david_oz

pretty big coincidence that this thread gets bumped on the same evening the app offered me VDB for the first time since my post a couple of posts up... stay tuned, there might be an update.

thesun

I was checking in just now for tomorrow's UA980, IAD-DEN, via the Android app. It gave me screen I haven't seen before where you can preselect bid amounts for VDB or enter your own number. I don't think I've seen any discussion about this unless I've completely missed some recent news. I'm curious exactly how this would work. The text on the app seems to imply that if you're chosen, its a done deal. That would be very different from the way it works now where even if you indicate you are willing to take a voucher at checkin, you need to talk to the gate agent and possibly negotiate before you finally sign the form they give you.

HNLbasedFlyer

Been this way for quite some time now. It also offers you at the kiosk at the airport.

The odds are low you will be selected.

Often1

Given that nothing happens until the gate, you still need to interact with an agent, and the amount is not locked in by any means, it isn't even a bid.

But, it's great data for UA. Perhaps if they see that there are a lot of people willing to move for smallish amounts, they will start offering lower VDB's and perhaps they will broadly implement their pilot program of moving people early along with a smallish voucher on flights where it's fairly certain that the overbooking will become an oversale.

thesun

Interesting. I guess this has been a thing for more than a year now and I've been lucky (or unlucky?) enough to never encounter it.

BThumme

It also depends how early you check in. At T-24, I will never see it. But if you check in closer, or even just re-checkin (via kiosk or app) at like T-2, it's more likely to show.

physioprof

My read of the text on the app screen you posted leads to the opposite implication. Specifically, it says "your flight won't change unless you're selected at your gate and confirm your decision to volunteer". So even after you're chosen, it's not a done deal; you still have to "confirm your decision to volunteer" at the gate after you're chosen.

iloveipods

Had a great experience today checking in via the mobile app. I've previously seen the offer to bid on an VDB to be determined at the gate, but on an SFO-EWR today it actually gave me the option for a CONFIRMED $200 VDB bump voucher and rebooking on a different flight. I took the voucher and changed to another flight (that was I was thinking of SDCing to anyway). Looks like they offer it when they know with a high likelihood they’ll need volunteers.

The flight I switched to looks like was also tight on space too, so as I kept checking the app it gave me an option to confirm to another flight for free (same UI/UX experience in app as the VDB offer, but different from the SDC screen). I guess that is the lower tier VDB “offer” – i.e. we’ll waive the SDC fee and maybe booking code requirements to change to another flight.

This is a change I like! I assume there is a web version for this live / in the works.

jjmoore

Not sure, as this appears to have rolled out in the last week or so. I am on SFO-MCO tonight, and it is oversold by 5 people, and I saw the same thing with 3 different backup itineraries, and I was able to bid an amount for each one. I put high numbers in for all of them and submitted it. As time goes, hopefully people will report results here.

My suspicion is that the GA's won't handle anything differently.... for a couple reasons:

1) Too complicated to sort through all this complexity while in a hurry to get people boarded and people switched off the flight.
2) The options presented at OLCI 24 hours in advance may not be available at the time of boarding (which is the case for my situation tonight where almost NOTHING is available on UA).

I am pretty sure that this is a short-lived change, and UA will fall back on the way things have been done for the last couple years.

Thoughts?

RobOnLI

Just saw a new interface for bidding for VDBs on the mobile app. My first flight tomrw is oversold (allegedly). Upon check-in I was asked if I wanted to volunteer and I was also given a list of available flights that I could take should my seat be needed. My first flight is from a city with only a couple of flights per day so the list was not long; but it only showed me outbound flights on the same initial flight (e.g. a 12:20 departure) even though there are plenty of seats available on later flights. I'm guessing that if they do take your seat that you would want to get out of town pretty quickly.

Anyway, you have to first select the alternate flight you want to take and then you can bid the amount you are willing to accept to get bumped from your original flight. Once selecting the alternate flight you then have to choose whether you would like award miles or compensation. For this "short" flight to ORD it defaulted to $550, $600 and $750 options as compensation. I entered my own amount that was lower than the $550 thinking it will likely make me #1 on the volunteer list.

So new things:
1. Select your alternate flight first. I'm not sure what the point of this is since it did NOT remove inventory from the flight when I selected it. So I'm not actually holding a seat on the new flights.
2. Select award miles vs $ compensation.
3. The dollar amounts were much higher than I've ever seen and it's a short domestic flight.

-RM

seanp7

Yeah I got this too. Didn't check the award mileage amounts offered, but selected one of the proposed three alternatives and the cash offer, EWR-FLL, was $700, $800, $950, IIRC. I'll likely take the scheduled flight but we'll see what happens tomorrow.

mehitabel

Mine was $800, $900 or $1000 for EWR-SFO tonight. I also low-balled my offer to see if it makes any difference. I'll be surprised if the GAs actually use this list or stick with our bid amounts. In the past when I've been VDB'd there's been a very rapid negotiation and resolution, with the GAs sometimes upping compensation of their own accord. It'll be interesting to see what happens with the new approach, assuming any of our flights actually need volunteers.

I wonder if pax checking in via computer or kiosk get the same interface, or if it's limited to OLCI via app?

BThumme

Does picking one of those alternative itineraries protect you on them? Do they show up in the app?

I'm flying SFO-IAH this weekend and its all zero'ed out, so I'm feeling pretty good since a lot of people want to be home asap for the holidays.

jjmoore

Nope ... no protection.

The ones listed as available to me last night at check-in are all zeroed out, and my reservation does not show any protection.

The only thing that we may not be able to see is blocked inventory on UA's side for volunteers.... but I highly doubt they are THAT proactive NOR are they that sophisticated in their approach. Heck... their IT has far more fundamental issues.

FlyerTalker70

Is there any rhyme of reason regarding when pax are asked to "bid" on a bump? For instance, back in April whilst travelling on UA during OLCI I was given a prompt to "bid" for how much money I'll take for a bump. IIRC that flight went out with space available in both J and Y cabins. OTOH, this past week I had a UA flight SIN->SFO which went full Y and J (apparently the previous day's UA2 got cancelled) and was never given the option to bid for a bump.

Safe Travels,

James