Airlines - ever been bumped?
Discussion
By "bumped" I mean told that they had overbooked and there was no room for you?
Just dropped my eldest off at Manchester and she phoned me when i was half way home to say that they had overbooked so they couldn't guarantee her a seat. Weirdly they let her go through Passport Control to the gate and she DID actually get a seat.
However i was wondering - if she had been bumped - what are the airlines obliged to provide. She has quite a few meetings lined up (in Venice today and then Switzerland and then Austra) so the knock on effect would have had a big impact
Just dropped my eldest off at Manchester and she phoned me when i was half way home to say that they had overbooked so they couldn't guarantee her a seat. Weirdly they let her go through Passport Control to the gate and she DID actually get a seat.
However i was wondering - if she had been bumped - what are the airlines obliged to provide. She has quite a few meetings lined up (in Venice today and then Switzerland and then Austra) so the knock on effect would have had a big impact
AIUI, the chain of events is
1. Flight is naturally allowed to overbook
2. Airline relies on no-shows, re-bookings and cancellations to get down to the right number (as happened with your daughter it seems)
3. Should everyone turn up, volunteers are requested to take the next flight and incentives provided if required (upgrade, cash, hotel, etc)
4. Should there be no volunteers, people are selected to take the next flight and incentivised with compo, upgrades, etc. I am not 100% of the method of selection, but I imagine they take larger groups off first so as to engineer a situation where they are dealing with 1 complaint, rather than several from individual travellers. I imagine Airline loyalty status comes into it too.
1. Flight is naturally allowed to overbook
2. Airline relies on no-shows, re-bookings and cancellations to get down to the right number (as happened with your daughter it seems)
3. Should everyone turn up, volunteers are requested to take the next flight and incentives provided if required (upgrade, cash, hotel, etc)
4. Should there be no volunteers, people are selected to take the next flight and incentivised with compo, upgrades, etc. I am not 100% of the method of selection, but I imagine they take larger groups off first so as to engineer a situation where they are dealing with 1 complaint, rather than several from individual travellers. I imagine Airline loyalty status comes into it too.
Happened to my sister in law, her husband and two children some years ago.. bumped by Virgin at Miami on the way back to UK. They got:
R.
- hotel for 1 night
- guaranteed flight the next day
- bumped up to the next class
- 4 Virgin Upper Class tickets valid for 1 year to anywhere in the World served by Virgin.
R.
Best ever was an Aer Lingus flight LHR-DUB, flight was delayed, some crew turned up in uniform, they asked for volunteers to take the next flight.
Well with delays that was less than 90mins away from the same gate. So I volunteered. I was given 125 Euro & a food voucher. I sat and worked at the gate then got priority boarding. The 125Euro went into my account so I was more than happy.
Well with delays that was less than 90mins away from the same gate. So I volunteered. I was given 125 Euro & a food voucher. I sat and worked at the gate then got priority boarding. The 125Euro went into my account so I was more than happy.
Countdown said:
Thanks Muzzer.
I wonder if turning up early reduce the chances of being bumped? She was relatively early (30 minutes after check-in opened) so i was surprised she was told that she might be bumped.
That does seem counter-intuitive. I wonder if turning up early reduce the chances of being bumped? She was relatively early (30 minutes after check-in opened) so i was surprised she was told that she might be bumped.
We were pretty late for a Virgin flight once and got asked - incentive was as another poster said, tickets anywhere on the network. I asked for PE and got a "f... off" look! They wanted to put us on an indirect flight but arrival time wasn't much later. Daughter isn't a good flyer so I said no and they looked gobsmacked. Family behiind us jumped at it.
The Leaper said:
Happened to my sister in law, her husband and two children some years ago.. bumped by Virgin at Miami on the way back to UK. They got:
R.
]- hotel for 1 night
- guaranteed flight the next day
- bumped up to the next class
- 4 Virgin Upper Class tickets valid for 1 year to anywhere in the World served by Virgin.
R.
Blimey! Very generous.
About 20 years ago when I was flying to Vegas via a non direct flight there was a message over the tannoy saving the US leg was over booked and they were looking for volunteers to get the next flight. I cannot remember how much they were offering or how long it was to the next flight, but it was an amount where I was seriously considering it, I seem to recall $100 per person per hour.
I then looked at my (now ex) wife and realised she was having none of it.
I then looked at my (now ex) wife and realised she was having none of it.
C4ME said:
Does checking in online as soon as it opens (usually 24 hours before flight) reduce the likelyhood of being bumped?
I think it does.Desk check-ins are where the issue tends to arise. And you're more likely to get bumped off if you're amongst the last to arrive.
Have had it happen to me a couple of times. Unless you're desperate to get home, it's worth accepting the situation as the benefits can sometimes be worth it. Best one for me and a colleague was returning from AbuDhabi. Waited three hours for the next one (lounge access thrown in, £250 cash and an upgrade to business!).
It’s called denied boarding.
Link to CAA compo amounts
I’ve been downgraded once and given a ridiculous amount of money by AA for the short flight. I’ve once been told we’re on standby and sent through to the lounge and then had our seats confirmed after a few other people have been upgraded to make space for us. When I was a kid we got offloaded (voluntarily) by Virgin Atlantic 3 times, twice the whole family got free flights anywhere in the world and a night in a Miami hotel, the 3rd time we go rerouted via Washington DC and given quite a substantial amount of cash. So not all that unusual. I would imagine being bumped is more to do with fare bucket and status than when you checked in, the one where we were put on standby we had cheap bucket fares and even though I tried to check in bang on 24 hours before it wouldn’t work so we must have been preselected for the peasant treatment.
Link to CAA compo amounts
I’ve been downgraded once and given a ridiculous amount of money by AA for the short flight. I’ve once been told we’re on standby and sent through to the lounge and then had our seats confirmed after a few other people have been upgraded to make space for us. When I was a kid we got offloaded (voluntarily) by Virgin Atlantic 3 times, twice the whole family got free flights anywhere in the world and a night in a Miami hotel, the 3rd time we go rerouted via Washington DC and given quite a substantial amount of cash. So not all that unusual. I would imagine being bumped is more to do with fare bucket and status than when you checked in, the one where we were put on standby we had cheap bucket fares and even though I tried to check in bang on 24 hours before it wouldn’t work so we must have been preselected for the peasant treatment.
Happened once to me, years ago.
It was a Qantas flight from London to Bangkok. They needed volunteers and no-one came forward at first, then they offered £1500 per seat, plus a seat on the next plane (following afternoon) plus hotels, lounge access, etc,
Was a great deal, Id only paid £250ish per seat return for the flights anyway and was due to be in Thailand for a month, so losing a day didn't matter at all.
I would do it again if the offer was right.
It was a Qantas flight from London to Bangkok. They needed volunteers and no-one came forward at first, then they offered £1500 per seat, plus a seat on the next plane (following afternoon) plus hotels, lounge access, etc,
Was a great deal, Id only paid £250ish per seat return for the flights anyway and was due to be in Thailand for a month, so losing a day didn't matter at all.
I would do it again if the offer was right.
Griffith4ever said:
StevieBee said:
Waited three hours for the next one (lounge access thrown in, £250 cash and an upgrade to business!).
Wow. Lounge alone would be worth three housr ;-) but cash and.... BC on top. Imma gonna start checking in late! :-[/quoteI know... BA too and normally they're like Yorkshiremen with all the generosity squeezed from them.
In fairness though, that was a bit of a blag. I have Priority Pass that gets you lounge access regardless of the class of travel but my colleague didn't so I said we'd take the deal if he could have a lounge ticket too. We'd booked into Premium Economy and I think the bump to BC was because the second flight was equally over full and was probably cheaper for them to put us there than give us another £250 and three hours of free booze and food.
Interesting stuff - sounds like it could have positive outcomes 
If Economy was overbooked surely it's far easier to push people into Premium or Business than to offer them cash incentives to stay behind? The marginal cost of somebody occupying a seat in Premium/BC.1st is going to be a lot less than £250
If Economy was overbooked surely it's far easier to push people into Premium or Business than to offer them cash incentives to stay behind? The marginal cost of somebody occupying a seat in Premium/BC.1st is going to be a lot less than £250
Countdown said:
Interesting stuff - sounds like it could have positive outcomes
If Economy was overbooked surely it's far easier to push people into Premium or Business than to offer them cash incentives to stay behind? The marginal cost of somebody occupying a seat in Premium/BC.1st is going to be a lot less than £250
They do that anyway. If you’re in economy and being bumped there are genuinely no seats left.If Economy was overbooked surely it's far easier to push people into Premium or Business than to offer them cash incentives to stay behind? The marginal cost of somebody occupying a seat in Premium/BC.1st is going to be a lot less than £250
It’s why premium economy can actually be a good purchase even if you don’t think the product itself is particularly worthwhile, it’s often full/overbooked and there’s every chance you’ll get bumped to business if you have a decent level of status. My wife got managed to get upgraded to first last year with BA, whether the business cabin was oversold or they had some seats out of action I don’t know but she was most grateful. It’s a way of turning a negative (overselling) into a positive for your loyal customers like you say.
Couple of times when I lived in Uganda - so late 1990s, early 2000s
1st with BA. I'd flown back home to the UK for Christmas on a very cheapo deal flying Christmas Eve. Returning home I got to Gatwick very early, and on checking in was told it was overbooked, would I fly via Nairobi, getting in a couple of hours after the direct Entebbe flight I was booked on. Here is £500 (I think) for your inconvenience. As the total booking was < £500, I jumped at the chance.
2nd with Kenya Airways, flying Entebbe -> Nairobi -> Cairo for a hockey tournament I was officiating in. Checked in at Entebbe, confirmed all the way through. Arrived in Nairobi, had to go to the desk to check in for the flight to Cairo. Oh sorry, we are fully booked, you will have to get the next flight - tomorrow. Apparently some diplomats had decided that they needed to get on that flight, so they were bumping people - although as I understand it, they shouldn't have tried to bump me as I was mid-journey.
Kicked up a stink, made some fairly outrageous demands as to what I required if they bumped me, and in the end, I flew 1st class on my original flight. Nothing special, apart from I did drink a lot of the free champagne.
1st with BA. I'd flown back home to the UK for Christmas on a very cheapo deal flying Christmas Eve. Returning home I got to Gatwick very early, and on checking in was told it was overbooked, would I fly via Nairobi, getting in a couple of hours after the direct Entebbe flight I was booked on. Here is £500 (I think) for your inconvenience. As the total booking was < £500, I jumped at the chance.
2nd with Kenya Airways, flying Entebbe -> Nairobi -> Cairo for a hockey tournament I was officiating in. Checked in at Entebbe, confirmed all the way through. Arrived in Nairobi, had to go to the desk to check in for the flight to Cairo. Oh sorry, we are fully booked, you will have to get the next flight - tomorrow. Apparently some diplomats had decided that they needed to get on that flight, so they were bumping people - although as I understand it, they shouldn't have tried to bump me as I was mid-journey.
Kicked up a stink, made some fairly outrageous demands as to what I required if they bumped me, and in the end, I flew 1st class on my original flight. Nothing special, apart from I did drink a lot of the free champagne.
And from the other side of the coin........
Once had a flight from Denver to Chicago and then a connection to Heathrow with AA
We left our hotel early as Im paranoid however there was a disappointing lack of staff on the desks for passengers with bags to check in leading to huge delay despite arriving in good time
Consequently we arrived at the gate just as boarding had commenced and were told our seats had been given away to standby passengers with a 'boo yarr sucks' attitude to any further assistance as to how we'd get our connecting flight
Which was stressful to say the least
Happily as we watched the gate close we were informed that our hold baggage had been loaded by mistake and it was easier for them to board us than go through the whole manifest to find our cases and throw them off.
We got quite a lot of abuse from the 2 standby pax with hand luggage who were then removed from the plane as we got on which I took to mean the airline had told them what had happened and Ive never flown with that airline again and never will.
Cheers
Got bumped off a BA flight from Nice to Gatwick in 2016 promptly put on the very soon departing flight to Heathrow with a £250 pre paid credit card. Free transfer to Gatwick on arrival added bonus was bumping into Robb Gravett, Sarah Greene and Eddie Jordan queuing for the Heathrow flight.
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