VDB Rule Change?
 

I've gone through the various gate agents and now 2 supervisors here at Newark...

They all INSIST that the VDB rules now do NOT allow them to issue travel credits.

A quick search of the forum seems to indicate that travel credits are still an option and are being issued.

I thought before I escalate this through customer service I'd ask for opinions.

On a domestic flight usually a roundtrip ticket is standard compensation. I believe that they are not supposed to issue credits, but if you are lucky some agents may.

just got 200$ in TC for a VDB on a ORD-MSN flight last friday. at first the GA was trying to tell me that she can't issue me TCs but the GA working next to her on that station arranged for the TCs and made me happy. :) ^

So yes they stilldo hand them out, I guess it all depends on which GA you catch at which station and at what time. some are more willing to work with you than others are.

Actually sitting here in the RCC with too much time on my hands (and a high speed internet link), UAL's own contract of carriage says travel credits:

B) REQUEST OF VOLUNTEERS
UA WILL REQUEST PASSENGERS WHO ARE WILLING TO DO SO, TO VOLUNTARILY RELINQUISH THEIR CONFIRMED RESERVED SPACE IN EXCHANGE FOR UNITED AIRLINES TRAVEL CREDITS. TRAVEL CREDITS ENTITLE THE HOLDER TO A DISCOUNT OFF FUTURE UNITED AIRLINES TRAVEL, AND ARE VALID FOR ONE YEAR FROM ISSUE DATE. IF A PASSENGER IS ASKED TO VOLUNTEER, UA WILL NOT LATER DENY BOARDING TO THAT PASSENGER INVOLUNTARILY UNLESS THAT PASSENGER WAS INFORMED AT THE TIME HE/SHE WAS ASKED TO VOLUNTEER THAT THERE WAS A POSSIBILITY OF BEING DENIED BOARDING INVOLUNTARILY, AND THAT THE SELECTION OF SUCH PERSONS TO BE DENIED SPACE SHALL BE IN A MANNER DETERMINED SOLELY BY UA.

You sure that is not referring to international travel?

The VDB profile clearly states that ticket or travel credit vouchers can be issued. I take the profile with me printed out. You can find the complete text of the profile in the VDB thread in the UA FAQ.
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110286

It is for domestic or international. I got travel credits for a domestic bump in May.

Both posts may be correct.

Since it's a VDB, UA may very well have instructed their GAs to only issue free tickets instead of TCs. There's no law that says UA is not allowed to modify or otherwise "clarify" their internal direction to their employees, no matter who gets hold of it outside of UA, and there's no law or regulation that says you're "entitled" to be offered TCs for a VDB.

Basically, if the GA says they can only give out free RTs, you're going to be very lucky to get TCs. You can try using the profile, but it's not binding.

If I'm going to get kicked off a flight I'd much rather have IDB compensation, because that's $400 cash unless UA gets me to my destination within 2 hours of my scheduled time.

I can say from yest's experience that it's not binding.

Was at SEA coming home from SeaDo. Flight oversold. I'm first on VDB list. Say they'll probably need me but can't get me home 'til today (I anticipated that, so brought laptop to work). Will provide hotel voucher (so far so good). Says will give free ticket.

Another FTer w/ me pulls out the VDB rules & says to her, travel vouchers. Agent not familiar w/ it; he's trying to explain it to her. She calls someone & says I've got some experienced flyers here w/ a print-out (don't think she's heard of the voucher thing, etc). Says no free ticket. Him, voucher can be done. She then says she's got me on standby for later flight so no ticket or voucher. Him, well that's true only if it's protected - standby is not protected.

She then says $200 voucher; he says no, $600 cuz you're not getting her home until tomorrow. She calls supvr & says there's a VDB who wants $600 (w/o explaining why; ie, due to lenght of time) & supv says free ticket only. So by that time I figure will take the free ticket & just mail it to CR for a $200 voucher at that point.

But then I suddenly wasn't needed - not sure if that was actually true or just because of the dust-up over the voucher/ticket thing.

BTW - on the card they give you showing you're on the VDB list it says travel vouchers or in select markets a free ticket & they lead off w/ the voucher. On the VDB printout it says the primary form of comp should be a ticket but then provides $$ amounts if vouchers (based on time).

I've actually only done 2 bumps in my flying career. One I walked into last year at LHR (they offered $800 in voucher, hotel & C next day; $800 given in increments of $200 each), and last year BNA-DEN - $200 cert given in increments of $50, so it can be done domestically. Of course I might have been lucky at BNA because Skywest had just taken over there.

The thing I don't get is why they push the free ticket. I'm going to apply vouchers to revenue tickets which are invariably more (esp on intl flights) so they lose out on revenue since they get bupkus from me on a free ticket.

Cheers.

I think there are GA's and supe's who are clueless or intent on deceiving passengers to minimize cost to UA. There are many passengers who don't know about the VDB rules and amounts and are willing to take whatever UA offers them. I wouldn't be surprised if they passed you over for some other less demanding volunteers. I think you deserved what you asked for considering the stated profile/rules.

Free tickets are so much cheaper than TC's because they are fare class restricted and the value of the trip most likely will come out less than the value of the TC's that would have been issued. Further, the free trips earn no FF miles or other MP benefits unlike the trips bought with TC's.

You can count on $$ vouchers being offered for international bumps.

I was reading the VDB profile again and this is probably another reason why they push the free tickets so much:

COMPENSATION

*THE DBC FREE TICKET SHOULD BE USED AS THE PRIMARY FORM OF VDB COMPENSATION IN THE 48 CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES.

*TRAVEL CREDITS ARE THE PRIMARY FORM OF VDB COMPENSATION IN CANADA*ALASKA*HAWAII*AND INTERNATIONAL LOCATIONS

The DBC Free Ticket should be the primary form of VDB in the 48 states, TC's elsewhere. I guess some agents try to stick to the first directive more than others. I guess it largely depends on how amenable the agent is on issuing you TCs instead and how much you try to persuade them.

Ok, I'll out myself as the "oh so helpful" FT'er that tried to help with Sharon.

Sorry again Sharon. (We should have probably shut up at the point you got the $200 voucher and then complained that it was the wrong amount after the plane left, If it helps, I'll buy you a drink at the RCC next time we're there).

You might inquire with your buddies at the 1K desk if any VDB's were taken for that flight. If so, unless the VDB's were UGS, they violated their policy for processing the VDB list as I believe that you were on the tope of the list.

But, I can say that the terms of the profile shown on the screen were essentially the same as shown on my copy (I wasn't able to compare the entire document). It was a bit comical when the gate agent said triumphently that since the flight she wanted Sharon to standby on would get her in to LAX within an hour of your original flight compensation was not required - and then I pointed to the word PROTECTED on her screen.

What sucks is that someone from UA Press Relations was quoted in the New York Times a couple of years ago saying that a customer could get at their request TC's instead of vouchers in a VDB situation. I have tracked down that person's email, but she has not reponded to my several attempts to reach her.

I'm not sure if you think I was being overly demanding, or if you thought I was entitled to the $600 since they weren't going to get me out until this aft from last night?

Prior to FT wouldn't have known to check loads & hope for a bump, and even now I'm not very bump savvy (understatement) only having done it 2x. The first time I walked into it at LHR last year since they were flagging C customers down before they got to counter ($800 voucher, hotel & C next day; $800 issued in credits of $200 each) & then 2nd was BNA-DEN ($200 issued in lots of $50). Not sure if the BNA group did it because Skywest had just taken over at BNA and they're easier to work w/.

The FTer w/ me at SEA was basically doing the informing of the various rules/regs to the agent since he had a print-out, but it was accurate last I checked the rules posted on FT. I preferred vouchers vs free ticket, as I wanted to apply them to some int'l flights this year. I might have settled for the $200, figuring better than nothing.

I did mention to agent that I preferred the vouchers because the travel for the remainder of the year was int'l (true) and a free ticket wasn't good int'ly. She said that didn't matter.

Clueless vs deceitful - I think she wasn't familiar w/ the voucher process since she had to call someone & said 'I've some some experienced flyers here w/ a print-out)', so would put her in the clueless category & just going by what her supv said. But iluv2fly has encountered some agents (I think DEN) who have pointblank said they can't do vouchers as the system is not set up for it, which is obviously wrong since some of us have gotten vouchers at domestic locations, so consider them deceitful.

I thought free tickets were just for S/T fares, but sea_tigger said they go to W or V I think. He said he's taken them occasionally & used them when the airfare was high to where he wanted to go.

I would take the vouchers & apply them to much higher fares like you get int'lly, so to me it's a lost revenue opp for UA given a time during which they need revenue.

Cheers.

PS - Edited to add - VPescado, I wasn't going to 'out' you. And I suppose I could check w/ 1K desk, but it's over/done w/. Better luck next time. BTW - did you get the bump on your flight?

Here is an excerpt from the NYT article mentioned above:

It may be over and done with, but if UA violated their own policies, I would expect you could at least wrangle a CS100 out of them.

No bump for me, although my gate agent was a lot more mellow and had agreed to TC's.

We had a full plane though and not the best crew in the world: One example is the FA who thought he was working on his comedy act with the PA ( he closed off the tensibarier on the jet bridge and tried to tell the remaining pax we would be back in 10 minutes (one elderly man who had connected from the SAS flight and probably didn't have great command of the English language look petrified before the FA said "Just Kidding"). Anyway he announced the wrong MP mileage credit for the flight, and I mentioned it to him when he passed by- his reply was that he doesn't remember so he just makes something up. He was accompanied by another FA that seemed to have started the job last week based on her lack of understanding of things around her.