Airlines regularly overbook flights to help offset no-shows and to ensure that flights are packed with paying customers. Last year, out of 595 million passengers, about 681,100 were denied seats on planes, according to the Department of Transportation.
Airlines are required to ask people who are not in a hurry to give up their seats voluntarily, in exchange for compensation, before passengers who do not want to give up their seats are kicked off.
There are some travelers who see the flight crunch as a lucrative opportunity. Among them is Ben Schlappig. The 20-year-old senior at the University of Florida said he earned “well over $10,000” in flight vouchers in the last three years by strategically booking flights that were likely to be oversold in the hopes of being bumped.
“I don’t remember the last time I paid over $100 for a ticket,” he boasted. His latest coup: picking up $800 in United flight vouchers after giving up his seat on two overbooked flights in a row on a trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Or as he calls it, “a double bump.”
“Every time I book a ticket, in the back of my mind is which flight has the best chance of being bumped,” he said.
Obviously not your typical traveler, Mr. Schlappig is among a small, but passionate group obsessed with accruing frequent-flier miles.
Below, insider tips to the bumping game. In most cases, do the opposite if you want to keep your seat.
Be the first in line. Tell the check-in clerk or gate agent that you may be willing to give up your seat. That way you will be first on the list if they need volunteers.
Fly through hubs. Be aware that flying through busy hubs (like O'Hare) at peak times increases your chances of getting kicked off a flight.
Take the red-eye. As delays and cancellations build up on any given day, those last flights out can quickly fill up with displaced passengers, increasing your odds of getting bumped. In general, busy flying days like Monday, Friday and Sunday as well as holiday travel periods can also up your chances of being bumped.
Check the weather. Mr. Schlappig intentionally flies in December, January and February through Washington, Chicago and Denver because of the potential for winter storms.
Know the rules. Passengers who are involuntarily bumped and rebooked on another flight within two hours after their original domestic flight time (within four hours for international) are entitled to $400 in cash under Department of Transportation rules. As a volunteer, don’t accept any flight vouchers worth less.
Ask for more. The more desperate the airline is to get people off the plane, the more bargaining power you are likely to have. Most airlines give their staff the authority to up the ante when a flight is oversold and volunteers are few to none.
Be nice. Being polite amid the chaos of an oversold flight can go a long way. “You don’t want to nag the agent for an upgrade when 20 people are on line,” said Mr. Schlappig. "Gate agents don’t care who you are, they care how you treat them. If you treat them with respect and you’re easygoing, it makes all the difference.”
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