bumping question
 

One of the criteria airlines use when deciding who to bump (on an oversold flight) is the time of check-in (supposedly the people who checked earlier are less likely to get bumped.) If I check in 24 hours before my flight on the INTERNET, am I in a "higher" category than one who checks in at the airport, say an hour before the flight?

Maybe not. When I was regularly flying UA and getting bumped, I was convinced it was by frequent flyer status (I was top tier there and moved to the top of the list every time). It probably depends which airline you're on.

In my recent experience with AA, they won't even take volunteers until they make a gate page (in which case I stay very close to the counter so I can leap up with short notice). That has worked twice for me recently.

I do NOT want to be involuntarily bumped and was curious if the earlier I "checked-in" the less likely I would be bumped.

I think the earlier you check in, the less likely you will be IDB (bumped).

Why your fear over involuntary bumping? In all my years of flying, I have never witnessed it. Airlines bump very, very few pax each year (as the requests for volunteers is almost always successful).

Most majors only bump a few thousand pax each year but fly upwards of a hundred million pax. The odds of being bumped are really, really low. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/wink.gif