flight bumped

[ekelly4200]

As some of you may have read before I have never flown before. We will be flying down to MCO the day before our cruise. I have been watching "airline' on A&E to learn some of the goings on.(I like to be VERY prepared and know all possible problems that can arise) I have seen where people get bumped on over booked flights. Is there anyway to avoid this? is it first come first serve and last on line gets bumped if the need arises? Or is there some sort of system on who gets bumped?

 

[TheWog]

They will usually make an announcement and ask you to come to the desk. There they will offer you a later flight that day and free airline tickets for future use. It's an incentive to get you to give up your seat. If you are flying Southwest, get the A or B code for boarding. A allows you to get on board first and select your seats. If you are there early enough you should be fine.

 

[happyrebster]

Agreed. The best protection is arriving at the airport as early as possible. If you are one of the first 40 or 50 folks to check in, you will not be bumped. If you show up just before the flight, however, they might tell you that the flight is too full and that they can't guarantee you a seat until they have some volunteers willing to give up their place.

 

[traycie2201]

Do they ever do this on internal flights , we are flying from the Uk to Chicago then with an american airline from Chicago to Mco , could it happen on our us portion of the flight ??

 

[traycie2201]

Hi do they ever do this on internal flights ? we are flying from the UK to chicago then joining an american airline from Chicago to MCO ?

 

[TheWog]

Once you get in the new flight pretty much becomes its own flight. So yes, it is possible, but not likely. I wouldn't worry about that too much.

 

[CAMICKEY]

If they try to bump yu, I would recommend you let them know you are on the way to a cruise and it is leaving that day. I would not worry though about getting bumped without voluntering, as normally there are many people who do not mind getting bumped and volunteer just to get the "bump" benefits. Enjoy your cruise. - Mike

 

[Rence]

I believe it can happen on any flight. Virutally every airline overbooks flights. There is a certain percentage of folks who no-show for any given flight so the airlines overbook to accomodate for this. However, on occasion, more folks show up then expected.

Now virtually all airlines overbook, but this does not mean that all flights are overbooked.

When they are in a situation where they may need to bump someone they start by asking for volunteers. They offer the volunteers flight vouchers etc. The amount offered depends on how long the person bumped will need to wait for their next flight. Typically if they do not get volunteers, they up the offer a bit.

I know folks who deliberately try to book on overbooked flights in the hopes of getting one of these vouchers.

If you hear the request go out for volunteers it does not mean that anyone will get bumped.

First they ask for volunteers when they think that they may be overbooked. If a person volunteers, they will only get bumped (and get the voucher) if the plane turns out to be overfull. At this point there is still a possibility that some passengers will no show and everyone will still board. I have been on flights where they have asked for volunteers and we ended up flying out with ten or so empty seats.

If the plane does turn out to be overfull, frequently they will get enough volunteers so that no one is forced off of the plane. Obviously the airlines prefer volunteers rather than forcing someone off the plane, it is just better public relations.

I do not know the exact method that they use to determine who gets bumped but I would believe that the following would help:

Book airfare in advance and get an assigned seat.

Arrive early and check in at the gate. If you want to grab a bite to eat, check in first and then go get something to eat.

I believe that they would try not to bump someone who is in making a connection. They try not to strand folks in the middle of a connecting flight.

People who are flying on an airline employee voucher or flying standby and bumped before anyone else.

 

[traycie2201]

We're lucky enough to be staying a week in wdw before joining the cruise so actually wouldn't mind being bumped if it was beneficial and would help others who did need to be on a specific flight.

 

[Sarah'sMomfrom PA]

We actually volunteered to be bumped when we left for our cruise in October--we were flying down on a Thursday night and going to spend Friday at one of the parks and on the connecting flight in Pittsburgh, they were begging for volunteers (they were 36 people over)--we volunteered and they offered us 3 round trip tickets (one for each of us) to anywhere US Airways flys and they offered to either put us up in a hotel and we would definitely fly out the next morning or to take a flight to Tampa instead (which left 20 minutes after our original flight) and they flew us first class and had a stretch limo waiting to take us to Orlando/MCO to get our luggage. We opted for the Tampa flight since our luggage was already on the Orlando flight and we wouldn't have any clothes for an overnight stay.

We are flying to Denver, Colorado this August on the tickets and spending two weeks in Colorado and Utah on US Airways!!

 

[bassoongirl]

For our cruise this past February, we volunteered to get bumped off our flight from Detroit to Orlando. We were flying to Orlando the Friday before our cruise and figured it would be worth free airline tickets to take a later flight to Tampa with free ground transportation to Orlando. The whole thing worked out really well because we got on a flight to Tampa leaving before our Orlando flight, we were seated in First Class (a first for my family!) and we now have free tickets to Orlando for our second DCL cruise next February! It only cost us about two hours of extra travel time! I am a big fan of volunteer bumping!!

Gayl

 

[traycie2201]

Yeay, wouldn't it be great to get a bump and a dcl upgrade.
If i wish hard enough maybe

 

[ivanova]

I think I know which AIRLINE episode you watched that led you to this question In that episode several DOZEN people were involuntarily bumped from a flight (HUGE glitch in SWA booking system I think), and several of them DID miss a cruise they were supposed to be on that afternoon.

I'm just paranoid enough to fly in the day before.

 

[TheWog]

I like that show.....

 

[ekelly4200]

Originally posted by ivanova
I think I know which AIRLINE episode you watched that led you to this question In that episode several DOZEN people were involuntarily bumped from a flight (HUGE glitch in SWA booking system I think), and several of them DID miss a cruise they were supposed to be on that afternoon.

I'm just paranoid enough to fly in the day before.

Yep that is the episode!! First time I saw the show also. Now set up on my TIVO to record all episodes lol

 

[Hygiene99]

We always book a day early just in case then if we like the bump thing they are offering we take it..

We got $840 from Southwest that could be spent on airfare..
that was on the way home.... and the flight was 1 hour later...


that is 4 round trip tickets to Florida....

 

[PURTYPAT1]

YOU CAN SEE IF YOUR FLIGHT IS "FULL" BY GOING TO THE AIRLINE
WEBSITE & GO TO RESERVATIONS, GO TO SEAT BOOKING & IT SHOULD
SHOW YOUR PLANE & THE SEATS THAT ARE TAKING.

MY DD & MYSELF GO TO DISNEY EVERY YEAR DURING PRESIDENT'S WEEK (FEB)IT SEEMS LIKE THIS IS PRETTY BUSY FOR THE AIRLINES.

THIS YEAR IS THE SECOND YEAR THAT MY DD & MYSELF HAS GIVEN UP OUR SEATS. LAST YEAR, WE HAD GOTTEN TWO FREE TICKETS, & THE NEXT DIRECT FLIGHT OUT. OUR ORIGINAL FLIGHT WE HAD A STOP OVER, SO IT WAS BETTER FOR US, & WE GOT TO ORLANDO EARLIER THAN PLANNED.

THIS YEAR WAS "THE BEST," I PURPOSELY BOOKED THE LAST FLIGHT OUT & WAS IN NO HURRY TO GET TO ORLANDO, LATE AT NIGHT. DIDN'T MIND IF WE LEFT THE NEXT MORNING, EARLY INSTEAD.

BEFORE HAND, I EXPLAINED TO MY DD (9 YRS) THAT IF SHE GIVES UP HER SEAT
THEN WE CAN GO TO DISNEY WORLD THE FOLLOWING YEAR. SHE CAME PREPARED WITH HER GAMEBOY, & WAS HAPPY.

SURE ENOUGH THEY ASKED FOR VOLUNTEERS. THEY NEEDED 16 ALL TOGETHER. ONLY DD & MYSELF VOLUNTEERED.

WITH THE FIRST MORNING FLIGHT OUT, THEY OFFERED A 5* HOTEL ROOM, DINNER, BREAKFAST THE NEXT MORNING, & BUS, TO & FROM THE AIRPORT. PLUS 200.00 EACH IN AIR MONEY.

AFTER MANY ANNOUNCEMENTS, THEY FINALLY GOT ALL 16 PEOPLE, BUT UPPED THE MONEY TO 400.00 A PERSON PLUS ALL ABOVE. IT WAS A FUN ADVENTURE, THAT WE LOVED. EXCEPT, MY DD WANTED TO EAT ALL THE THINGS IN THE FRIDGE THAT WAS $$$$ (3.00 HERSHEY BAR) LOL

WE WERE ~WINDED DINED & PAMPHERED~

MY DD & MYSELF ARE GOING ON OUR FIRST DCL IN NOV 04 & BACK TO DISNEY WORLD NEXT FEB. 05 WITH OUR FREE TICKETS.

I HAVE BEEN CHECKING MY FLIGHT HOME FOR NOV. & IT SEEMS LIKE THERE ARE ONLY 4 OPEN SEATS TO COME BACK. IF THEY ASK FOR VOLUNTEERS (BUMPED)TO COME BACK HOME, YOU BET MY DD & MYSELF WILL BE UP THERE.

"OPERATION DISNEY"

 

[prymsu]

If it were me flying in a day ahead of time, as long as I didn't have some big plans for right after arrival i would jump at the chance to be bumped. It is usually a good deal, and you can get free or almost free airfare vouchers for your next cruise!

 

[dtuleya]

How can you check your flight? I'm flying USAir and can't find a place to see how full the flight is.

 

[prymsu]

one way would be to go to their website, and act like you are doing an online reservation and put in your flight numbers or times and see if there are still seats available.