This is for the sole purpose of getting free airfare... My husband has a flight from Jacksonville, FL tomorrow (Christmas Eve) to Ontario, CA (a smaller airport outdside of LA), returning December 29th. We paid 380.00 round-trip (a steal in IMO). I was wondering, since this a busy time, and the flights are more than likely overbooked, what is the best way to get voluntarily bumped with benefits? Thanks in advance, you guys are the greatest!
2006-12-23 16:02:59 · 4 answers · asked by 123 2 in Travel ➔ Air Travel
If a flight is full, they must ask for volunteers. They also must give the person bumped something (free ticket). Before you volunteer make sure you can be "confirmed" on another flight. Since it is busy, there might not be another flight with available space for a while (next day). I believe they must put you in a hotel if they can't get you on a flight - but I'm not positive on that one. Check www.dot.gov for specifics.
2006-12-23 17:26:46 · answer #1 · answered by apuleuis 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's no "best" way; just make sure you are at the gate about 30 minutes before the flight. If it is overbooked, that's when they'll make the announcement asking for volunteers. They usually say how many seats they are short; don't be the first to volunteer unless they are only looking for one seat. They get a lot more generous when they have 3-5 seats or more they need to come up with and not enough volunteers. If it's only one or two seats they're looking for, they won't be quite as generous.
2006-12-23 16:05:04 · answer #2 · answered by dcgirl 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Stay near your gate for the flight. Usually, they'll announce if they need volunteers to get bumped off the flight. But be quick though! Alot of people volunteer to do so. My sister got bumped off North West airlines. They gave her $300 and a business class seat on the next available flight (which was about 45 mins later). She volunteered again for American Airlines from JFK to LAX, they didn't give her any money but they did give her a first class seat on the next flight. The best that she got so far was from North West JFK to Toronto, $500 plus business class on the next flight.
2006-12-23 18:12:18 · answer #3 · answered by sansa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes. Just don't check in until the last minute. Often they will ask for volunteers to be bumped - be ready to volunteer. You can usually get on the next flight, plus a free ticket to use later. Worst case is they put you up in a hotel and you fly the next day (still with extra free ticket).
2006-12-23 16:06:12 · answer #4 · answered by Liter Biker 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋