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Voluntary Denied Boarding - VDB/Bump Experiences on UA [2018]

Old Jan 3, 2018, 12:29 am
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Last edit by: WineCountryUA
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Voluntary Denied Boarding - VDB/Bump on UA [2017]
Voluntary Denied Boarding - VDB/Bump on UA [2016]
Voluntary Denied Boarding - VDB/Bump on UA [2015]

Related thread - Is this IDB? Am I entitled to IDB compensation? [Consolidated]

VDB -- Voluntary Denied Boarding -- is when the flight is overbooked and the airline is looking for volunteers to change their travel plans. It is voluntary and you do not need to participate. The compensation is 100% negotiable. It could be $100's in future travel vouchers, it might be food vouchers, a different routing (perhaps more direct or for MR's more indirect ), perhaps lodging if overnight and sometimes a bump in cabin. It all depends on how desperate the airline is and how flexible you are.

The standard UA policy is after you have agreed to a voucher amount and additional VDBs are still needed, if those passengers get a higher amount, you will also get the higher amount.

The are no DoT requirement for VDB compensation, it is whatever you and the airline agree to. The DoT does require the airline to try VDB before moving to IDB.

Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
The changing story of IDB on UA since the merge and post-Dao
source: BTS Data

Code:
IDB/VDB data for UA (w/o UX) 1st Qtr
 Year VDB IDB
 2018 8,214 27
 2017 15,917 900
 2016 14,380 929
 2015 17,373 1,817
 2014 21,469 4,395
 2013 14,095 2,592
 
 IDB/VDB data for UA (w/ UX) 1st Qtr
 Year VDB IDB
 2018 16,973 51
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Voluntary Denied Boarding - VDB/Bump Experiences on UA [2018]

Old Jan 21, 2018, 10:00 am
  #61  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
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Yea in the past when I have taken them I have found them non useful. If I remember correctly it UA metal only.
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Old Jan 22, 2018, 10:01 pm
  #62  
 
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VDB SFO-JAC after I was already in my seat and was 45min delayed. E75 was too heavy to land safely at Jackson with the elevation and snow. Walked away with one less ski day and a $2,300 (!) ETC. On the first SFO-DEN-JAC the next day.

Just took JAC-SFO back today - they also bumped a bunch of people due to weight, but at check in, so likely less comp. Seems they need to start blocking seats or consider a 319 or 73G on this route.
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Last edited by ktenorman; Jan 22, 2018 at 10:04 pm Reason: grammar
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Old Jan 23, 2018, 9:54 pm
  #63  
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Flew DEN-MSP yesterday... UA573. Diverted to Chicago and cancelled due to MSP being closed. I tried to clear an override booking (with GS override), and the phone agent told me that the flight to FAR that I wanted to get into was already oversold by 4, and they even restricted GS from being able to override onto it. I don't know what the offer was for that one, but was told by an agent at ORD that every single person was checked into that flight... that would have been a very nice offer. I wish someone on that flight would post about the offers... the flight went out with nobody clearing on standby (there were like 15+ on the list)..... I should be glad they didn't put me on it because I wouldn't have been able to take up an offer because I needed to be here in MSP this morning.

Anyway, I did manage to get onto one of the two flights that went out around 9pm yesterday.... MSP looked like a snow bomb had gone off... that place was a mess... looks like 12-18" fell in about 8 hoursat the airport.
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Old Jan 26, 2018, 10:13 pm
  #64  
 
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January 26: UA 5762 LAX-LAS. $700 ETC plus $20 meal voucher and seat on the next flight. That was for me.

Othe volunteer got the same ETC voucher amount plus vouchers for meals and hotel (4 points) and seat on first flight out tomorrow morning.
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Old Jan 27, 2018, 2:10 am
  #65  
 
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Originally Posted by Aussienarelle
January 26: UA 5762 LAX-LAS. $700 ETC plus $20 meal voucher and seat on the next flight. That was for me.

Othe volunteer got the same ETC voucher amount plus vouchers for meals and hotel (4 points) and seat on first flight out tomorrow morning.
That's awesome for a 1 hour flight!! Surprised they offered that much.
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Old Jan 27, 2018, 12:50 pm
  #66  
 
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$700 Opening Offer

My EWR-SAN flight yesterday went out under Was F2Y5 day of dept IIRC.

The neighboring flight 8:30 am EWR-FLL UA699 was overbooked by 2 and they offered 700 out of the gate and seats on the next dept 2 hours later! Maybe 700 is the new 150 lol. Only problem is that flt (UA1558) was completely full too. Neither flt took any sbys so the bumpees, if any, had quite a layover.
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Old Jan 30, 2018, 6:56 pm
  #67  
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Originally Posted by sexykitten7
The neighboring flight 8:30 am EWR-FLL UA699 was overbooked by 2 and they offered 700 out of the gate and seats on the next dept 2 hours later! Maybe 700 is the new 150 lol. Only problem is that flt (UA1558) was completely full too. Neither flt took any sbys so the bumpees, if any, had quite a layover.
Normally they don't offer seats on the next flight unless they're sure they're available. Volunteers typically won't end up on the standby list (unless that's part of the discussion when volunteering). Note that it's possible -- but uncommon -- to be put onto another oversold flight, at which point you can volunteer again if you like. You'd still be considered a confirmed passenger in that scenario, however.
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Old Jan 30, 2018, 9:01 pm
  #68  
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
Normally they don't offer seats on the next flight unless they're sure they're available. Volunteers typically won't end up on the standby list (unless that's part of the discussion when volunteering). Note that it's possible -- but uncommon -- to be put onto another oversold flight, at which point you can volunteer again if you like. You'd still be considered a confirmed passenger in that scenario, however.
Well the next flight showed Full in coach and first on the app. It's possible the GAs had better intel than me but I don't think so. There were 4 GAs split between 2 gates (boarding simultaneously) and during the announcement she said "We're looking for volunteers on our flight to (where? oh.) FLL," which didn't inspire confidence. My theory is bolstered by the fact that both flights went out full with no standbys.

Of course, for all I know, the first flight went out even and no one was harmed, but it did strike me as odd to offer seats you don't have (according to the app).
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Old Jan 30, 2018, 9:22 pm
  #69  
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Originally Posted by sexykitten7
Well the next flight showed Full in coach and first on the app. It's possible the GAs had better intel than me but I don't think so. There were 4 GAs split between 2 gates (boarding simultaneously) and during the announcement she said "We're looking for volunteers on our flight to (where? oh.) FLL," which didn't inspire confidence. My theory is bolstered by the fact that both flights went out full with no standbys.

Of course, for all I know, the first flight went out even and no one was harmed, but it did strike me as odd to offer seats you don't have (according to the app).
Were seats available for sale? "Full" on the app is more of a suggestion than anything else. I've SDC'ed onto flights that were listed as Full, and I've also seen flights go from Full to Available repeatedly. I think it shows Full when the flight is 100% booked, but that doesn't mean they're not willing to oversell by a few seats more.

My guess is that if any volunteers from the first flight were needed, they were put into confirmed space on the second flight, even if it appeared "Full" on the app. That might have pushed the second flight into an overbooked situation, which could then have been resolved with more volunteers or natural attrition (no shows / missed connections). It's also possible that they knew they'd need two seats and proactively grabbed them (making the flight show Full in the app). And, from time to time, UA does get the number exactly right -- they overbook by exactly the number of no-shows they end up with and the flight goes out even.

I'd actually love to volunteer only to find that the seat they tried to offer wasn't really there. I'd expect a big payday.
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Old Jan 30, 2018, 9:40 pm
  #70  
 
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Originally Posted by jsloan
Were seats available for sale? "Full" on the app is more of a suggestion than anything else. I've SDC'ed onto flights that were listed as Full, and I've also seen flights go from Full to Available repeatedly. I think it shows Full when the flight is 100% booked, but that doesn't mean they're not willing to oversell by a few seats more.

My guess is that if any volunteers from the first flight were needed, they were put into confirmed space on the second flight, even if it appeared "Full" on the app. That might have pushed the second flight into an overbooked situation, which could then have been resolved with more volunteers or natural attrition (no shows / missed connections). It's also possible that they knew they'd need two seats and proactively grabbed them (making the flight show Full in the app). And, from time to time, UA does get the number exactly right -- they overbook by exactly the number of no-shows they end up with and the flight goes out even.

I'd actually love to volunteer only to find that the seat they tried to offer wasn't really there. I'd expect a big payday.
Oh that's a good point! I didn't check to see if the flight was still selling seats. You're right it could've been F0Y2 and shown Full. I see that quite often.
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Old Feb 4, 2018, 6:21 am
  #71  
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IAH-SFO needed one volunteer last night. They started with $500 and hotel. I volunteered and was later told to board as I was not needed. Later the GA came on board and asked me if I was willing to help him out and volunteer again. Of course! When I was walking up the jetway his supervisor told him to give me more for the inconvenience. I received a $700 voucher, two $20 meal vouchers, and a room at the airport Marriott, which was very nice for an airport hotel.
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Old Feb 4, 2018, 9:02 am
  #72  
 
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2 days ago RDU-ORD I SDC'd to earlier flight at T-90. Immediately upon check-in I got the bid for VDB screen. It seems inventory was open for an already oversold flight .
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Old Feb 4, 2018, 4:13 pm
  #73  
 
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Originally Posted by onthesam
2 days ago RDU-ORD I SDC'd to earlier flight at T-90. Immediately upon check-in I got the bid for VDB screen. It seems inventory was open for an already oversold flight .
Not uncommon on the 73G/E75 I think they often run on that route -- they'll oversell Y badly and then CPU/op-up into F. While the VDB message often appears (presumably because UA "sees" the flight as oversold in Y), I've never seen a flight that allows SDC within T-2h actually take volunteers at boarding.
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Old Feb 5, 2018, 10:20 am
  #74  
 
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Originally Posted by Pat89339
IAH-SFO needed one volunteer last night. They started with $500 and hotel. I volunteered and was later told to board as I was not needed. Later the GA came on board and asked me if I was willing to help him out and volunteer again. Of course! When I was walking up the jetway his supervisor told him to give me more for the inconvenience. I received a $700 voucher, two $20 meal vouchers, and a room at the airport Marriott, which was very nice for an airport hotel.
Nice! Out of the maybe 1/2 dozen times I've volunteered, only once has happened on the plane... I would be interested to know how often that happens vs. the "normal way" of getting it before boarding.
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Old Feb 5, 2018, 10:33 am
  #75  
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Originally Posted by plinth857
Nice! Out of the maybe 1/2 dozen times I've volunteered, only once has happened on the plane... I would be interested to know how often that happens vs. the "normal way" of getting it before boarding.
Very very rare.... I have never in all my years been pulled off after boarding. Always happens prior to boarding, and they hold me at the gate until they either need me or know 100% that they won't. Many times, they are nice enough to ensure that I have overhead space (sometimes I ask them at the gate to make sure that happens).... so don't be afraid to wait it out vs. boarding the plane.
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