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Voluntary Denied Boarding - VDB/Bump Experiences on UA [2019]

Voluntary Denied Boarding - VDB/Bump Experiences on UA [2019]

Old Jan 24, 2019, 2:44 pm
  #16  
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
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My flight MDT-IAD was overbooked by 1. When I checked in on the app I chose a $750 ETC as my desired compensation, never thinking they would actually give it to me. When I got to the gate they were still over by 1, and accepted my bid. They gave me an option on AA for a similar arrival time, or a flight on United in the morning. I chose the UA flight and they gave me a hotel and $120 in food vouchers. Good deal.
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Old Jan 24, 2019, 3:47 pm
  #17  
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Originally Posted by TravelTheWorld66
My flight MDT-IAD was overbooked by 1. When I checked in on the app I chose a $750 ETC as my desired compensation, never thinking they would actually give it to me. When I got to the gate they were still over by 1, and accepted my bid. They gave me an option on AA for a similar arrival time, or a flight on United in the morning. I chose the UA flight and they gave me a hotel and $120 in food vouchers. Good deal.
$120 in food vouchers! I hope you had a very nice meal
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Last edited by goalie; Jan 24, 2019 at 8:19 pm Reason: Typo
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Old Jan 24, 2019, 9:34 pm
  #18  
 
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Originally Posted by goalie
$120 in food vouchers! I hope you had a very nice meal
They gave me $60 initially and then another $60 when I decided to stay the night. Unfortunately MDT doesnt have many food options and you can only eat so many cinnamon pretzel nuggets from Auntie Annes. So I stocked up on some snacks from Hudson News and declared a hotel Netflix night.
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Old Jan 24, 2019, 9:55 pm
  #19  
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Originally Posted by TravelTheWorld66


They gave me $60 initially and then another $60 when I decided to stay the night. Unfortunately MDT doesnt have many food options and you can only eat so many cinnamon pretzel nuggets from Auntie Annes. So I stocked up on some snacks from Hudson News and declared a hotel Netflix night.
^ and sometimes a snack night is not half bad
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Old Jan 31, 2019, 3:51 pm
  #20  
 
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Can anyone help handicap VDB chances? I'm booked SFO-ORD on tonight's redeye (11:15pm), and am trying to decide whether to use the weather waiver to fly later. I got the VDB menu at OLCI - the flight just prior was canceled. Flight status shows J/Y full, but only one person on standby. EF shows 2 open E+ seats.

So if I get to the gate and don't get a VDB offer, can I still use the waiver to travel later? Or is there a T -x cutoff?
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Old Jan 31, 2019, 7:27 pm
  #21  
 
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Originally Posted by mehitabel
Can anyone help handicap VDB chances? I'm booked SFO-ORD on tonight's redeye (11:15pm), and am trying to decide whether to use the weather waiver to fly later. I got the VDB menu at OLCI - the flight just prior was canceled. Flight status shows J/Y full, but only one person on standby. EF shows 2 open E+ seats.

So if I get to the gate and don't get a VDB offer, can I still use the waiver to travel later? Or is there a T -x cutoff?
Not sure...

Your plan is to go to the gate and then voluntarily switch to a later flight if you don't get VDB? Am I missing something?

BTW that flight has 98 on the upgrade list with F showing full
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Old Jan 31, 2019, 7:45 pm
  #22  
 
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Originally Posted by mehitabel
Can anyone help handicap VDB chances? I'm booked SFO-ORD on tonight's redeye (11:15pm), and am trying to decide whether to use the weather waiver to fly later. I got the VDB menu at OLCI - the flight just prior was canceled. Flight status shows J/Y full, but only one person on standby. EF shows 2 open E+ seats.

So if I get to the gate and don't get a VDB offer, can I still use the waiver to travel later? Or is there a T -x cutoff?
I'm not aware of a travel waiver change cutoff. I've changed an hour before a flight and even after scheduled departure time (but was still >1 hour from the new delayed departure time).
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Old Jan 31, 2019, 8:02 pm
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by onthesam
Not sure...

Your plan is to go to the gate and then voluntarily switch to a later flight if you don't get VDB? Am I missing something?

BTW that flight has 98 on the upgrade list with F showing full
Ya, that's the general idea My OLCI VDB options were all for Friday morning. I live a pretty short drive from SFO (at least late at night when there's no traffic...) so it would be easy to hop back home and travel at a more civilized time. The VDB range was $800-1000 -- not bad for a quick SFO detour. Or I could just use the waiver from home and forego the VDB gambit.

In my experience, VDBs often get confirmed at the very last moment before boarding ends...which might be too late for a waiver flight change. Hence my question.

btw there are now 10 people on the standby list, and both cabins are full. But there's also a 12:40 am SFO-ORD, so my guess is that most of the standbys are booked on that flight, angling for the earlier one.
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Old Jan 31, 2019, 8:15 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by onthesam
BTW that flight has 98 on the upgrade list with F showing full
Yup, the SFO-ORD 777 red-eye usually has a mile long upgrade list, with few that clear. I snagged a really good buy up offer last time I flew it, $199.
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Old Jan 31, 2019, 8:24 pm
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by zeer0
Yup, the SFO-ORD 777 red-eye usually has a mile long upgrade list, with few that clear. I snagged a really good buy up offer last time I flew it, $199.
I'm Platinum, and am somewhere in the middle of those 90+ potential upgraders. A $199 buy up sounds really good right about now.
As data point, I called the premiere desk and was told waiver changes can be made up until the time of departure. So I guess the question is if I'm feeling lucky....
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Old Feb 1, 2019, 12:50 am
  #26  
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Originally Posted by mehitabel
... As data point, I called the premiere desk and was told waiver changes can be made up until the time of departure. So I guess the question is if I'm feeling lucky....
Depending on what you mean by departure, that is a bit of an oversimplification. Once the GA closes the flight, I believe you can not be removed from the flights -- but you should be boarded by that time.

So, a better phrasing would be as long as boarding is occurring, you are OK. Note the GA can cancel your reservation at T-15 (domestic) if you are not boarded. However, the GA may hold off VDB until after T-15, so you may have to make a decision before VDB is confirmed.
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Old Feb 1, 2019, 3:45 am
  #27  
 
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Originally Posted by WineCountryUA
Depending on what you mean by departure, that is a bit of an oversimplification. Once the GA closes the flight, I believe you can not be removed from the flights -- but you should be boarded by that time.

So, a better phrasing would be as long as boarding is occurring, you are OK. Note the GA can cancel your reservation at T-15 (domestic) if you are not boarded. However, the GA may hold off VDB until after T-15, so you may have to make a decision before VDB is confirmed.
Thanks, that's a useful distinction. In this case, I first checked with the GA, who confirmed my bid. Soon after she asked for additional volunteers, which seemed auspicious. I was a little nervous as the clock ticked toward departure, but in the end three VDBs were issued at just about T-15. I came home with a $750 voucher (I low-balled) and a re-booking tomorrow. FWIW, I was prepared to fly tonight, but my schedule had changed so I no longer needed a morning arrival, and I'm much happier avoiding the red-eye.
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Old Feb 1, 2019, 5:04 am
  #28  
 
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UA703 this morning. Equipment change. Got an email about the change. Agent initially suggested $350, I counteroffered $700 for a later EWR-LAX-SFO with everything in J. After a minute she responded with a phrase that ‘It went faster than expected.’ Do you think I lowballed too much and should have asked for $1k at the minimum? It was a 767-400 downgauged to 752. Tbh I actually suspected that last night coz I saw flight status showed 764 but reservation showed 752.

Last time I VDBed a ORD-YYZ for $800 and overnight at the hotel. 764 to 752 down gauge would mean at the minimum it’s oversold by 10



Last edited by PaulInTheSky; Feb 1, 2019 at 5:45 am
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Old Feb 1, 2019, 7:18 am
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by PaulInTheSky
UA703 this morning. Equipment change. Got an email about the change. Agent initially suggested $350, I counteroffered $700 for a later EWR-LAX-SFO with everything in J. After a minute she responded with a phrase that It went faster than expected. Do you think I lowballed too much and should have asked for $1k at the minimum? It was a 767-400 downgauged to 752. Tbh I actually suspected that last night coz I saw flight status showed 764 but reservation showed 752.

Last time I VDBed a ORD-YYZ for $800 and overnight at the hotel. 764 to 752 down gauge would mean at the minimum its oversold by 10


I don't think you lowballed. In fact it just goes to show how low UA really wants to start. I've had bad luck - in December I was on SFO-IAH, they needed three volunteers and were offering $300. I asked for 1k and they said they would keep that in mind and pretty much put me aside. Then 400, then 500, and I'm not sure if they ever got past that. I don't think it's low, especially since you got J on EWR-LAX. Doing that in Y, $750 might have been on the lower end for me (although I still would have taken it).

If you were in Y originally, then I think it's a great deal.
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Old Feb 1, 2019, 4:27 pm
  #30  
 
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Originally Posted by BThumme
I don't think you lowballed. In fact it just goes to show how low UA really wants to start. I've had bad luck - in December I was on SFO-IAH, they needed three volunteers and were offering $300. I asked for 1k and they said they would keep that in mind and pretty much put me aside. Then 400, then 500, and I'm not sure if they ever got past that. I don't think it's low, especially since you got J on EWR-LAX. Doing that in Y, $750 might have been on the lower end for me (although I still would have taken it).

If you were in Y originally, then I think it's a great deal.
Everything was in J to start with, then the rebooked flight took off an hour later. However, now SFO is delayed due to strong wind and low visibility(Not sure if it's low ceiling), so I would probably end up 3-4 hours delay. Now sitting at LAX Polaris lounge.

I decided to bite that because I was five minutes away from check-in counter for the original flight. If I waited too long to do it at the gate, all other J options may be gone. I kinda felt the offers would probably be around $800-$1k USD, so I was trying to make it like a bit of discount as I got it done on the phone with the agent.
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