N1120A

All,

How does VDB priority work? FCFS or by status?

cfischer

FCFS usually, but there is a feasibility component to this as well. I have been denied a VDB when my reroute was substantially more complicated than that of other volunteers. They are supposed to look for the cheapest logical solution for UA.

Billiken

Yep..FCFS.

With the old/former UA the VDB list was prioritized by status, IIRC.

fastair

Feasibility is #1 with factors like number of people needed, number in party, final destination, checked luggage, local/connecting, availability of protection, type of ticket, physical location of seats given up (I may desire 2 seats near each other for a family,) physical availability of volunteer (often people will VDB via machine in advance but not be present at the gate when they are needed to communicate.) ...all factoring in. There is no solid rule as to FIFO or status because the more important operational variables usually outweigh time or status in determining who gets accepted.

saFlyTalk

A gate agent once told me that it goes something like this:

* Initial list is FCFS.
* If re-routing is complicated by some factors, skip over person on list and comeback to them only if necessary.

Often1

UA gives substantial discretion to GA's. FCFS includes the complexity of the reroute and the nature of the VDB.

One person, no checked luggage, non-stop, simple VDB (no hotels & food) = easy to handle.

Also, timeliness. Just like SB's at the gate. Nobody is going to spend time looking for you when they are trying to close a flight. Be there or expect the GA to move on to the next volunteer.

sexykitten7

I was under the impression that the VDB list was still prioritized the same way as upgrade/standby (not FCFS). But I can't find a source.

As noted above, the GA will pick whomever they want but I think they start at the top so that makes status fairly important IMO.

Flying Machine

Would someone please translate FCFS for me (Fare Class-?) or? Thanks and Safe Travels..

Kingston

First Come First Served.

Wooglin

First Come, First Served.

TravelTheWorld66

What a morning at Newark!

I was in the UC at EWR awaiting my 635am flight to BOS. I asked the club agent if my flight was oversold, and she made a surprised face and said they were over by 5. I immediately went to the gate to listen for an announcement. The GA had just arrived so I joined the line of people waiting to speak with her once she got settled in. As I was waiting in line she makes the oversold announcement, offering $200 and a first class seat on the 11:10am flight. I remained in line so that I could tell her I was interested once it was my turn. All of a sudden some guy comes out of nowhere and skips the entire line and hands over his BP to the GA to volunteer. I was pissed, but still waited in line because I knew they were over by 5.

When I got up to the desk to volunteer I asked what the priority was. She said that we were the first two. I didn't push the subject. Boarding was soon and they still needed volunteers. She actually said "desperately seeking volunteers" at one point. All I heard was $$$. The offer went from $200-$250-$400-$500. No bites. She then called up a passenger who was traveling to Zurich through Boston. She offered him a direct flight to Zurich one hour later in Global First! He declined!!

Eventually 2 more people volunteered for $500. In the end they were only oversold by 1. She called me up and said they no longer need my seat! I explained to her that I was patiently waiting in line to volunteer and that the other guy, who she was VDB'ing, had just walked right up to the front. The other GA made a comment affirming what I was saying. So she called up the other guy and told him to board! Haha. When he realized he had to board AND they changed his seat, he was pissed. He seemed like a huge DYKWIA so I didn't feel bad.

So I got a $500 e-cert to take a F seat on the 11:10, and she gave me two meal vouchers worth $20 each!! My company pays for all of my meals so I'll find a family eating breakfast at EWR and give th vouchers to them. I'm very happy with the outcome!

jsk1973

Nice outcome

PsiFighter37

$150 being offered for 3 seats on PDX-DEN. Kinda low...

jjmoore

They will likely up it if nobody bites. If they can put people on a flight a couple hours later, people will likely accept less for the inconvenience.

On another note, I am on UA3606 tonight (DEN-GRR) on an E170... oversold by 4. Should be interesting at the gate since there really are no seats that get in til 5pm tomorrow.

Edit: weather has wreaked some havoc here at DEN.... Flight balanced out and Now there are open seats. No VDB game tonight here.

lotemblizej

MAY 29, 2016. LAX-IAD. GA said they needed 2 volunteers for red-eye and offered $350. I was top of list for volunteering (I added myself earlier in day when checking in), but GA noted scarcity of hotel rooms due to Holiday weekend, so I decided not to take bump. I was number 1 on U/G list and ended up getting last CPU just before boarding so that was a silver lining. GA was super throughout the process.