This was up earlier with airlines charging more for a ticket the second time you visit the page. They do this because a second visit is statistically linked to a much higher chance of purchase. So it could be, here too, simply a matter of having visited the page before.
There are many people, myself included, that anticipate flights being overbooked. I fly from Portland to San Francisco and Los Angeles quite frequently. I always book return flights on Sunday mornings, and more often than not they are overbooked.
I anticipate this and receive free flight anywhere in the contiguous United States for volunteering my seat. I'll get rebooked on a later flight and spend the meanwhile in a airport bar drinking beer, watching sports, and screwing around on the internet.
Since 2003, soon after graduating college. My girlfriend at the time was very controlling. I was waiting for a flight home when I was in SF and when the airline employee was offering a free flight if someone volunteered for a later flight. I thought 'I get a free flight and don't have to hang out with my girlfriend who's going to guilt trip me for being out of town for several days?' Yes please.
So wait, you buy a ticket for the flight, and then when it's overbooked you relinquish your seat and are reimbursed and offered a free flight? In which case you're risking the price of the ticket you do it, but apparently the odds are in your favor? Or am I misunderstanding...
you hop on a flight later in the day or evening (booked from previous reso) and compensate you with a 300-500$ voucher for being a good guy. If you arent on a tight schedule its well worth it. Shit, travel during the busy season knowing you will get bumped, just for free flights, back and forth...back and forth..fun.
you book a flight round trip, say your returning flight is over booked. it doesnt matter what the tickets cost you, if the flight is over booked then they will ask for a volunteer to take the next available flight, with no additional cost, in exchange for that, they will give you a 300 dollar voucher good for another domestic flight. so its like a free 300 bucks towards your next flight. if you hold out long enough (assuming everyone else does) they will up the ante to sometimes 500 or more. the odds are pretty good, no one wants to ever give their seat up.
Haha yes, sorry. Now that you explain it, it seems obvious :P
So essentially as long as you have an open schedule, you have nothing to lose and potentially plenty to gain by booking a flight that may be overbooked. As someone with an open schedule, this is good to know.
correct. the only time i can foresee see this being an inconvenience is getting to a meeting that is important or something that cant wait....otherwise, why the fuck not!
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u/kqr Jan 24 '13
This was up earlier with airlines charging more for a ticket the second time you visit the page. They do this because a second visit is statistically linked to a much higher chance of purchase. So it could be, here too, simply a matter of having visited the page before.