Good News - You Probably Won't be Bumped if Flying United

We were booked on Continental by Celebrity for an Hawaiian cruise. The day we flew from LHR, was the day that the amalgation with United took place. It meant that we were unable to check in on line the previous day and there was a huge queue when we were at check in on the following day.

It was NOT our option to choose to fly United.

Fortunately, our flight arrived into LA on time.

 

Actually it was your option as you chose to book cruise airrather than booking tickets on your own.

Not only union contract but FAA crew rest requirements and hours of service.

 

The flight was not oversold, it was operational/crew planning issue.

 

The four were marked as must carry by operations, four paying passengers were not going to fly no matter what.

UA followed the passengers contract of carriage, but still enough blame to go around

 

UA not solving the issue before boarding started

Excessive use of force by Chicago Aviation Police

Passenger refusing a lawful order from Flight Crew AND then a Police Officer

 

Passenger never given the required paperwork with compensation by gate agent, therefore passenger had every right to remain in his seat until the airline employees followed their SOP and CoC.

Little sympathy for United's lack of planning.

They bank on being able to do this to their passengers.

Actually, I was looking for the results of Delta cancelling 3,00 flights last week,

and how many pax missed their cruise since all other flights were full.

Sorry for hijacking.

Where is the like button? They purposely overbook as they are counting on no shows..

We always fly in the day before. Last time I few United they were "overbooked" and needed 8 volunteers to take the next flight. They offered up to $1200 + hotel and food vouchers. I don't understand how airlines can possibly over book in today's world.

Actually, I was looking for the results of Delta cancelling 3,00 flights last week,

and how many pax missed their cruise since all other flights were full.

Sorry for hijacking.

 

Big difference between weather related cancellations and not blocking seats needed for DH crew in advance.

 

Actually as much as it was a total cluster, DL acted quite well given the circumstances. They secured seats for passengers on other carriers, brought pizza and water to the gates, handed out pillows and blankets, and really made the effort to let their passengers know that they were sorry for the inconvenience, even though it was in absolutely no way their fault.

Apparently the "upper limit" is for what an airline must be *required* to pay for involuntarily bumping someone.

I assume that this has some legal reasoning such that if they offer the "max required", they can't be sued, or something like that (?).

 

They can certainly *offer* more to entice volunteers.

And, importantly, to avoid horrendously negative publicity.

 

Whether this specific situation - passengers already in seats, not really "overbooked', just 'needing' the seats for some employees - fits criteria for involuntarily bumping... ??

 

The person I was responding to indicated that the maximum the air line could offer is $1300. Which was not correct. There is no limit to what an airline can offer.

 

What you are listing is the minimum that an airline must pay when they cannot get a passenger to their destination within 4 hours of the original scheduled flight when they are bumped. That amount is formula based and can reach 400% of the fare paid up to $1350.

 

Those are minimums that they must pay after a passenger is bumped is set by law. There is no maximum limit on what the airline can offer prior to bumping passengers. Personally, I have gotten $1600 and a bump to business class once when I took an offer for a flight from San Jose to Tokyo and delayed one day.

The person I was responding to indicated that the maximum the air line could offer is $1300. Which was not correct. There is no limit to what an airline can offer.

 

What you are listing is the minimum that an airline must pay when they cannot get a passenger to their destination within 4 hours of the original scheduled flight when they are bumped. That amount is formula based and can reach 400% of the fare paid up to $1350.

 

Those are minimums that they must pay after a passenger is bumped is set by law. There is no maximum limit on what the airline can offer prior to bumping passengers. Personally, I have gotten $1600 and a bump to business class once when I took an offer for a flight from San Jose to Tokyo and delayed one day.

 

What is your point?

 

That was my point, that there is NOT any cap on what an airline can offer.

There IS a "max" on what the airline is REQUIRED to offer if needed when someone is involuntarily bumped.

 

I stated (where you quoted me): "They can certainly *offer* more to entice volunteers."

 

 

??

there are not four jump seats upfront on a regional jet. Plus, I believe the rules have been changed that not just anyone can sit upfront, they must be able to perform cockpit duties if needed - that would disqualify the FAs.

Yep, the flight was not "oversold", but all seats were filled. The crew was on "must fly" orders so that they could get the mandatory rest time after flying from ORD before running a flight from SDF. From what I've read, Republic only had one more flight later that night and they would have not gotten the mandatory rest time. There was another flight also, but it was on another airline - maybe it was full and that airline would not ask for volunteers to allow the crew on that flight. Lots of Tuesday morning quarterbacking around...

I believe that, until the final paperwork is handed to the flight crew, you are subject to being asked to move. Someone on another website did say that the GA (or FA, I forget) did announce that they needed 4 people to leave or the flight would not take off... Those who were saying "how dare they" and "why" were offered the chance to take the VDB, but they all apparently did not want/could not do it... Some good samaritan could have stopped this by saying "I'll go", but no one did.

You can spin this any way you want, but the meme that I will remember from this is that United "puts the hospital in hospitality" :eek:

How pissed would you be if you got bumped from a plane and missed your cruise? I didn't even know this was possible. I thought they always offered more and more money until someone volunteered to give up their seat. Live and learn.

 

The first step is to try VDB... voluntarily denied boarding. They ask for volunteers, and offer compensation. The amount varies, depending on what people are willing to take and how soon the airline can reaccommodate them.

 

If no one or not enough people accept the VDB offer, it can become a case of IDB.... Involuntarily denied boarding. While rare, because usually the VDB offers goes high enough that the problem is solved there, it can and does occasionally go to IDB. Most airlines DO intentionally overbook, because statistics show a certain % of pax will no show for the flight. You may think overbooking doesn't happen because you don't see it, but it likely just means that before boarding commences, a certain number of pax have already canceled, changed their flight, no showed for check-in, or had a delay on a prior flight that will make it impossible to be there to board. Leisure travelers, who likely make up the majority of folks on CC, don't realize how often such day-of-travel changes occur, but they are quite common among business travelers who plans can change rapidly.

 

 

Not sure why the employees couldn't have ridden in the cockpit. My daughter did once when the plane she was on was full and volunteers were given the option.

Mind, it was pre 9/11.

 

First and foremost, because the cockpit doesn't have 4 jumpseats.

there are not four jump seats upfront on a regional jet. Plus, I believe the rules have been changed that not just anyone can sit upfront, they must be able to perform cockpit duties if needed - that would disqualify the FAs.

Yep, the flight was not "oversold", but all seats were filled. The crew was on "must fly" orders so that they could get the mandatory rest time after flying from ORD before running a flight from SDF. From what I've read, Republic only had one more flight later that night and they would have not gotten the mandatory rest time. There was another flight also, but it was on another airline - maybe it was full and that airline would not ask for volunteers to allow the crew on that flight. Lots of Tuesday morning quarterbacking around...

I believe that, until the final paperwork is handed to the flight crew, you are subject to being asked to move. Someone on another website did say that the GA (or FA, I forget) did announce that they needed 4 people to leave or the flight would not take off... Those who were saying "how dare they" and "why" were offered the chance to take the VDB, but they all apparently did not want/could not do it... Some good samaritan could have stopped this by saying "I'll go", but no one did.

 

Everyone has a price, and UA could have saved themselves a billion dollar headache by upping the ante. They and the police were wrong on so many levels, and Oscar is finally eating his crow and admitting it. He'll be lucky to survive this fiasco. If I were their board I'd be meeting to fire him based only on his absurd Tweet.

After this PR disaster I'd say the chances of United removing you from the plane because of overbooking is nil.

Removing you from the aircraft after you've boarded, perhaps. But that's not the same as being bumped. You can still be denied boarding because of overbooking or because there are "must fly" passengers with a higher priority than you. UA's policy change seems to me simply to be that you will now simply not get on board if you're bumped.