sbm12

I do not think it would ever be offered as a starting point.

And, in reality, I don't think it will ever be offered by any airline ever.

Didn't UA stop taking UMs on connections?

I strongly disagree. The people developing these programs and building this technology were around way before the Dao incident. This is a way for airlines to further improve RM by reducing costs of displacing passengers while also getting more satisfied customers at the top and bottom of the price spectrum.

The obsession with blaming everything on the Dr. Dao incident is ridiculous. It changed the optics on the VDB process slightly. It did not create a wholesale change in operations. And it certainly did not bring about integration of a 3rd party platform that I know UA was considering prior to the incident.

physioprof

Currently GS still guaranteed Y seat up to boarding.

Michael D

I would bet that this program is going to be implemented on the subset of flights which historically show a strong pattern of being oversold and have convenient backup flights which show a pattern of not being oversold.

It cannot be a general pattern for all flights especially given the present occupancy rates and schedules, I would think.

It is ironic that United would have to depend upon an outside firm to implement technologies core to running its business more profitably. But this seems to be the case with many things IT related at United. They just don't understand IT and IT is really core to running their business efficiently/profitably.

1k-all-the-way

Has someone already started a thread about what flights to book to get the offer in advance to go later...when you really wanted to go later anyway but thought you might as well try for the compensation?

drewguy

Congrats to him . . . but i'm actually kind of amazed the airlines didn't develop this in house. I realize United IT is a mess, but still, the concept is something they've been aware of and their inability to implement it themselves may reinforce their IT incapabilities.

WineCountryUA

This is very common in the corporate world today. Especially contracting with folks who have deep narrow technology. Few large (or small) corporations develop all their technology in house.

Miggles

Corporate flyers who value their time wouldn't touch any form of VDB with a 10 foot pole.

mikesyr18

If I'm flying internationally, I'm not taking $500 to move back to coach if I were upgraded to first class. $500 isn't even that much money, and the comfort of the long flight is more important.

Miles Ahead

Any form? Any form at all?

You're traveling A-B-C and the offer is A-D-C, leaving and arriving at the same time. Can't do it (typically) today, because by the time you have VDB'ed from A-B, it's too late to get you on A-D.

I used to do this all the time with ORD-FRA-GVA, ORD-MUC-GVA and (rarely) ORD-LHR-GVA. (Back in the days when GAs were allowed - and dare I say even encouraged - to be proactive. Takeoff was within 20 minutes, arrival was within 20 minutes, and the GA's knew me and knew I'd be a) flexible and b) early.

soonerborn

Great plan if they can get it to work. I have my doubts.

Frequent flyers can come up with some very creative ways to abuse programs like this. One way that comes to mind immediately for this is with refundable tickets.

Infrequent flyers aren't going to be as moved by this $250 offer as some think. I think its a fair offer but for people that only fly once a year, what are they gonna do with a $250 voucher that expires in a year. So I think rolling this out to FF members is the way to go.

I suspect that even if this is wildly successful, that UA will promptly break it by trying to scalp business travelers by more seats overbooked on more flights.

tarheelnj

I would imagine you would have to fly the rebooked flight before you got the voucher. Otherwise, you're correct there could be abuse, although it wouldn't be difficult to catch.

AAExPlat

This. I fly in and out of EWR weekly and it is not uncommon to have offers for as much as $400-$500 for the next midcon 2 hours later. I have NEVER taken one of those (and I have seen them as high as $800) and I have also never seen an obvious corporate flyer take the VDB either. It is usually families that seem to step up to the podium.

pinniped

Certainly not on the outbound (beginning of a business trip). But on the way home from a biz trip is when I've collected the vast majority of my VDB comp over the years. It'll end up being the difference between getting home at 9PM vs midnight on a Thursday night...if those particular three hours net $500, I'm good with it.

I value my time more highly on leisure trips and usually don't VDB. Plus, those are often in J/F so I'm always hesitant to roll the dice on getting a good seat later. Once in a while, on the way home from a vacation, I'll score a VDB...but they're rare. Add in the fact that a leisure trip (for me) is often a kind of off-peak flight to begin with, whereas the biz trips end on Thursday nights (or occasionally a Friday afternoon) - a pretty solid VDB opportunity.

halls120

This. I would never take a VDB outbound, but would consider it inbound.

MSPeconomist

My employer claims to own whatever VDB compensation I collect on business trips reimbursed by my employer, so I wound never volunteer in such cases. Since I have top tier status, IDBs are not a problem so I haven't checked whether they're like EU 261 comeonsation which is mandated to go to the passenger or not.