Delta avoids the overbooking issue by having a much SMARTER policy

[Tom Rinaldo]

20. The key piece of data needed is when can they get me there instead if I give up my seat?

That is the only way I can know how inconvenient or even possible it would be for me to give up my seat in return for a "later" flight.

I used to fly Continental a lot for business a number of years back (pre United merger) and I often asked agents when I got to the gate if they were in a potential overbook situation. Frequently the answer essentially was "maybe", depending on whether or not everyone showed up. I would volunteer my name for bumping AFTER I asked about what flight they could get me on instead if I gave up my seat. If my schedule was flexible and a delay would not upset important plans I loved getting bumped. Often I was flying at night so I could attend an early afternoon meeting on the West Coast. If they bumped me from my second leg connecting flight and put me in a hotel for free I usually got more rest and arrived in plenty of time if they moved me onto an early morning flight instead. But if the rebooking meant being late for, or missing entirely, the reason why I had to fly in the first place - then no level of compensation was adequate enough to take.

Coming home it usually didn't matter when I got home exactly, and a few hours delay made no difference. I was cool with getting home at 11:00AM the next day rather than at 11:00 PM that night as originally planned if it paid for my next cross country round trip ticket.