Physician removed forcibly from United flight after overbooking--UPDATED

[cab67]

52. All kinds of things might be going on.

I've voluntarily accepted the vouchers before. But if I have limited time at my destination to do my job, or if I'm headed to a funeral, I would prefer to stay on schedule.

A friend was once bumped from a flight and had to reschedule a job interview. Fortunately, the employer was willing to reschedule. (She didn't get the job, but that had nothing to do with the flight issue.) Not all employers are so enlightened, or able to absorb whatever cost may be associated with rescheduling flights.

There were a couple of episodes of the TLC (?) show Airline about 10 years ago that showed people in this situation. In one, the first person they "volunteered" was in the army and had to report to his unit in the morning, so they "volunteered" another young man who was on his way home to attend the birth of his child. He got there after the child was born. In another, a father was trying to get to his destination to take his children to Disneyland. I got the sense he didn't get to see his children very often. He was less than enthusiastic about being bumped.

The answer is for airlines to stop the unethical practice of overselling their flights.