jjmoore

UA4626 DEN-GRR over by 1 tonight. They took a pair of volunteers so they could accommodate a rev standby that had missed the connection earlier in the day. $800 offered plus hotel and meal vouchers to fly tomorrow connecting thru Chicago arriving at 2pm.

Marcin83

Did SDC from LAX-IAH to LAX-LAS-IAH simply to get more M&M miles (in P).
While boarding they called for 1 more volunteer (I was not expecting any overbooking because I had done the SDC 2h earlier and space was available).
Checked quickly on the app that both flights LAX-LAS-IAH were fully booked in both cabins. So I decided to try my luck in LAX (even if the 2nd flight would offer more compensation in case of overbooking).
At the beginning they said they didn´t need volunteers from First Class. I politely replied that volunteer is volunteer and no matter what the class is, there would be one additional seat if I am bumped. She agreed and gave my a nice $400 voucher and a BP for a direct IAH-LAX in 3 hours.

jjmoore

Flew UA206 at 6:30 this morning GRR-ORD, and it was oversold by 2. Offer was immediately $800 since the only available flights out were 2pm (IAD) and 5pm (DEN). I waited until everyone boarded, but was not needed because the TSA line was more than 1 hour long and 20 people did not make it to the gate.. Volunteers boarded, and door closed. The plane backs off the gate about 50 feet... stops... then pulls back into the gate as a fiasco unfolded at the gate when those pax came running up. They decided to pull the plane back and board them since there was no way they could accommodate them until tomorrow on alternate flights. They ended up deciding not to take me off the plane because technically those people were not at the boarding area in time, and they were not due IDB compensation... so 2 people ended up out of luck.

The side story here is that there was a diversion flight that arrived in GRR last night (DEN-CLE) due to adverse weather conditions in CLE. That flight was rescheduled for the makeup leg at 8am. Most of those people (around 150 of them) came through security right around the time the stragglers for UA206 checked in and came through security. TSA was not staffed for the extra people (only one in the regular line and 1 in pre-check), and the wait ended up being around an hour to get through, and therefore, the people that checked in 45 minutes prior to departure did not make it through in time.

This was a big bummer for me, as I was certain my VDB drought would end today.... though I do feel quite bad for those people that were denied boarding without compensation. But again, this is a lesson to all to show up to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Most days at GRR, you can cut it pretty close, but you never know when an unforeseen circumstance will cause mayhem at the security line.

BangkokTraveler

Not sure I have ever seen this question answered. If somebody gets a VDB, would they need to take the offered flight, or could they further do a SDC to change to another flight? Or could they even just forgo the trip because their personal plans had changed and they don't need to take the trip anymore?

jsloan

You can do anything that you want. However, if you already know what your plans are when you discuss a replacement flight, you can go ahead and ask for it at that point. You have plenty of leverage -- the gate agent will do anything that seems even remotely reasonable to keep from having to find another volunteer. That definitely includes "Well, there's no point going on this trip if I can't make this flight, but it's not that important of a trip -- so how about giving me the voucher and a refund, and I'll figure out a replacement trip later?" or whatever.

The one thing I wouldn't say is "I was planning to cancel anyway," because at that point the agent may feel that they're being taken advantage of and may call your bluff.

jjmoore

To add to this, I will almost always accept a really good offer, even if the protection flight is far later than I would typically want. I will immediately get on the standby list for the next flight. Most times I have done this, I get on, and am on my way. You can SDC as well if availability appears on a flight that was full and opened up space. They will typically rebook you in Y class, which maximizes your flexibility to do so. If you see that they booked you into your original fare class, you can ask the gate agent to specifically change your fare class to Y. That is your best shot of SDC'ing, and ensuring that you are on top of the standby list if you are trying to get onto a full flight.

Hope this helps.

BangkokTraveler

Thanks jsloan and jjmoore

FlyfromDenver

I know this is somewhat far out and everything can change but I am on UA1819 from DEN to IAH on 3/18 and it looks like all fare classes are zeroed out although full fare economy is still offered for sale. I am going to Houston for work but I do have flexibility as long as I get there sometime on 3/18. Sundays in March are likely to be pretty full as people head home from spring break trips. Is there hope for VDB on this one ?

laxmillenial

From a future perspective, yes. However, it really comes down to day of departure unless there's an aircraft downgrade.

If there's an aircraft downgrade, then UA starts to proactively reach out to passengers (especially those in F) to seek those willing to take alternative flights for compensation.
If not, then it really depends on how far its overbooked, how many misconnects, if anyone can take a more direct routing to their destination instead of connecting, etc.

jjmoore

I will add that on these peak travel dates, UA is less likely to overbook these flights, or only willing to oversell by a seat instead of 3-4 seats....

Let us know how things turn out next weekend.

WineCountryUA

Seems like your employer will pay a high price premium for your chance of a VDB. Or is there no cheaper flights available on UA?

jk88usa

Just as a two cent input; pretty much everything out of DEN is going to be crazy packed coming in on 3/9 and leaving next weekend on 3/18 (on any airline) and VDBs are going to be more likely than usual. I was looking to use buddy passes on both DL and WN and both people who checked for me basically assured me there is no chance of getting on, as everything is currently zeroed out or even slightly over. Crazy example for me was seeing WN had 0 seats for sale all day on any routing DEN-DAL, 11 days in advance...

FlyfromDenver

WineCountryUA

Sorry, read your comment as deciding to buy on that particular flight to increase the chance of VDB (as others have done in the past) -- appears I misread the intent of your post.

So to get back to your original query, things like peak travel due to spring break increases your chances but UA has decreased VDB significantly over recent years (approaching x4 reduction) so it is getting much harder to predict in advance.

jjmoore

All direct flights on DEN-IAH Monday 3/19 are zeroed out (Y and F) except for the late night red-eye. Far worse than Sunday, which still has some availability for $600+ o.w.