Saving Money On Flights

[cebu rocks]

Well I decided to fly into manila to save almost 600 dollars VS cebu . So today at the airport they asked if any one would be interested in staying in seattle for one more night (lol) I said sure I was so tired anyway but the bonus for being so kind of stepping aside ? 650 US off my next flight and a night at a really nice suite plus 3 meals . I,m feeling relaxed rested and looking forward to flying tommorow . With any luck I can get bumped in Toyko next :)

[Dave Hounddriver]

I am always hoping that will happen to me and it never does.

[JJReyes]

I am always hoping that will happen to me and it never does.

The airlines overbook flights by 5% percent because of no-shows. They have a "Bump Off List" because it is embarassing for them to announce over the PA system that the flight is overbooked. You approach the staff at the gate counter and inform them you are willing to voluntarily give-up your seat if the flight is overbooked. If seats are needed, they will page you by name. Airline personnel love the system because these are volunteers and won't get upset over denied boarding. If they need additional volunteers, then the request is made over the PA system.

During his student days, my younger son and his friends had it down to a science. Everyone travels home for the holidays and they would look for flights that were likely to be filled. His best one was a triple bump off. He received vouchers for future trips, meal coupons and an upgrade to business class on the Trans Pacific leg. My niece and her friend were bumped off twice on their return flight from Honolulu to Los Angeles. Their reward was two free roundtrip tickets to Hawaii. "Uncle" of course had to return to the airport to pick them up and then bring them back the next day. Twice.

My son is currently traveling to Orlando as head coach with three girls' club volleyball teams. Their Honolulu to Los Angeles flight was delayed due to mechanical problems. They were given priority to deplane and run to make a connecting flight. The airlines delayed the connecting flight rather than trying to find seats for nearly 50 students, coaches and chaperone parents.

[cebu rocks]

The funny part about the bump was there where at least 10 seats open . They said it was about wieght to balance or something like that . I was told it happens often on the Seatlle to Toyko route because of all the air fraight . They would rather take bodys off the plane than products being shipped . Anyway i,m now happy i did not book my flight from manila to Cebu in advance :)

[earthdome]

I was told it happens often on the Seatlle to Toyko route because of all the air fraight . They would rather take bodys off the plane than products being shipped

Very timely info, I just booked my next trip to the Philippines and I will be on a Seattle to Tokyo flight both to/from the Philippines.

[sonjack2847]

I was bumped at Heathrow in February. I was sent to a nice hotel with 2 meals included. It was ok but I could not sleep that night. The next day I flew out on a daytime flight so could not sleep on the plane and was very tired when I arrived at Cebu. It took me nearly a week to get over it even with a few drinks I could not sleep properly when I arrived at my apartment.Bumping did not work for me.

Edited June 23, 2012 by sonjack2847

[Adventurer]

maybe too many people had overweight carry on bags too which might be a factor in taking passengers off or even if many of the passengers are overweight themselves could add up to a lot of unexpected weight on the plane.

[i am bob]

When you see people being bumped and seats are open, it is usually a freight issue... I once had to transport 3 helicopter transmissions which are very heavy but will fit inside a standard cargo hold. As this was a government job, we had priority over pax. Unfortunately the transmissions had to be loaded further back than desired as a forklift was not available on landing to remove the transmissions and thus the main cargo door could not be blocked - so about 15 people were bumped from the flight. It was nice having all those empty seats to stretch out on when flying from Canada to England. Unfortunately no upgrades were available to those bumped - this was a military flight!