Delta avoids the overbooking issue by having a much SMARTER policy [View all]

[pnwmom]

than United.

United stupidly offered only $800 and when no passenger wanted the amount, had the doctor dragged off the plane -- even though they knew they'd have to pay him $1325 for an involuntary bumping. Why they didn't offer 1000 or 1300 or whatever they needed till they found a willing taker is beyond me.

But this is how Delta does it -- they get passengers to handle the bidding. Delta saves money without angering their passengers.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/how-delta-masters-the-game-of-overbooking-flights/

When Delta overbooks a flight, they let their passengers decide how much getting bumped is worth. I discovered this last week when I checked in online for my flight from Minneapolis to Philadelphia. What was the minimum I was willing to accept in travel vouchers to take a later flight — $500, $300, $200, less? After doing some rough mental calculations, I bid $300. High enough to cover most of a ticket to Mexico and low enough to be competitive without feeling exploited.

No deal. I boarded my flight on time and arrived in Philadelphia five minutes ahead of schedule.

Delta started this practice back in 2011, and it works like this: When passengers on overbooked flights check in online or at the check-in kiosk, they’re asked what the dollar value of the travel voucher they would accept as compensation for volunteering their seats. They give you a hint, too — “Delta accepts lower bids first.” By the time you reach the gate, the gate attendants already have a list of passengers to call up to confirm they’ll fly standby. If your bid is low enough, you’ll be on that list.

By having customers compete against one another to give up their seats, Delta ensures it can just about always lock in the lowest possible payout. How low can you go? The ground is the limit.