Voluntary Denied Boarding - VDB/Bump Experiences on UA [2019]
Jan 2, 2019, 9:15 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: LBB
Programs: UA 1K 1MM ★G | Marriott LTT | Hilton ♦ | Hertz PC | Global Entry TSA Pre ✓
Posts: 2,820
Voluntary Denied Boarding - VDB/Bump Experiences on UA [2019]
Alright folks, time to open up the new thread. Please post any 2018 activity in last year's thread before it closes down.
Happy bumping and let it be a more lucrative year for us in 2019!!
Happy bumping and let it be a more lucrative year for us in 2019!!
Jan 3, 2019, 3:10 am
#2
Moderator: Midwest, Las Vegas & Dining Buzz
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Posts: 17,976
I took the redeye back from LAS to ORD on January 1. After we took off, my seatmate started chatting a bit. After a few minutes, he told me that he was originally on the 230ish flight in Y and they asked for a volunteer on the plane to take the redeye in F and $2000. I thought I was hearing things at first. So I asked him again and he whips out the travel voucher they gave him and lo and behold it was for $2000! I asked him if he received food vouchers and he said that instead of them he asked and they gave him taxi vouchers to the Strip and back since the flight was nine hours later. He also said that there was one other person at the gate that they were processing as a VDB for that flight. Score! Happy New Year indeed!
Jan 3, 2019, 5:09 am
#3
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 9,005
My mom got $700 and was put up in an airport hotel to bump her LAX-EWR flight from 1/1 to 1/2. Don't know any of the details beyond that.
Jan 13, 2019, 5:30 pm
#4
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: IAH, YYC
Programs: UA 1K
Posts: 753
So I’m at ORD this evening. While browsing my reservation in the United app before arriving, the app asked me to submit VDB offers for several connecting flights to TUL, my end destination.
All of these offers were for flights arriving tomorrow, which is too late for me. Nevertheless, I submitted some absurdly high offers anyway
but I did have a thought. There was one flight which would have got me to Tulsa approx 1 hour after my original schedule, but it involved a connecting flight via IAH, which would have left ORD before my originally scheduled flight. If I had the option I would have submitted $200-$300 for this vs the $950 I submitted for tomorrow’s flight.
Why doesnt UA offer flights with an earlier departure as well as the later departure? For example if they are overbooked by a ton, and they know 2 hours before the flight that nobody will misconnect they might be able to pick up some vdb offers at much lower cost. And if they don’t need to use it they’ve lost nothing by making it an option in the app.
All of these offers were for flights arriving tomorrow, which is too late for me. Nevertheless, I submitted some absurdly high offers anyway
but I did have a thought. There was one flight which would have got me to Tulsa approx 1 hour after my original schedule, but it involved a connecting flight via IAH, which would have left ORD before my originally scheduled flight. If I had the option I would have submitted $200-$300 for this vs the $950 I submitted for tomorrow’s flight.
Why doesnt UA offer flights with an earlier departure as well as the later departure? For example if they are overbooked by a ton, and they know 2 hours before the flight that nobody will misconnect they might be able to pick up some vdb offers at much lower cost. And if they don’t need to use it they’ve lost nothing by making it an option in the app.
Jan 13, 2019, 6:35 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 622
Earlier in the week my BWI-ORD flight was over by 1, so I volunteered to bump to the next day direct BWI-->SFO. They ended up not needing me after 4 people failed to check-in, but the gate agent gave me a food voucher as thanks for volunteering. Turned out to be useful once I got to ORD and SFO implemented traffic management delaying the ORD--SFO leg by 90 minutes.
Jan 13, 2019, 7:17 pm
#6
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: UA Plat MM, CM Plat, Amex Plat, Hertz CP, Hyatt Globalist, SPG Gold, Vons Club
Posts: 6,852
Nice to see the voucher as a token of appreciation (First time I’ve heard of that)…
Jan 13, 2019, 8:54 pm
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MSP
Programs: DL PM, UA Gold, WN, Global Entry; +others wherever miles/points are found
Posts: 14,419
Why doesnt UA offer flights with an earlier departure as well as the later departure? For example if they are overbooked by a ton, and they know 2 hours before the flight that nobody will misconnect they might be able to pick up some vdb offers at much lower cost. And if they don’t need to use it they’ve lost nothing by making it an option in the app.
Jan 14, 2019, 6:23 am
#8
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: NYC, FLL
Programs: UA PP 1MM, Marriott Bonvoy LTTE, BA Gold
Posts: 6,324
Jan 14, 8:30am: EWR-CLE, Terminal A. 1 over.
Initial offer: $1200 (+ 2 meal vouchers and PM flight)
no takers
2nd offer: $2000 (ditto for everything else)
1 gentleman took it. ^
Initial offer: $1200 (+ 2 meal vouchers and PM flight)
no takers
2nd offer: $2000 (ditto for everything else)
1 gentleman took it. ^
Jan 14, 2019, 4:46 pm
#9
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Houston/DC
Programs: UA 1K, 1MM
Posts: 564
Jan 14 IAH-ORD over by 2. I accepted $500 to get to ultimate destination 2 hours later. Also received 2x$20 meal vouchers. I was full from Lounge, so maxed the vouchers out on snack food for the office.
Side note: I SDC'd into this flight 2 hours before boarding & the seat map was full. When I checked in, received a boarding pass with "see agent" on it & immediate volunteer screen on the App. Flight was also not listed for sale on a revenue search. Must have been something wrong with UA's system to allow me to SDC onto this flight?? Also the 3rd VDB I have received over the last year on flights that I have SDC'd into.
Side note: I SDC'd into this flight 2 hours before boarding & the seat map was full. When I checked in, received a boarding pass with "see agent" on it & immediate volunteer screen on the App. Flight was also not listed for sale on a revenue search. Must have been something wrong with UA's system to allow me to SDC onto this flight?? Also the 3rd VDB I have received over the last year on flights that I have SDC'd into.
Jan 14, 2019, 6:06 pm
#10
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 622
Jan 14 IAH-ORD over by 2. I accepted $500 to get to ultimate destination 2 hours later. Also received 2x$20 meal vouchers. I was full from Lounge, so maxed the vouchers out on snack food for the office.
Side note: I SDC'd into this flight 2 hours before boarding & the seat map was full. When I checked in, received a boarding pass with "see agent" on it & immediate volunteer screen on the App. Flight was also not listed for sale on a revenue search. Must have been something wrong with UA's system to allow me to SDC onto this flight?? Also the 3rd VDB I have received over the last year on flights that I have SDC'd into.
Side note: I SDC'd into this flight 2 hours before boarding & the seat map was full. When I checked in, received a boarding pass with "see agent" on it & immediate volunteer screen on the App. Flight was also not listed for sale on a revenue search. Must have been something wrong with UA's system to allow me to SDC onto this flight?? Also the 3rd VDB I have received over the last year on flights that I have SDC'd into.
Jan 14, 2019, 7:22 pm
#11
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Houston/DC
Programs: UA 1K, 1MM
Posts: 564
L class was original fare. Like I said, I thought it was strange that the system allowed it, but jumped on it for a possible VDB. Maybe they were projecting some disconnects that never happened or some must flys were being added right about the time my SDC went thru?
Last edited by FlyngSvyr; Jan 21, 2019 at 3:47 pm
Jan 21, 2019, 12:43 pm
#12
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 9,005
On UA503 today (SFO-EWR) - looking for 4 volunteers, starting at $1,000.
Just raised to $2,000 and people are racing forward to the desk now. Wow! All of the other alternatives for getting home are terrible and I need to be at work tomorrow...if there was something passable, I definitely would have grabbed that.
Just raised to $2,000 and people are racing forward to the desk now. Wow! All of the other alternatives for getting home are terrible and I need to be at work tomorrow...if there was something passable, I definitely would have grabbed that.
Jan 21, 2019, 3:09 pm
#13
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: LBB
Programs: UA 1K 1MM ★G | Marriott LTT | Hilton ♦ | Hertz PC | Global Entry TSA Pre ✓
Posts: 2,820
On UA503 today (SFO-EWR) - looking for 4 volunteers, starting at $1,000.
Just raised to $2,000 and people are racing forward to the desk now. Wow! All of the other alternatives for getting home are terrible and I need to be at work tomorrow...if there was something passable, I definitely would have grabbed that.
Just raised to $2,000 and people are racing forward to the desk now. Wow! All of the other alternatives for getting home are terrible and I need to be at work tomorrow...if there was something passable, I definitely would have grabbed that.
Jan 21, 2019, 7:33 pm
#14
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NYC (Primarily EWR)
Programs: UA 1K / *G, Marriott Bonvoy Gold; Avis PC
Posts: 9,005
Jan 22, 2019, 5:35 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: LBB
Programs: UA 1K 1MM ★G | Marriott LTT | Hilton ♦ | Hertz PC | Global Entry TSA Pre ✓
Posts: 2,820