Bumping strategies please!

[Carol C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carol C]

Hi...

I haven't been bumped for awhile but I'd like to try for a bump. I just noticed on one outbound flight I have reserved that their seating chart has only 4 seats left unoccupied. On my returns, there's one leg with one unassigned seat left from Miami to Atlanta on a Sunday early evening. I assume there are folks who made ressies who didn't think to ask for a seat assignment at the time. It's 737 size planes, not the biggest planes in the world.

So...when I arrive at the airport should I get to the gate asap and see if I can get on a bump waitlist if there is one? What is the best way to express my interest in a bump opportunity without looking uncool?

If there is a list and my name is called, what is the typical compensation for a coupla hour wait? Is it negotiable? It's American Airlines.

Thanks for any successful strategies you might provide me!

Edited to ask another question: hope I don't sound greedy or desperate for a bump, but hey, now I'm wondering...if I go online and wipe out my seat assignment and I'm then without a confirmed seat, will this help my chances of being bumped?

[Pat H Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pat H]

You can't go by the seat map. It means absolutely nothing in terms of how many seats are available. If you do not have elite status with AA, then it will not show you seats that are held for elites only, such as exit rows.

Are you checkiing in online or at the airport? If at the airport, ask the check in agent if the flight is oversold. If he says no then most likely they won't need volunteers to give up their seats. They could announce it at the gate and then you can volunteer. Compensation is usually not negotiable. All volunteers get the same. You could ask for First Class on the new flight and you might get it.

Do NOT delete your seat assignment. You might end up in a middle seat in the last row. It's not going to help you get a bump.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

Hi, Carol--

Google the subject and see what you find. I just recently read an article about this...can't remember if it was in Budget Travel (good magazine!) or online at FlyerTalk. A couple of things I remember are to dress nicely (so you look more like a business traveler rather than a vacation traveler) and chat up the person at the desk a bit, act friendly and flexible, and volunteer that you would be interested in being bumped. You should be on the airline's frequent flyer program, too. Talk about how you fly all the time and take lots of vacations and schmooze the clerk up, say how much you appreciate the hard work they do under so much pressure, blah blah blah. If you have "elite" status, be sure to mention that. Similar strategy to getting upgraded--although for that I read that you should bring little gifts for the desk clerk!!! (Too weird for me!)

My MIL is a travel agent and in the old days she said always ask and then STAY NEAR THE DESK. When they call for bumps, you need to be able to get there quickly.

HTH a little!

[Carol C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carol C]

Wow, thanks both of you! Great suggestions to follow to the letter!

[Faust Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Faust]

When you’re checking in, ask to start a list. Tell the person behind the center you want to be the first on that list, this helps them. It makes there job easier and they appreciate your help.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

Took a bump on Saturday from Cancun.
When we (3) arrived at the airport, they had a sign up "need volunteers"
I went up and spoke with the ATA agent - we were given a system wide round trip good for one year (they go to cancun and hawaii) transfers to and from the airport - 2 hotel rooms at the Omni with AI (no alcohol) and the same flight the next day.
When we came back on Sunday, they were looking for volunteers AGAIN, we could have gotten the same deal.
Arrived in Chicago - again looking for volunteers and we would have taken it but they couldn't guarentee a monday morning fly-out - they would put you on a Tuesday moring flight with standby for Monday.
They code share with southwest who had a monday morning flight to ISP which is 10 minutes from our job - but they would't alow us to get that flight.....and it was $197 one way.
If it were $100 or less, we would have taken the deal to get another RT ticket and flown southwest monday morning.....

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

If you think the flight may be oversold, be sure to arrive at the gate early and immediately volunteer for a bump. That puts you as far up on the list as you can get.

Be aware that the airline may not strictly take volunteers in the order received. As noted above, elite frequent flier members who volunteer will probably be processed first. In addition, if they are trying to accommodate two people flying together, they may take a bump from a group of two volunteers who have adjacent seats.

Your best chances for getting bumped are flying on popular flights on busy travel days. I have found the most "success" with flights in the late afternoon or early evening on a Friday. Years ago, I traveled from SF to Santa Ana twice per month, and I always booked a 5 pm return flight out of John Wayne. I got bumped about half the time on that flight.

***

It's also my experience that in the last several years airlines have gotten much better at load management. When I fly, the average occupancy of the plane is way up, but the frequency with which they ask for volunteers has dropped significantly.

[wackymother Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close wackymother]

I just googled "getting bumped" and there are a lot of interesting articles on the subject. One thing they said is to travel on a high-volume day, usually Friday or Monday. Try to find out when the flight will be most packed--for example we just flew the Friday night of President's Week. The airport was packed, the plane was packed, it was a madhouse. Also the articles said that in summer the planes have a tighter weight restriction because they can't get the same lift they do in winter! (Who knew?) So you are more likely to be bumped in summer than in winter!

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Also the articles said that in summer the planes have a tighter weight restriction because they can't get the same lift they do in winter! (Who knew?) So you are more likely to be bumped in summer than in winter!

OOhhh - I forget about that!!!!

Last trip to Las Vegas they asked for volunteers after the plane was boarded because they were overweight. This was on a plane that was not full, but the outside temp was over 110 deg F.

[Carol C Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carol C]

Took a bump on Saturday from Cancun.
When we (3) arrived at the airport, they had a sign up "need volunteers"
I went up and spoke with the ATA agent - we were given a system wide round trip good for one year (they go to cancun and hawaii) transfers to and from the airport - 2 hotel rooms at the Omni with AI (no alcohol) and the same flight the next day.
When we came back on Sunday, they were looking for volunteers AGAIN, we could have gotten the same deal.
Arrived in Chicago - again looking for volunteers and we would have taken it but they couldn't guarentee a monday morning fly-out - they would put you on a Tuesday moring flight with standby for Monday.
They code share with southwest who had a monday morning flight to ISP which is 10 minutes from our job - but they would't alow us to get that flight.....and it was $197 one way.
If it were $100 or less, we would have taken the deal to get another RT ticket and flown southwest monday morning.....

Lucky gal! Was it ATA you flew the whole way? If you were routed via Chicago it makes sense they were overbooked...weather has been so cold and snowy there I'm sure folks want to be in Cancun instead!

[mshatty Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close mshatty]

Also the articles said that in summer the planes have a tighter weight restriction because they can't get the same lift they do in winter! (Who knew?) So you are more likely to be bumped in summer than in winter!

In January my DD was to fly to St Louis for a college weekend during that real bad snow and ice storm. She gets into the airport, sitting at the gate, and who knows where she was mentally. They called the flight to board but the ipod headphones were probably too loud. Anyway, when she realizes that she supposed to be on the jet, it's too late, they have given her seat away.

Meanwhile, the jet is overweight. So they need 2 people to get off. My DD becomes one of them along with a guy they get off the jet. She gets $500 Continental certificate for future flight.

Of course, she calls and now we need to get her to St Louis. We book a one way flight on SW but it flys out of the other airport on the other side of the Houston. She gets there. As soon as she gets to the gate, they cancel the flight. Never made it to St Louis. But she lucked into $500.

[mjs Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close mjs]

The airline counter usually are staffed 1 hour before check-in. I usually get there before this and wait for someone to arrive and ask to be put on a list, sometimes they will ask to hold my tickets(usually have 5-6 traveling.)
I book a flight that has another flight leaving within 2 hours, I do not like to wait longer than this. Find out what they are offering before you accept, and then I make sure they can guaantee me seats on that next flight.
Mark

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

My best bump story was flying to Las Vegas from SEA the day after Christmas, 2001.

I actually didn't need to be in LV until late in the afternoon, but I had booked one of the first flights out. Alaska was looking for volunteers, so I bumped and they put me on the later morning flight. Then they started asking for volunteers on that one, so I bumped again to the early afternoon flight.

Bumps on Alaska are good for a free RT, anywhere they fly. So I got on the phone with RCI.

I had a $99 bonus week in my account, which turned out to be good at the Mayan Palace Riviera for Presidents Week - MP Riviera had just opened (in fact parts still under construction) and MP had dumped a bunch of rooms into the Spacebank.

I grabbed the room and then booked flights to Cancún for my wife and daughter. Presidents Week in Cancún for two for $99 plus international flights fees and taxes.

[Carol Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Carol]

My husband, two of our kids, and I were to fly from LaGuardia (NY) to Orlando. The counter woman announced that they needed volunteers to be bumped. I headed right away up to her, and she said we'd each get vouchers for a ticket valued up to $250. The four of us took the bump, and they put us on a plane to Orlando.......one hour after our original flight! Not bad. I LOVE getting bumped, when it's not an insane hassle.

[jackio Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close jackio]

Sigh... I am always the bridesmaid and never the bride... I do all of the above things and have never gotten a bump. Last year I had all the paperwork filled out for one and at the last minute they told us to forget it. This year the flight was overbooked and they put our names first on the list, but there were a couple of no-shows and again we didn't get it. Perhaps next year I will be the Martin Scorcese of the bump awards.