VDB priority and MP status
 

Does anybody know whether or not MP status has anything to do with VDB (Voluntary Denied Boarding) priority? Does status trump the time when somebody was put onto the VDB list? Just curious...

[This message has been edited by ahbuhjee (edited 06-17-2001).]

what is the VDB list?

VDB = Voluntary Denied Boarding?????

thank you ahbuhjee and chix. (After the editing) of the initial post - now I know.

But I guess (never tried to get denied for boarding myself) this is probably just the opposit. If those with high status don't 'intervene' they will be much less likely to be denied boarding.

[This message has been edited by Rudi (edited 06-17-2001).]

Based on my personal experience and feedback from a couple of gate agents - if you ask to be placed on the VDB list, it will be granted based on status - with higher status being granted first.

As a 1K, I always am offered VDB when I put myself on the list.

Mark

I also have experienced being voluntary bumped ahead of less status, despite volunteering late. I wonder if it is automated as part of DM or simply discretionary on the part of the gate agent. I remember being told by AA it was their formal policy to choose bumpees by status. CO gate agents have told me that bumpees are selected solely by time of volunteering.

I have noticed that when you try for the VDB, and you get a blue card it means that you have been put in the DM for VDB. Once you hit the DM it would be listed by MP Status.

If you don't get the blue card, then it is just by the gate agents whim.

It probably also has something to do with what your final destination is and whether you have bags checked.

I think the gate agent does have a lot of discretion. I was on the list to be bumped out of Oakland a few weeks back on the way to Denver, but they were only interested in taking volunteers that were terminating at Denver (I was connecting to another domestic flight). There were other flight options to get me to my final destination (the gate agent checked just in case they might use me), but they didn't use me in this case.

As a 1K, I've gone ahead on the VDB when I have volunteered, so I made the assumption that the computer list uses status like other DM lists. Agents definitely have discretion in using the list, particularly if you are making connections and they would rather take non stop passengers.

Sometimes it works in reverse, though. I volunteered from BNA to ORD (connecting to LAX) and it was much easier to get me from BNA to LAX on AA through DFW than to get the passengers looking to travel to ORD because all the other services to ORD were oversold.

My favorite experience was being thanked for giving up my seat by the confirmed passenger who was last to board, as I was collecting my travel certificates, lunch, and taxi voucher. Everybody left happy.

Charles

When I was on the VDB list on ORD-EZE back in May, I asked if my Premier status would escalate me on the list, and I was told no. But the agent said that she would keep me in mind, and I got the bump.

So it is still a mystery whether it is status or time placed on the VDB list.

My experience is that gate agents sometimes take volunteers without seat assignments, before clearing volunteers from the VDB list. Finally, party size also has a big impact and has caused me to miss out on a few bumps.

Still, I am not complaining. I think the best approach is to not bother the gate agent, except perhaps one gentle reminder if you are placed on the VDB list at the ticket counter.

Also a similar question....does anyone know what criteria agents use for creating a VDB list? It is routine for a flight to be booked > capacity, and it won't be known til the 20 minute cutoff whether there aren't enough seats. So what is the threshold for predicting an oversale? (Flying out of hubs this applies much less, because most people have checked in much earlier.)

A possible oversell is whenever booked passengers exceed capacity. It is oversold when checked-in passengers exceed capacity. It is not defined by time before departure.

Airline often oversell since people tend to cancel.

I often volunteer to be bumped. At United, it definitely goes by your status. There could be a dozen people on the list when I get to the gate, but once I am put on the list they always say that I am on the top of the list since I am a 1K. I have looked at the VDB list also on the computer and see that it goes by status, and if one has equal status then it goes by the fare basis. At American, where I am a Platinum, it goes on a first-come, first-served basis. There is no benefit to being a Platinum or Gold on AA with respect to bumps (unfortunately).

I don't think it is enforced by status. it depends on the agent. I've had agents refusing to put me on the VDB list because I was taking a connection regardless of 1K status.

My experience is that it that I get priority (as a Premier Exec) when I volunteer to get bumped. In fact, at OAK, the airport from which I start most of my trips, they'll occasionally even bump and compensate me right when I volunteer, before they announce that they're lookingn for volunteers.
Whether my trip continues past the first city, for example OAK-ORD-CLE, doesn't seem to influence whether or not I get bumped on the OAK-ORD segment.