Paella747

Has anybody ever been bumped between these two cities? There are so many flights and all of them seem to have plenty of availability. I'll be in Los Angeles next week and am flying back to Seoul (via NRT). I'm scheduled to fly up to SFO for the second (777) flight to NRT. I added that extra leg to increase my chances for a bump.... Since the LAX-SFO flights are pretty open, I'm thinking of just changing my flight to the LAX-NRT 747 instead. I'm just wondering how often anybody gets bumped between LAX-SFO.... Should I just fly out of LAX instead?
Thanks Lovely FTers! ^

fastair

Everyone values their own time/comfort differently. My opinion is to add to your time and discomfort for a slim chance to get a relativly low compensation is not a good investment.

If the probability was high, or the cost was great then UA would sell less seats, but they don't. I don't send in the Publisher's Clearinghouse either as I think the time it takes times the unit cost of my time, divided by my chances do not make it a profitable experience.

But then, I put a high value on my rest and relaxation time, and you may not. Do a cost-benefit analysis and come up with your own value. Factor in the cost of missing your trans-pac flight, if you DO end up getting bumped and something then goes wrong and you can't get there in time.

Bumps are great when they happen, and even better on non-connecting flights where all the costs to you are visable and quantifiable. Connecting chances and costs are often unexpected, so I would say do what is best for you, without trying to profiteer on UA or any other carrier.

dmodemd

... and sometimes you just get lucky

Paella747

Totally agree with everything.... It's just that my schedule is totally flexible as I really don't need to be home (Seoul) for several weeks, so I just thought I'd take the most bump-prone route.... I've had quite a bit of fun and met some pretty cool people while at bump hotels and such..... Was looking more for the "I've gotten bumped several times on that route" response....

"Do a cost-benefit analysis and come up with your own value. Factor in the cost of missing your trans-pac flight..."

Ok, now that would take too much time away from my rest & relaxation time!

JohnnyP

FWIW, I've never been bumped on those routes. Fly it every few months.

Paella747

Thank you JohnnyP! ^

rar indeed

I've only encountered one full plane on this route this year out of >10, and that was due to mass cancellations.

goalie

back in arpil of this year i took a bump lax-sfo. it happened to be the last flight of the day (er, night) and the a/c was downsized from a 319 to a 37. i took travel vouchers, hotel and a meal voucher but be aware of ua meal vouchers at lax.....

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=558634

Cap'n Adventure

Never been bumped on LAX-SFO, even for a zeroed-out aircraft in which the GA had me wait to board at the very end in case they needed me to VDB.

Same type of experiences on zeroed-out aircraft LAX-OAK.

Nelumbo

I am planning to redeem a Y savers award which could includes a segment from SFO to LAX on Sunday evening and connecting LAX-BOS in the holiday season. I could also choose the direct redeye SFO-BOS instead. Since it is an award ticket, there is no concern of mileage accrual. I would like to ask veteran FTers familiar with the routes, which routing could more likely to score a bump?

Thanks!

SJC1K

I fly this route round-trip at least once a month, and I get bumped three or four times a year. Sometimes, like the day before Thanksgiving, I deliberately book the next-to-last flight of the day (the last flight, at around 10:30 p.m., is usually less heavily booked) but keep my schedule clear for the rest of the evening and the first part of the next morning.

I'm 1KMM, though, so I am usually at the top of the priority queue either to stand by if I want to get on a flight or to get bumped if I don't. Twice I've even done both--stood by on an earlier flight, gotten confirmed, had another flight cancel resulting in offering VDB, and gotten bumped back to my original flight. Now that's sweet!

DarF2001

The other thing to consider is most GA won't let you sign up to VDB on the domestic portion if it adds a significant risk of missing your international connection. I hate to admit it, but this is the one place I'd accuse UA of invoking common sense. Even if my status would cause me to rank high on the VDB list, they are going to take the Pa Kettle getting off at SFO over me. It sucks but it is the logical thing to do.

That last thing UA wants to do is bump a 1K and then have the next flight misconnect (especially for mech). That pushes them into a grey area of "whose fault is it", and the tough choice of picking up a hotel room and finding space on the next flight or having a disgrunted 1K. (There are plenty of DYKWIA's out there that would expect a VDB cert AND misconnect comp). They are much better off leaving me slightly disappointed I'll have to wait a week for my next opportunity to get a free flight, and have some Kettle overjoyed at $200 e-cert they'll probably won't be able to figure out how to redeem.

afrugal1

Affirmative. ^

frankmu

I got lucky this 4th of July weekend. When I asked about seating for my kids, I found out the first flight of the day went mechanical. GA's were sweating it out, and took up my offer for volunteers. Got 4x$400 vouchers for the family (paid for the whole trip to Legoland), and F (together) to PDX.

I realize I was very lucky, right place at the right time. I have to thank FT for the "speech"!

docbert

What class are you in, and what status are you?

If you're in business or first, take the 747 - no question about it.

If you're in economy, have a look at the seat maps for the xxx-NRT leg and see how full they are. Seat maps aren't a great indicator, but if one is 90% full and the other is 25% full, take whatever the 25% full one is.

Otherwise it's really a coin-flip. Going via SFO will give you a few extra miles, and give you your own TV on the 777, but your odds of a bump are, at best, low - especially if you don't have a nice long connection as (as others have said) they won't bump you if it risks your international connection.