Physician removed forcibly from United flight after overbooking--UPDATED

[MineralMan]

269. It used to be a great deal.

I flew for about three years without paying for any flights. This was long ago, when vouchers and payments for being bumped were handled much better. I started by paying for one round trip flight. The trick was to book very early on a flight that would be guaranteed to be full. Then, you showed up for that flight, and took a seat right near the boarding gate desk. At some point, they'd announce that they were looking for volunteers to be bumped with a voucher for $xxx as the compensation. I was always the first one to get to the desk. I'd get my voucher and get re-booked and guaranteed a seat on the next flight. Then, it was just repeat as needed. During those three years, I flew all over the place.

For each flight, I'd do the same as before. Book very early on flights that would be almost certain to be overbooked. Show up early and be the first to reach the gate desk when they were looking for passengers willing to be bumped. Another voucher, another rebooking on the next flight and another free trip later. The gate attendants knew I was working the system, but didn't give a damn about that. The airlines soon caught on, though, and started making it more and more difficult to use those vouchers. I got busy with work about the same time, so it didn't matter, really. But, while it lasted, I flew all over the United States for free on American Airlines. Another advantage was that my luggage always went on the original flight I had booked, so it was waiting there for me when I landed.

Generally, since I flew to popular destinations, I rarely had to wait more than two hours for the next flight. I'd just go eat in one of the airport restaurants while I waited. It all worked great, as long as it worked.