Tomorrow morning my brother is flying from EWR to TPA via CLT in first class as the last part of his Egypt award ticket. Both the EWR-CLT segment and CLT-TPA segments are no longer selling seats in either coach or first class, so I guess the flights are pretty darn full, given the weather along with the time of year.
I would be surprised if he makes it to TPA on his scheduled flights since the weather could very well cause a misconnect. The question going through my head is whether or not he should go for a bump. While USAir vouchers aren’t all that lucrative, they’re at least some form of “currency,” and I always think that something is better than nothing.
Is it worth it, though? I know this is more of a case of playing it by ear, but should he even consider it? While I’m typically all for bumping, I’m leaning towards no in this situation, given that he has a first class seat and that any reroute could be costly (time wise).
Thoughts?
I personally wouldn’t go for the bump. I had a similar situation this morning for my DL nonstop from BOS to RSW. They were looking for volunteers, however, the alternatives were not promising. Combine the weather with US Air’s terrible compensation options and I’d say it is a definite no-go.
Oh, I also got to try out the Delta Crown Room Club this morning at BOS. In short, it puts the RCC to shame. I was astonished at the difference and don’t see any way in which UA is competitive. How did I get in you are wondering? I showed up with my F boarding pass and played dumb… I guess they were in the Christmas mode because they let me through. 🙂
After such a long flight, the best thing to do is to get home. Airlines may also be less likely to offer compensation to travellers on award tickets anyways, so the best thing to do is to go home.
Thanks guys. I’m happy to report that my brother made it home nearly on time, despite the flight before his being cancelled EWR-CLT. Apparently no volunteers were needed either, so there was no tough decision to make. Either way, I advised him against the bump.