Flying US Air... any advice for getting a bump?

Question

Soon we'll be going on vacation, flying US Air... I don't fly on planes often... I'm excited-- I want a window seat so I can look at all the stuff below.

Any suggestions on getting a bump... I'd love the free plane tickets so we can go on vacation again next year!

Any other flying advice or tips that I might like?

Answer 1

You can look the day before or the day you fly to see how the flight looks. Go to their website and log into your itinerary and select to change your seats. This will pull up the seat map and show if there are any open seats. IF there are, the flight is not oversold, so I wouldnt even worry about it. Airlines block the bulkhead row, the 2 emergency exits, the last 2 rows and sometimes 2 other rows depending on the aircraft. This helps keep seats incase of an oversale and for handicapped passengers. So, even if there are no seats to select, there are still seats available, so looking at the seat map ahead of time may not be a clear indication of how to judge your options.

When you get to the gate, you are welcome to ask the gate agent how the flights looks and offer to volunteer, they can tell you at that point if the flight looks like it is oversold or close to it. They will solicit for volunteers if need be, but if people have already stated they'd like to volunteer, usually they keep a list called the "Wish List" they will take them into consideration first.

The other poster is pretty dead on, fly during the mid-day push, those flights generally fill up more. It depends on when and where you fly and who you are flying. If its a city they have hourly flights to, its not as easilyh over sold and they will get people moved at the ticket counter sometimes if they already know the flight is oversold.

Friday and Sunday are you busiest travel days. Saturday...not so much. People are already where they are going to be for the weekend, International flights are busier Saturdays sometimes. Holidays, you can guarentee oversales as well as Spring Break, beginning of summer and back to school times especially.

There are 2 compensations, one is 100% of the remaining value of the fare but not to exceed $200 for a Voluntary Denied Boarding Comensation unless they can get you on another flight that arrives with in an hour later of your original flight. If they can not get you on a flight with in 4 hrs, you are entitled to 200% of the remaining fare but not to exceed $400.

There are people who live on bumps and volunteer almost every time, so definately check in at the gate. And you dont get free plane tickets, you get a voucher that you can use toward the purhcase of another ticket and sometimes the tickets are more or less than the vouchers offered. If the fare is less, there is no remaining value left in the difference, you just lose the balance, so keep that in mind too. The vouchers are good for a year from the date of issue.

Try to get the exit row, more leg room. As long as you meet the requirements...you must be over the age of 15, willing and able to assist should there be an emergency evacuation, able to lift atleast 40lb (the weight of the aircraft door), if you are a person of size, you can not sit in the exit row if you require a seat belt extension and you can not be traveling with children. Those are the best seats. Make sure you get the 2nd row of seats in the exit row, the first row does not recline, or has a "limited recline". BUT the wing blocks your view.

Unless you used a travel website, you can select your seats ahead of time on their website. Some sites do allow you to select your seats...but just keep in mind, pre-selected seats are only a request...not a guarentee.

Good luck and enjoy your trip.

Answer 2

Trying to get a bump involves a few things.

1. Where you are going - Cities that have many flights such as chicago to new york will have many flights so airlines are going to be less likely to bump people early in the day.
2. When you are going as far as time of year - Summer months, spring break and holidays are busiest times of year. The rest of the year is generally quiet.
3. Time of day you book your ticket - Mid day to early evening is the busiest times especially on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Morning to miday are busiest on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. Tuesdays thru Thursday are generally quiet except for holidays.
4. Airline - Each airline has different policies but in general it's based on a volunteer basis
5. Passenger load - In order for an airline to bump people, the plane must be oversold for that flight. This does not include anybody who is standing by for the flight. Airlines routinely oversell flights because most times, a few won't show up for the flight on time.

So, here's your best bet. If your flying during the off peak times, you will have a far less chance of having the chance to get bumped.

Fly on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday for your departure. Choose a midday flight. This may cost more than early morning or evening flights. This is because most people like to fly during the day. Other than that, you won't know until the day or two before travel. Can you check on the airlines website for how many seats are left and if there are none, then you might have a chance. Otherwise, you probably won't get the chance.

Unless you fly all the time, it's hard to judge which flights will probably be overbooked. I do fly all the time and it doesn't pan out most of the time.

Answer 3

there is some down falls like u r taking off in the plane and it start to have some turbulence u may thank the plane is going to crash but it isn't going to but the only way u are going to now anything about flying in a plane is to try it out your self once to see if u like it or not

Answer 4

take the fluff, take the bump.. get a hotel

works out better.. think about it..


300 + dollar ticket to use later!