Quantcast
Browse: Home / 2008 / July / Bidding for bumps

Menu

Skip to content
Header image

Wandering ArameanLogo

Travel. More. Better.

Menu

Skip to content
  • About
    • Subscribe via Email
    • Support the site
  • Browser Extensions
  • Long-haul Routes
    • oneworld – Transatlantic Routes
    • SkyTeam – Transatlantic Routes
    • Star Alliance – Transatlantic Routes
  • Membership Account
    • Membership Billing
    • Membership Cancel
    • Membership Checkout
    • Membership Confirmation
    • Membership Invoice
    • Membership Levels
  • Plugins
    • Great Circle Mapper
    • Tag Lister
  • Trip Report Index
    • 2010
      • All I Can Jet 2010
      • Fun lines in the Pacific
      • Guyana for Labor Day 2010
      • MO fun in Mauritius
      • New Year’s Eve 2010 in Morocco & Tunisia
      • SFO-FRA A380 Inaugural
    • 2011
      • A GRU-some day in Sao Paulo
      • A weekend in Tokyo
      • Around the World 2011
      • Canadian Maritimes Adventure
      • China and a Dream(liner)
      • City hopping across Europe
      • New Years 2011 in India & Sri Lanka
      • Valentine’s Day in the boot of Italy
      • Westernmost USA: Guam (and a night in Hong Kong, too)
    • 2012
      • A day trip to Rio
      • A pair of Honolulu Inaugurals
      • A Weekend of Beers in Belgium
      • EuroHopping: 5 Countries in 5 Days
      • Lounging in Puerto Rico
      • Singapore in Style
      • Summer by the Black Sea: Exploring Ukraine
      • Sunny Suisse: A completely unscripted weekend
      • The first 747-8i takes flight
    • 2013
      • A Scandinavian Spring Break
      • British Airways A380 inaugural
      • Meatacular in Uruguay
      • Million Miler & Markets
      • New Years Adventures in Laos & Myanmar
      • On board the Denver-Narita Inaugural
      • Perth-ish: At least that’s where I think I went
    • 2014
      • A quick trip to India
      • An Ordination in Vienna
      • Baltic Beers
      • Summer in the Canadian Maritimes
      • Thanks for the Seoul [20-24 November]
      • Thanksgiving in Paradise [27 Nov-1 Dec]
      • The final DC-10 flight with Biman
      • The final MD-11 Commercial Flight. Ever.
      • World Travel Market 2014
    • 2015
      • DYland Time: Island Hopping in the Caribbean [3-6 December 2015]
      • Istanbul 2015 [14-20 February]
      • Japan Vacation 2015 [19-29 April]
Missing image

Bidding for bumps

Posted by Seth Miller on 22 July 2008 in Uncategorized | 44 Views

Love it or hate it, overbooking of flights is a staple of the airline revenue management scheme.  And when the airline bets wrong and has too many folks for their flight, someone isn’t going to actually fly on their preferred flight.  If there are no volunteers the rules for compensation are actually pretty clear, as they are defined by the federal government (and recently the values all increased).

But when the airline goes looking for volunteers the rules are rather flexible.  The airline can offer anything they want, and if they get a taker, that’s what the price is.  For some folks it might be a meal voucher and an upgrade on the next flight out.  For others, a “free” ticket.  Still others go for a travel voucher as their preferred compensation (this is the only one I’ll take, for many reasons).  Northwest has recently taken the bump compensation process to another level, soliciting bids from passengers for how much it would take for them to not fly.  Passengers are reporting that they are being prompted during the check-in process if they are interested in a bump and how much it would cost for them to fly at a later time.  And instead of going with the first volunteers the airline can go with the cheapest option.  The reverse auction style approach is likely to save the carrier a few dollars over time, and every little bit helps these days.  It also means that it’ll be harder to fund travel habits with the “bump” game.

As an aside, my best sequence of bumps was one ticket that got me to Alaska, Ireland and half-way to India on a sequence of consecutive bumps.  Very nice for us.

Never miss another post: Sign up for email alerts and get only the content you want direct to your inbox.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Flying, NorthWest

About the Author

Seth Miller

I’m Seth, also known as the Wandering Aramean. I was bit by the travel bug 30 years ago and there’s no sign of a cure. I fly ~200,000 miles annually; these are my stories.

You can connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Google+.

  • Facebook
  • Google Plus
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Related Posts

Some industrial works near BrightonFriday Flyday: Low and Slow over Southend→

The LaGuardia Expressway Visual landing as seen on the IFE mapGot a favorite airport approach?→

Delta scraps its Dreamliner order that was never going to be filled→

Friday Flyday: A dinner run to Faro, Portugal→

©2018 Proton Associates, LLC

Menu

BoardingArea