With the recent United Airlines debacle, overbooking of flights has suddenly become newsworthy. Some people are crying that overbooking should be illegal, while the airlines are saying that they can’t keep fares as low as they are without overbooking flights.
However you feel about overbooking, it looks like that practice is going to be here to stay. So what do you do if you want to avoid getting bumped from a flight—or for that matter, if you want to strategically plan for the best return on getting bumped? We’ve got some answers for you.
Let’s start with information for travelers who would prefer not to get bumped from an overbooked flight.
The first and most important thing you should do to keep yourself from being denied a seat is to check in as early as possible. You can do this by arriving at the airport well before your flight—which is often a necessity in this era of long wait times at the security checkpoint—or by checking in online before you even get there.
Typically, the last passengers to arrive at the gate are the ones who find themselves getting bumped involuntarily, so don’t be that person. But if you arrive before most of the passengers have gotten to the gate, the odds that you’ll get on your flight increase dramatically.
If everybody who’s reserved a seat on the flight actually shows up and there are more passengers than seats, the gate agents will ask for volunteers to take later flights.
If you are interested in voluntarily getting bumped from an overbooked flight, here are a few things to keep in mind.
First of all, you still want to get to the gate early. If you arrive late, you’ll get bumped and you won’t get anything like a flight voucher because your late arrival is seen as your fault, not the airline’s. When you arrive at the gate, let the agents know you’re a willing volunteer, and then stick around in case they need to take you up on your offer. Don’t hassle them, though; it’s a truism that the degree to which you’re a hassle has a big influence on the service you get. As the old saying goes, you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.
Before you decide to volunteer, though, you’ll want to find out what the payoff for volunteering to get bumped from your flight is. Can you get cash rather than a flight voucher? If not, are there any time limits or other limitations on the flight voucher’s use? Is the alternate flight also overbooked, or do you have a confirmed (non-standby) reservation on that flight?
Don’t be afraid to ask for extras: It’s the airline’s fault for overbooking your flight, so you deserve to be compensated fairly for your inconvenience. One time I volunteered to get bumped from an overbooked flight and I got an upgrade to first class on my alternate flight. On another occasion, the alternate flight left early the next day, and it wasn’t practical for me to drive three hours back home and then three hours back to the airport in the wee hours of the morning, so I asked (politely, mind you!) for a hotel voucher. I got one.
Have you ever volunteered to get bumped from an overbooked flight? How did it work out for you? Share your stories in the comments!