No matter how much you fly, there are always some days that make you step back and say “wow.” Well, for me that was yesterday. As I posted about, I took a bump (voluntarily) on my IAD to JFK flight because it was weight restricted. There were two other people that were involuntarily denied boarding.…
Continue reading: Commotion, Consensus, Confusion, and Cops: The story of my IAD-JFK United Express Flight
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
You like flying because these are the wonderful moments that make it memorable. Stressful, yes, but, in retrospect brilliant, meaningful, and there exists no better way to learn about the limits of humanity's emotion when trapped in an RJ in a ground hold.
Very strange things seem to be happening.
1) Why bump a Premier & a GS pax off of a flight versus non status pax, that makes the most sense. Hell, bumping a GS pax is insane. WHY!
2) Sounds like the Mesa FA screwed things up to say the least. Why tell the captain to go back to the gate just when they have been released?
@ Gray -- Very true, but as the day kept getting worse and worse, I was near the point of just saying "f___ it, I'm going home." Of course I did come to my senses, and in retrospect it was quite the day.
@ Chris -- The Premier and Global Services passengers were the two without assigned seats, so I guess the gate agent found it easiest to bump them. The Global Services had just booked a ticket that morning, so probably had the most expensive ticket aboard!
As far as going to the gate goes, I think it was a series of miscommunications between the flight attendant and the pilots (and the flight attendant just trying too hard).
Since you sat next to the IDBs, did you get to ask them how they were compensated? I'm always curious whether United hands over the cash to IDBs, especially when the pax might not know the rules.
I saw as they were both IDB'ed, and they each received a free ticket voucher, which is the same as a VDB.
Hmmm... was is a choice by the passengers? If not, that's the wrong compensation, correct? Do you ever have the urge to chime in at tinmes like that?
That's what they were offered. Technically they could be offered a certain percentage of their ticket price back, but I'm not sure how that's calculated. Oftentimes it will be less than the value of a free ticket, though, so I don't typically mention anything ot them.
I have once witnessed a passenger being IDB'ed and they weren't offered a free ticket or any other form of compensation. In that case I spoke up.
Wait a minute: you claim you have a tight connection but get your self voluntarily bumped? Doesn't make any sense to me!