Get cheap airfares business first class cheap air flights by getting bumped

Looking for cheap flight cheap first class airfares? Getting voluntary bumped can be very profitable - To You

One of the most important strategies to look for cheap economy or cheap business class airfare or business class airfares is the art of getting voluntary bumped, or otherwise known as denied boarding compensation (DBC) in industry jargon.

The bumping strategy can certainly be used to get even cheap flight on cheap first class airfares. How? Read further.

What bumping means is that passengers who give up their reserved seats (whether forced or voluntary) on an oversold flight will receive compensation for taking a later flight.

For travellers who are always trying to look for cheaper tickets whether it’s those cheap airfares business or first class cheap air flights or just a simple cheap coach ticket, bumping allows you to get normally a compensating ticket for free.

No need going around to do those first class search for cheap airfares research or looking high and low for those first class airline discount central agents when you can get the premium tickets for free, right?

Still, note that there are either 1) forced or involuntary bumping and 2) voluntary bumping – the latter is the strategy you need to master to get those cheap airfares business or first class cheap air flights.

Get to know the basic rules first. In the US, for forced or involuntary bumping, the compensation could be between US$200-US$400 per future flight per passenger (minimum under the law required by the US Department of Transportation).

The rules differ internationally for different countries although this bumping strategy of trying to fly cheap economy or fly cheap first class airfares is still very much usable. For example,  in the European Union, you are compensated by between Euro 250 to Euro 600 depending on the distance of your flights. It’s best to check the rules with the airlines in each country before you fly off on them.

In a way, the forced cash compensation could certainly give you the savings for your next flight ticket. However, its gets better for voluntary bumping where you could easily a cheap airfares business or first class cheap air flights ticket, and likely even for free.

How?

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Well, for voluntary bumping, there is no minimum compensation required by the law, so it’s anything goes. But typically, the airlines will compensate you with a later flight (likely upgraded flight) or some airlines offer an outright free domestic roundtrip as the compensation.

A free upgraded ticket is certainly better than paying, say even for a cheap business class airfare/business class airfares ticket or a cheap flight on a cheap first class airfares ticket, right - hence the bumping strategy is preferred by some travellers who are always searching to fly cheap economy or fly cheap first class airfares.

It can to certain travellers beat having to spend hours doing those first class search cheap airfares research or looking high and low for those first class airline discount central agents just to get the cheap premium tickets.

However, bear in mind that each airline’s compensation program will be different, so do check first if you want to use the bumping strategy professionally.

A bit of history first. Up to 10%-15% of passengers in the US and probably worldwide actually don’t turn up for their flights.

Sometimes, these could even involve those who managed to buy those cheap business class airfare/business class airfares or even those who bought the cheap first class airfares although the majority are mostly from the economy or coach section.

So in order to maximise loads, airlines actually overbooked their flights. The % of overbooking depends on each airline’s sophisticated flight and yield management system, and the criterion is based normally upon historical seasonal travel patterns.

Airlines do not disclose the percentage that they oversell flights, and depending on time of year, and where the flight is going to, the percentage that an airline oversells can easily range from 10% to 40% .

The very fact that overbooking will always happen thus make bumping as a strategy to get those cheap airfares business or first class cheap air flights tickets or to fly cheap on first class airfares a very workable strategy indeed.

As we mentioned earlier, it can to certain travellers beat having to spend hours doing those  first class search cheap airfares research or look high and low for those first class airline discount central agents just to get the cheap premium tickets.

Well, in most cases, airlines find it profitable to overbook, even at the risk of giving away free tickets and overnight accommodations.

For example, to the airlines, a few freebies are preferable to ten or twenty empty seats on say, a flight from New York to Los Angeles. Never mind that these effectively means some lucky travellers will inevitably get some cheap business class airfare/business class airfares or  cheap flight on cheap first class airfares tickets as compensation as its still very much profitable to the airlines as a whole to adopt this strategy. 

On the busy international routes such as the transatlantic or kangaroo routes (from Australia), airlines frequently oversells as a revenue maximation strategy, although the % of oversold seats are less on these busy routes, typically below 10%.

If those seats are not filled, the airlines know that it’s simply wasted away. So bumping as a strategy to get cheap airfares business or first class cheap air flights tickets or to fly cheap first class airfares will probably always remain as a tool to the smart travellers.

Remember that there are two types of bumping because the airlines have oversold flights – (1) voluntary and (2) involuntary bumping.  

Involuntary bumping

If you have been forced to be bumped off a flight by the airline because the airline has oversold it or for other similar reasons, you are entitled to minimum compensation by the airline. Here are the basic minimum rules in the US (as mentioned earlier, the rules differ internationally between countries so just keep note): 

1. If the airline bumps you but get you on another flight (either their own or another airline) within an hour of your originally scheduled departure time, you don’t get anything. Normally, in peak seasons, these won’t happen i.e. your wait will certainly be more than an hour.
2. If the delay is more than an hour, you get compensation of the cost of the one-way fare, but only up to US$200. And if it’s more than 2 hours, great, you get double the value of the above, but limited to US$400.
3. Normally the airlines will give you cash as mandatory by the law rather than other compensations such as a cheap business class airfare ticket or a cheap first class airfares ticket. 

The best way to avoid being involuntarily moved to another flight is to pre-book seats. Note that not all the airlines adopt this practice and for those who do, there is normally a threshold where they will cut off the seat booking, normally when the flight is between 65% and 80% sold.

The other way to best avoid being involuntarily bumped is to check in as early as possible.

Voluntary bumping

While you could be involuntarily bumped, to profit from this strategy, especially if you are not in a hurry (or you actually don’t intend to fly at all, yes, there are professional “bumpers” who have mastered the art), you could strategise to get voluntarily bumped to get cheap airfares business or first class cheap air flights tickets or get them even for free.

For those who are just plain lazy to do those first class search for cheap airfares research or to look for those first class airline discount central agents, mastering the voluntary bumping strategy offers good payoffs.  Getting to fly cheap first class airfares is certainly good savings if anything if not a pleasurable feeling. 

Normally, if you give up your seat, the airline normally gives you the next available flight option but if not, you should ask for it. Obviously, some of the drawbacks are that you may not be given the next available flight or that overnight hotel costs are not covered.

Further, many savvy passengers now also understand that overbooking is now a business necessity and a beautiful opportunity for free travel, so bear in mind that competition may be a bit stiff in using solely just the bumping strategy to a cheap business class airfare/business class airfares ticket or a cheap flight cheap first class airfares ticket.   

Still, for example, an airline may offer compensation such as $100 cash or a free first or business class travel voucher. The compensation may be richer depending on destination, and how desperately the airline wants to get volunteers.

Typically, most airlines would prefer volunteers rather than the embarrassment of having to really force bumped passengers, which may give the airlines a bad name if it’s done too often. Most of the time, the cash compensation is rarely negotiable, although the airline may budge on the travel voucher amount if warranted.

So don’t worry of bargaining to get a cheap airfares business or first class cheap air flights tickets with the airlines in these situations.  

As such, you can sometimes “negotiate” with the airlines for the best deals. Some tips include:-

• Asking that the compensating travel voucher be transferable to someone other than yourself, for example to a person in the family, which could use it if you can’t. What’s the use of getting a cheap business class airfare or business class airfares ticket or a cheap flight cheap first class airfares ticket if you for some reason may not able to personally use them – remember, unforeseen things do happen.
  
• Bargain for a compensating cheap airfares business or first class cheap air flights tickets that could be used either domestically or internationally.
  
• Check if the travel voucher could also be used on affiliate or codeshare partner airlines.
  
• Ask that there are no restrictions on the travel voucher such as blackouts or having to travel standby or your effort to fly on those business or cheap first class airfares tickets would be severely limited.
  
• Another important tip is that make sure the travel voucher do not make you ineligible for compensation should you be bumped again (you can be bumped more than one time in a day in a very busy holiday period – its rare but why give the advantage to the airline?).
  
• See whether you can extend the validity of the travel voucher for a small fee in the future, which could be very wasteful if you can’t use it within the prescribed period, usually a year, but do not want to lose the full amount or value of the voucher. A tip - do some first class or business class search cheap airfares research or check around with some first class airline discount central agents to check the value of any compensating premium voucher to see whether its worth extending or you can get a new one cheaper say at a sale before deciding to extend.
  
• Ask about the flight that you will be protected on now that you are willing to potentially give up your seat, and if the times work for you, get the airline agent to pull a seat for you, which is essentially getting a boarding card with a seat number.

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Well, one of the best ways to ensure first priority for getting bumped is probably to arrive at the airport early and request that your name be added to the “volunteer list,” either when you check in your baggage or arrive at the gate.

You should call the night before to check whether the flight is overbooked and then arrive probably 90 minutes before the departure time, to make sure you are probably the first on the list above. 

In this way, you will get the priority when volunteers are needed before the airline make a general announcement seeking volunteers at the airport is made. Note that The Department of Transportation (DOT) requires airlines to ask for volunteers before they deny boarding to anyone in the US. Even on international flights, most airlines prefer to ask for volunteers rather than having to forced bumped a passenger.

In involuntary bumping, the minimum compensation is stated by the law. The good thing is that in voluntary bumping, as mentioned earlier, you may get to negotiate with the airline for the compensation to your satisfaction, for example the next flight or a guaranteed flight on another airline or the airline may raise its compensation to attract volunteers.

So always try to bargain for a cheap business class airfare/business class airfares ticket or a cheap flight on cheap first class airfares ticket. 

Most airlines will probably offer you a travel voucher that's good for deeply discounted or free flights on a future trip. For longer delays like more than two hours, you could probably ask for a meal voucher or a pass to use the airline’s lounge. See the tips mentioned above earlier.

Sometimes, during peak periods, you may find yourself bumped from the second flight, too. In this case, it’s possible you can earn two or more free tickets in a single day. And then you are really getting to fly cheap on those business or first class airfares tickets.

In exceptional cases especially during the peak seasons, it’s not unheard of that some people got themselves bumped three or four times a day – no wonder some savvy travellers consider airline bumping a golden opportunity.

One other recommended tip is that you familiarise yourself with the timetables for airlines that fly from your departure airport. These will be important if you can't get another immediate flight following the bump because the airline attendants say there is none.

Well, if you can work out that there is indeed a flight to your destination leaving in two hours, they will have to work it out for you.

Another precaution is that make sure you check that the airline have not removed you from the oversold flight completely. Some airline’s reservation system could sometimes list you as a no-show for your original outbound “bumped” flight and then cancel even your return ticket.

So make sure you double check with the airline staff over their computer system. Another thing to note is that the free travel vouchers you get from the airlines may have restrictions such as almost requiring you to travel within a year from the date of the voucher, etc., so its best to note the fine prints before you accept the vouchers for those cheap business class airfare/business class airfares ticket or cheap flight cheap first class airfares ticket or even if it is just a cheap coach ticket.

Another good strategy to get voluntarily bumped is to book flights on their busiest routes or at the busiest times. Then you get the maximum chance to be bumped and get those potential cheap airfares business or first class cheap air flights tickets as compensation. 

For example, the weekdays are busy times for business travellers and for leisure travellers, it’s those time around the holidays period. Or course, international events are likely to spike up certain seasons in different countries for example cultural events (like the bull festival in Spain) or sporting events (for example the 2006 World Cup in Germany).

In generality, for international routes, the seasons vary. For transatlantic routes (between Europe and North America), the busiest season is typically the 3Q of the calendar year, for South-East Asia, its during the 2H of the year, and for North-East Asia and the “kangaroo” routes to Australia and New Zealand, its likely between the end of the year to early of next year.

Selected other fare saving articles/tips of interest:

1.Cheap air flights cheap discounte airline ticket tactic of back-to-back ticketing
2.How to effectively get those first class cheap first class airfares using split ticket strategy?
3.Cheap flights airfares travel fly dirt cheep tactics and strategies of two cities for one
4.Does the hidden city cheap discount fare fares travel flight air ticket savings tactic works?
5.Planning and timing to get those cheap airfare tickets get cheap airfares

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