Getting Bumped from a Flight - use the tips and strategies outlined below for giving up your airline ticket at a profit.

Here is how to turn getting bumped from a flight into an opportunity for discount travel.

Airlines deliberately overbook seats because experience has shown that not all passengers will actually show up for departure. The airlines know that the cost of an unfilled seat is more expensive than the cost of having to compensate an extra passenger for which there is no seat.

Compensation not only includes a voucher for a free flight but extras as well.

Flights More Likely to be Overbooked

• Flights departing on a Friday afternoon or Sunday evening.

• Business routes

• Flights leaving just before or after a major holiday.

• Non-stop flights to foreign countries.



Tips for Getting Bumped from Your Flight

1) Phone ahead and ask if you flight is overbooked. If so, plan ahead. Consider how you will pass the time waiting for the next flight.

2) Review what others have received as compensation for being bumped from the same flight. Note that compensation for being bumped from a flight that originates outside the U.S. is at the discretion of the airline.

3) Get checked in at the airport and have a seat assigned to you.

4) Tell the attendant at the departure gate that you are prepared to be bumped if the opportunity arises.

If the opportunity arises for you to be bumped from your flight, only relinquish your seat if you will have a confirmed seat on that airline’s next flight to your destination. If you fail to do this you may be flying standby.

If you do not receive such a guarantee, mention Rule 240 to the attendant at the departure gate (this only applies to flights originating in the U.S.) and you will be guaranteed a flight on another airline. Don’t worry if you don’t know what Rule 240 actually is – all airline employees do.

If you want to minimize the possibility of getting bumped from a flight, get “checked in” at the airport,have a seat assigned to you and ignore Step 4) above.

Compensation for Being Bumped

You receive no compensation if your flight is canceled.

If you have not been “checked in” and do not have an assigned seat you will receive no compensation other than the flight to your destination.

If you have been “checked in” with an assigned seat, you should receive a voucher for a second free flight.

The first thing to do when you receive your voucher is to learn what restrictions, if any, are attached to it. Ask the ticket agent these questions:

1) Is the voucher good for a round-trip ticket?

2) Does the voucher expire at some point in time? When? Note: they usually expire 12 months after they are issued.

3) Can the expiry date be extended?

4) Can the voucher be used for an international flight?

What You Ideally Want in a Voucher

1) Unrestricted use

2) That it is not for standby travel only

3) There is no expiry date

4) No blackout dates

5) Redeeming the voucher is not limited to that one airline only – it can be redeemed through a travel agent or a ticket seller as well.

If the voucher is about to expire, book a flight with a future date assigned to it – if the date doesn’t work for you, request a change and pay a small fee if possible.

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