Bumped from a flight? Get cash, not airline funny money


When you are involuntarily bumped from a flight, you can get cash (a check or credit on your credit card) from airlines.


denied boardingThose are the rules. If passengers choose to bargain with the airlines at the gate, that’s their choice. But, travelers involuntarily bumped can get as much as $1,550

Overbooking is not illegal, and most airlines overbook their scheduled flights to a certain extent to compensate for “no-shows.” Passengers are sometimes left behind or “bumped” from a flight. When an oversale occurs, the Department of Transportation (DOT) requires airlines to ask people who aren’t in a hurry to give up their seats voluntarily in exchange for compensation. Those passengers bumped against their will are entitled to compensation, with a few exceptions.

Passengers can bargain with airlines. However, they lose all rights when accepting an airline deal.

Carriers can negotiate with their passengers for mutually acceptable compensation. Airlines offer prospective volunteers free trips, cash, or other transportation benefits. The airlines give employees guidelines for bargaining with passengers. They may select those volunteers willing to sell back their reservations for the lowest price.

Ask about restrictions if the airline offers a free ticket or a transportation voucher in a certain dollar amount. For how long is the ticket or voucher good? Is it “blacked out” during holiday periods when passengers might want to use it? Can it be used for international flights?

Irritated by hotel resort fees? Airlines’ personnel often up the ante even with free tickets. The gate personnel may also offer cash if the airline initially needed ten volunteers and only five passengers volunteered to be bumped from a flight. It is like an auction, and they seem to start at $200 plus a seat on the next flight. The top price I have seen while a passenger was $1,200 and a ticket on the next flight, which resulted in almost half the plane volunteering. The first one to the airline representative got the deal. Naturally, everyone who had settled for no cash and only a free ticket, or less than $1,200, felt mistreated. As my brother says, “That’s life on the Ponderosa.”

There is no upper level for airline bargains to compensate denied boarding passengers. I have heard of two major airlines that have authorized $10,000 payments to passengers facing overbooking.

Know your rights, and you will not face denied boarding when you want to fly.

Another friend wanted to get on a flight and knew the rules and regulations. He was told by the airline that he would be denied boarding, or “bumped.” They said he would get a $500 coupon and have to fly the next day. He told the gate agent that the airline needed to give him $1,550 in cash and showed the agent the regulation he had pulled up on his cell phone. The gate agent went aboard the flight and found another volunteer (ostensibly who accepted far less than $1,550 in cash). My friend boarded the flight and got to his destination on time.

Some flyers have made volunteering to be bumped from a flight a part of their check-in routine. They ask if the flight is overbooked when they get to the gate. If yes, they let the gate personnel know they are willing to volunteer. This places their name near the top of the list for bumping and getting a free ticket or airline scrip anywhere in the airline’s continental US system. One Sunday after Thanksgiving, I managed three free domestic tickets by volunteering to be bumped from three flights in a row. If passengers have time, it means free transportation and makes life more pleasant for the airline personnel.

Involuntary bumping — you want to be on the flight, you are not interested in bargaining, and the airline has no room for you.

Sometimes it doesn’t even work to dangle escalating compensation for voluntary bumpees before a packed plane. If there aren’t enough volunteers, some passengers will be left behind, bumped from a flight involuntarily. This is where the regulation comes into play.

DOT requires each airline to give all passengers bumped involuntarily a written statement describing their rights. The written rules must explain how the carrier decides who gets on an oversold flight and who doesn’t.

Here are the current rules according to DOT for denied boarding compensation.

Travelers who don’t get to fly are entitled to denied boarding compensation through a check or cash.

The amount depends on the price of their ticket and the length of the delay.

If passengers are bumped involuntarily and the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to get them to their final destination (including a later connection) within one hour of their original scheduled arrival time, there is no compensation.

When the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to arrive at your destination between one and two hours after your original arrival time (between one and four hours on international flights), the airline must pay passengers an amount equal to 200 percent of their one-way fare to their final destination that day, with a $775 maximum.

If the substitute transportation is scheduled to get passengers to their destination more than two hours later (four hours internationally), or if the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements for you, the compensation doubles (400 percent of your one-way fare, $1550 maximum).

If a ticket does not show a fare (for example, a frequent-flyer award ticket or a ticket issued by a consolidator), the denied boarding compensation is based on the lowest cash, check, or credit card payment charged for a ticket in the same class of service (e.g., coach, first class) on that flight.

Passengers who are denied boarding get guaranteed compensation. However, they may end up with $10,000.

Passengers always get to keep their original ticket and use it on the next flight arranged by the airline. Or, they can get their money back and cancel the trip. The denied boarding compensation is essentially a payment for their inconvenience.

When passengers paid for optional services on their original flight (e.g., seat selection, checked baggage), they should get fees refunded. No fee compensation is due if they receive those services on a substitute flight.

Join Our Membership Program TodayKnowing your rights is your best insurance when facing airport travails.

Here are the current rules according to DOT for denied boarding compensation.


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