I have a flight from Seattle - LAX on Christmas and I'm somewhat confident that planes will be moving by then. Snow should have slowed down and the major problem now is not having enough de-icer, which should arrive today or tomorrow.

What I'm worried about is the flight# I'm taking has been canceled today and yesterday, and if it is again tomorrow I wonder what happens to these passengers. Are they going to bump me? And if they do, do I count as a weather-related delay or as an overbooking bump? The DOT says the latter gets a bunch of money for long delays, just enough to cover the numerous expenses I'll incur by a delay (I have a hotel booking that can't be canceled, another flight the next day, and a package waiting for me at a UPS store).

So anyone ever been bumped because of other delayed passengers, even when your flight was fine? I'd contact the airline but the wait times are extremely long at the moment.

United Airlines FWIW

Welcome to FlyerTalk!

The general answer is no, they don't bump folks scheduled to fly that day to accommodate those who were previously affected. I'm sure there are examples to the contrary out there somewhere, but it normally would not happen.

Most airlines do not bump in the circumstance you describe -- certainly the major ones, like AS, do not. However, they do start to enforce the rules rigorously for things like check-in cut-off times. Anyone who isn't checked-in or at the gate in time will find their seat is gone (to one of the delayed pax). So be sure to leave lots of extra time for your travel.

Just to clarify, IDB does get some compensation (a fixed amount), rebooking, and possibly accommodations if they are available but you won't get reimbursed for your non-refundable hotel reservation and other personal expenses. If I get IDB'ed on my way to sign a million dollar contract and I lose the client, the airline does not owe me a million dollars.

Thanks for the clarification, what I meant was the amount I calculated I would be owed for a long delay would be enough to cover those expenses, so while it would be extremely inconvenient I wouldn't be out any money.

The chances of you getting IDB'd are pretty low. They always could take the plane and crew for your flight and use it to operate a make-up flight and just cancel your flight and then it would be a "normal" cancellation, not an IDB, and you'd be at the mercy of the CoC for compensation.

There is no DoT rule requiring payment to passengers in the case of an extended delay, other than the IDB rule. To expect that you will get anything from the airline is incredibly optimistic and possibly a bit naive.