Flying United and getting bumped......can you help

[pyrxtc]

alright, i know I typed this out already today but.....

has anyone flown out on Inited lately?? the flight I'm booked on to come home is sold out according to the set chart but still acceptin reservations so it looks like they will be over-booked. I would love to be bumped to the next flight. I know dfferent airlines do different things if you volunteer so, does anyone know what United does?

Would I be guaranteed a seat on the next flight out or only get a seat ona plane when availability is there? there is a flight that will get me home 1/2 hr earlier than my flight that leaves 35 minutes later than my flight. I could even do the flight after that, but just want to know what kind of things they give as an incentive to get bumped? How easily does this owkr? i ahve never done it before since ther have always been kids with me but would love a ticket somewhere or something like that.

Anyone ????

 

[bavaria]

the flight is NOT overbooked just because you cannot see seats on the seating chart.

• elite members are allowed to choose a seat in Economy Plus, all others cannot
• middle seats are blocked next to Elites - ie for my flight tomorrow I am in 6C, 6B is blocked
• the last 3 rows on United flights are blocked for airport use
• on the day of arrival, usually about 50 to 40 min before flight, those with no seat assignment will be assigned seats based on what is still available
• at check in non-elites may be offered to purchase an upgrade to Economy Plus

Go to United.com and then 'flights' and put in a flight request for the same date/time. Under 'flight info' you will see how many seats are still selling in each fare bucket.

If the flight is still selling, very very low chance of it being sold out.

And I have still managed to get onto flights which were oversold by as much as 35 seats.

 

[pyrxtc]

but i WANT to volunteer to get bumped..... guess I'll just have to wait and see. but am still interested in what they have offered in the past....??

 

[bavaria]

your chances of getting bumped are low, and compensation as a non elite is also very low.

If you do want to get bumped, you need to volunteer early and stay in the gate area. For bumps which occur at the gate (VDB) you may get a $200 travel voucher and a seat on the next flight. Depending on the time of the next flight, they may offer you as low as $125

For bumps which are done on board, the voucher may go up to $500. But the vouchers have many restrictions on them.

As an elite, the compensation can be much higher.

Airlines are getting much better at managing inventory. United offers same day standby during the OLCI process. Heavily oversold flights and bumps are becoming rare - I flight United almost weekly and only recall one time when they were looking for volunteers in the past YEAR. (yet every flight is fullor pretty much full)

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

Why would you want to be bumped in the first place? I think that you have overestimated the compensation you would get and underestimated the hassle.

 

[salmoneous]

If you are interested, go up to the gate when you get there and tell them you would be interested if the need volunteers.

 

[rgf207]

May I ask what you are expecting to get from being bumped?

 

[Hannathy]

I haven't seen a free ticket in years and I rarely even see them using the volunteers lately. We were on an oversold, overbooked flight over Christmas and since we were heading home and on the last leg when they asked in the gate for volunteers we offered them up to 4 seats, if they needed any amount up to 4 we were willing and at that point they thought they were 8-12 over. well by the time we boarded they didn't need any seats so it doesn't happen too often anymore. Also be aware if they only need one seat they won't compensate the other person and they may not even let them switch flights. Be careful why they are bumping you too. If it is because flights have been screwed up because of weather and you give up your seat you may be in the airport a long time.

 

[DebbieB]

A free ticket sounds great but find out the restrictions first. Often they are the same as frequent flyer tickets and availability to use them is low.