Voluntary denied boarding compensation in the US?
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Voluntary denied boarding compensation in the US?
On many internal flights I've taken in the US, offers for compensation to take a later flight have been made at the gate. I fully understand how overboooking works and is vital to the industry, but the sums offered do seem rather large.
My question is, as a UK traveller on a cheap apex ticket, am I likely to be able to benefit from this? It's never made clear if the compensation (often $200 or more
) is paid in cash, refunded to a credit card, or given as credit for future flights with that airline only. It would be very nice to get a large wad of dollar bills in my sweaty palm (as well as the obligatory first class upgrade, of course), but somehow I can't help thinking there must be a catch. (You know the saying - "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is"). After all, the compensation is often more than I paid for my entire transatlantic/connecting ticket - and the delay is usually no more than 3 or 4 hours until the next flight.
There often seems to be a rush of people charging to the "podium", but on occasion, I've heard the offer upped in a kind of "bidding war" until somebody accepted. I once had the option of accepting $200, plus first upgrade, plus free roundtrip anywhere in mainland US for missing a Delta flight from SFO to ATL, but unfortunatley I was making an international connection, so couldn't
I have seen this done actually onboard the aircraft too (I assume when a 'big cheese' goldcard holder turned up at the last minute).
Anyway, haven't been to the 'land of the free' for a while, so as a seperate question, does this still happen with the lower load factors of the last 18 months?
My question is, as a UK traveller on a cheap apex ticket, am I likely to be able to benefit from this? It's never made clear if the compensation (often $200 or more
) is paid in cash, refunded to a credit card, or given as credit for future flights with that airline only. It would be very nice to get a large wad of dollar bills in my sweaty palm (as well as the obligatory first class upgrade, of course), but somehow I can't help thinking there must be a catch. (You know the saying - "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is"). After all, the compensation is often more than I paid for my entire transatlantic/connecting ticket - and the delay is usually no more than 3 or 4 hours until the next flight.There often seems to be a rush of people charging to the "podium", but on occasion, I've heard the offer upped in a kind of "bidding war" until somebody accepted. I once had the option of accepting $200, plus first upgrade, plus free roundtrip anywhere in mainland US for missing a Delta flight from SFO to ATL, but unfortunatley I was making an international connection, so couldn't
I have seen this done actually onboard the aircraft too (I assume when a 'big cheese' goldcard holder turned up at the last minute).Anyway, haven't been to the 'land of the free' for a while, so as a seperate question, does this still happen with the lower load factors of the last 18 months?
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Hi knobbygb,
I was in Las Vegas and Phoenix in June this year and certainly in Phoenix, America West were offering Travel vouchers of $300 for people on oversld flights ( not my flights).
Also in Las Vegas especially on Sunday ( lots of people leave and the queues for security were long)-when I was arriving I notticed a lot of flights with "oversold " on the monitors so no doubt compensation would be offered for volunteers ( do not know the exact amount).
Regards
TBS
I was in Las Vegas and Phoenix in June this year and certainly in Phoenix, America West were offering Travel vouchers of $300 for people on oversld flights ( not my flights).
Also in Las Vegas especially on Sunday ( lots of people leave and the queues for security were long)-when I was arriving I notticed a lot of flights with "oversold " on the monitors so no doubt compensation would be offered for volunteers ( do not know the exact amount).
Regards
TBS
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When i was hour building and gaining my PPL in FL I went over 3 times and actually made a profit on the air fares as well as flying for free.
All 3 times on the way back I accepted changes in travel plans and was awarded more than I payed in the first place. Plus 2 nights in nice hotels.
Once I actually ended up where I wanted before I was due to get there by the planned route, and it managed to miss out Heathrow which I would have payed extra to avoid.
MJ
All 3 times on the way back I accepted changes in travel plans and was awarded more than I payed in the first place. Plus 2 nights in nice hotels.
Once I actually ended up where I wanted before I was due to get there by the planned route, and it managed to miss out Heathrow which I would have payed extra to avoid.
MJ
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Anyway, haven't been to the 'land of the free' for a while, so as a seperate question, does this still happen with the lower load factors of the last 18 months?
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Thanks for the replies.
Pretty much what I suspected really.
Mad Jock, what did you get? If you made a profit I assume you got cash/money on your credit card?
The problem with vouchers is that I suspect most people from over here book a transatlantic with internal sectors included in the price (sometimes at no extra cost). So, if I go into a travel agent here (or on the internet) - am I going to be able to use these vouchers (if and when I get any)?
what you'll get is a voucher redeemable only for air travel and only on the same airline valid for 1 year.
Mad Jock, what did you get? If you made a profit I assume you got cash/money on your credit card?
The problem with vouchers is that I suspect most people from over here book a transatlantic with internal sectors included in the price (sometimes at no extra cost). So, if I go into a travel agent here (or on the internet) - am I going to be able to use these vouchers (if and when I get any)?
Paxing All Over The World
At a guess - as long as you can present the voucher to the airline's own agent - it will be valid.
If you were planning a return trip and contacted the carrier by phone and then posted the voucher? (by recorded delivery!) The voucher would probably state that it was only redeemable against a similar sector for which it was issued i.e. a domestic sector.
If the carrier compels you to book the international sectors with them, before accepting the domestic voucher - then that would have to be in the small print of the agreement that you sign at the time you accept the compensation.
This is a guess, as I have always been unsuccessful in VDB
If you were planning a return trip and contacted the carrier by phone and then posted the voucher? (by recorded delivery!) The voucher would probably state that it was only redeemable against a similar sector for which it was issued i.e. a domestic sector.
If the carrier compels you to book the international sectors with them, before accepting the domestic voucher - then that would have to be in the small print of the agreement that you sign at the time you accept the compensation.
This is a guess, as I have always been unsuccessful in VDB
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Interestingly, it was the US that pioneered substantial compensation payments to passenters they overbook. In 1976, Ralph Nader took a case to the US Supreme Court alleging that overbooking amounted to fraudulent mispresentation. The airline concerned was ordered to pay $61 in compensation – and $50,000 in punitive damages! To avoid exposure to more claims like this, US airlines have traditionally been more generous than others in their compensation packages...
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They gave me a card thing which was valid in airport exchange banks. You just present it and they convert it to the local currency
From memory it was
2 nights in hotels
2 steak dinners
100 quid more than I payed for the tickets in the first place. I had 2*200$ and 2*300$ for the overnight stays out of 6 trips.
I always took the cheap flights which get you bounced around a wee bit adds 3-4hrs to the journey but saves 100's. And when I got the changes I always got a more direct route home.
MJ
From memory it was
2 nights in hotels
2 steak dinners
100 quid more than I payed for the tickets in the first place. I had 2*200$ and 2*300$ for the overnight stays out of 6 trips.
I always took the cheap flights which get you bounced around a wee bit adds 3-4hrs to the journey but saves 100's. And when I got the changes I always got a more direct route home.
MJ
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Just thinking laterally for a mo.....I have been VDB by bmi quite a few times. Not that it says so on the the instructions accompanying the voucher you get, but it can be redeemed against codeshares - e.g. I am using vouchers against a family trip, including IAD - MCO (with UA).
As all of the big US airlines have codeshare agreements throughout the world, might it be possible to use vouchers on these, assuming they work the same way as bmi admittedly?
As all of the big US airlines have codeshare agreements throughout the world, might it be possible to use vouchers on these, assuming they work the same way as bmi admittedly?
