine the model, I need data. I've looked through most of this forum and it's helpful. But what I'd really like to know are:
- origin
- connection (if any)
- destination
- flight number(s)
- date
- near misses/close bumps (GA announces oversold but it "works out" against the volunteer somehow)

Not compensation amount, I don't need this.

If you'd like to play along, please let me know of opportunities or near misses. Feel free to PM me the data if you don't want to publicize it.

If the model seems to be accurate, I will be happy to share what I learn. Thanks!

pgh234

There is no model. VDB's are as random as random can be. 1000's of variables go into any one. I have been 100% certain sometimes and never come close...sometimes they come out of no where and even catch me off guard.

Take em when you get em...and move on with your life when they don't appear.

channa

I don't think there's much to predict. High-demand routes on popular dates/times is the most controllable factor -- leisure markets on weekends, business markets on Sunday nights, etc.

Most everything else is outside your control (e.g., they do an equipment swap, good/bad weather at the hub impacting connections, traffic on the freeway, lengthy customs lines at hubs with inbound international connections, low vs. high fare markets (e.g., people will no show more $50 tickets than $500 tickets), IRROPS on other/earlier flights filling up later ones, etc.).

If I look at my last 3 bumps, they were all a result of issues that arose within 24 hours of departure. Last one had an earlier flight go south, pushing mine over; one before that had an equipment swap to a substantially smaller plane pushing mine over; and the one before that was just full but had a minor equipment swap losing a handful of seats pushing it over.

Not sure there's a good way to predict for that sort of stuff, it just happens.