Is there overbooking and voluntary deboarding in First Class?

In coach, I sometimes try to get a reservation at a busy time, and volunteer in case they have overbooked. But if they haven't overbooked, I end up flying in jam-packed coach, barely able to breathe. So other times I try to fly at some uncrowded time, though there is no chance for a free ticket then.

I've recently started to get serious about FF miles, and realized that by changing phone companies, stockbrokers etc. I may get so many miles I can afford First Class, especially when that is as little as 40,000 miles. Since First gets no more crowded than having one seatmate next to your wide seat, which is quite OK, maybe I should book for a crowded time and either get a free ticket or at least fly without discomfort.

But someone told me they don't overbook First, so there is no chance of a free ticket. Is this true?

If you fly first class you can "offer" to give up your seat if the flight is overbooked just as you do in coach. The airline does not take coach volunteers first. When a flight is overbooked it means that there are too many people (or too much weight) for the whole plane. It doesn't matter which class of service you are booked in. However; if first class is not available on the flight they reschedule you for, you will end up in coach and a pleasantly surprised person who was on your original flight will be enjoying your first class seat!

Additionally, the amount of VDB money paid to you does not increase if you had an FC seat.

There is rarely an "overbooking" of the F cabin itself. Some airlines will overbook C/J. Sometimes equipment will be swapped and then there can be serious overbooking.

As already said, if the plane has more potential pax than available seats, they will gladly take you as a volunteer, but unless you are on a paid F ticket, you will be treated like any other schmo.

Agree to all the above.

As well, whenever I offer to take a bump (and I do whenever I can..usually on the trip home as I can't chance it on a business trip out) I ask if this means I will lose the seat I already have. They always say, no. I ask, even though I alreadt know this. Can't hurt to re-inforce it! Being an elite, I usually have an F or a coach aisle emergency-row exit reserved so I REALLY don't want to give those up.

I have never gotten changed to a crappy seat when I didn't get bumped. Actually, the last times I have taken a bump I was put in F on carriers where I didn't even staus!

YES!

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There are days when it takes all you've got just to keep up with the losers.

Robert Orben.

As part of the bumping process, they rebook you.

If you're in F, they try to rebook you in F.

If they can't, they tell you then.

If you don't like it, you can say "no thanks."

On one occasion, I volunteered for bump and was rebooked from a trans-con non-stop to a short hop up the west coast followed by a non-stop. They were able to put me in F for the long (SFO-BOS) let but not for the short one, so they gave back the certificate I had used to upgrade.

In the first place, First class is seldom oversold with upgrades.

In my experience, if you are in an upgrade seat with a coach ticket, they owe you a coach seat. If you get lucky and they can find you flights, you will be put back in the upgrade class. You want to overnight it to get the upgrade seat, they will not provide room and board.