sportsguymichael

Dear UA Community,
On September 16, 2012 I was IDB on the last flight of the day from Pittsburgh to NYC on a UA Express flight. My friend and I checked in 1 hour (at least) prior to departure at the ticket counter. Our travel agent had assigned seats for us (mine was 15B), but when we got our boarding passes we didn't notice that we did not have seats printed on the boarding passes.(I've never seen this happen before). When we got to the gate the agent said we did not have assigned seats, but we did have confirmed space. We needed to hope some people did not show up. It was after a NY Jets -Pittsburgh Steelers game. Unfortunately, everyone showed up. I told the agent very specifically that we were IDB and I wanted a check for it. She said her supervisor had left and I told her to call me the next day and let me know how much the check would be for. She gave me the number in Pittsburgh, but after numerous attempts at calling and getting voicemail and leaving messages, I never received a return call. 10 days later, I received a voucher for $500 which is what they gave people who voluntarily gave up their seat. I've emailed various people at the local Pittsburgh office and while they have been pleasant, they seem to be unwilling to do anything about it. The gate agent has left the company and I think UA express is now a different company (it was Expressjet I think and now it is Commutair). I've got about 500K UA miles (99% "butt in seat") so I am not a rookie traveler. I'm not so much hung up on the check issue now, but feel I deserve more than what people who voluntarily got off would get. Is it too late to pursue this with UA corporate or the DOT? Should I just forget about it and use the voucher?

ChicagoDave

How late were you? The compensation you receive should be based on how late you were and the price you paid for your ticket. Take a look at:
http://www.dot.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights#Overbooking

fastair

Was it an oversales (they had more than 50 people show up for a 50 seat plane) or was it weight restricted? (they went out with less than 50 passengers due to operational reasons)

WineCountryUA

5 months post-event?

Did you sign anything at the gate?

Were you provided with a flyer on IDB/VDB? (potential DoT volition)

What size aircraft?

fastair

Got to be an ERJ (Emb 145) if it was XE for the carrier, therefore the 50 seats.

WineCountryUA

So potentially if weight rated IDB, no compensation required.

fastair

If I recall correctly, the weather was fine in both locations that day.



http://www.almanac.com/weather/histo...ark/2012-09-16

http://www.almanac.com/weather/histo...rgh/2012-09-16

So most likely not impacted by WX for a weight restriction.

sportsguymichael

To answer some of the previous questions:
1) It was not weight related
2) Yes, it was a 50 passenger jet
3) Got back to NYC 4 hours (appx) later than scheduled
4) I was not provided a copy of IDB/VDB. Frankly, I didn't care. I knew it was IDB and I knew they owed me money. I specifically told them I did not want a voucher.
5) re the 5 month wait: I saved all my emails in correspondence with UA in Pittsburgh and then got busy at work so I just let it slide for awhile. Hence the question on whether I am too late.
6) I believe I only gave them my address (so they could send the check). I don't believe I signed anything. In one of the emails, the UA manager in Pittsburgh said he thought he had my signature confirming the receipt of the voucher. I said I'd like to see the receipt because I don't think I signed anything and that is the last I heard from them. He did say that if someone wrote my signature on the receipt of the voucher that was a big no-no.

cordelli

You left the airport without settling it.

That's a rookie move.

It's going to depend on the reason and the size of the plane if IDB counts or not. You also don't say when they got you where you were going, as that matters too.

You also say when you checked in, but not when you got to the gate. That matters too.

What was the fare for the flight? IDB payments is based on fare paid and how long the delay was, you can't just say you want more than the VDB people received just because. It's not always a better deal.

And of course, there's the ever popular exception for plane swaps and safety issues on smaller planes

If the airline must substitute a smaller plane for the one it originally planned to use, the carrier isn't required to pay people who are bumped as a result. In addition, on flights using aircraft with 30 through 60 passenger seats, compensation is not required if you were bumped due to safety-related aircraft weight or balance constraints.

The time to settle this with them was back in September, you can try now but I wouldn't expect much, assuming you were entitled to anything.

sportsguymichael

At the gate 45 minutes before the flight was scheduled to leave. Frankly, there was no supervisor there at that time so I don't think it was going to get settled that night. I was scrambling to try and get home and wanted to make better use of my time trying to get home. I don't believe the airline substituted a smaller regional jet for the scheduled aircraft.
Fare was appx. $700. Again, they did send me a $500 voucher, so they must have thought I was entitled to something.