American Airlines Changes Its Bumping Procedure for Overbooked Flights
American Airlines is changing its procedure for voluntary bumping from overbooked flights, which means you might not end up receiving the best compensation offers.
New Compensation Structure
Previously, when an American Airlines flight was overbooked, passengers could volunteer to be bumped, providing a desired compensation amount. In the earlier setup, all volunteers would receive the same amount to simplify the process for gate agents, avoiding having to manage different offers for various passengers.
However, with the new adjustment, each bumped passenger will receive the exact compensation level they chose when volunteering, even if another passenger is compensated at a significantly higher amount. Consequently, this could lead to a disparity in compensation received by different passengers.
For instance, in a scenario described by The Points Guy, if a flight was oversold by three people and four individuals volunteered to be bumped at $150, $200, $250, and $300 respectively, in the previous model, the three bumped passengers would collectively receive $250. If one person declined the offer, all would then receive $300. In contrast, under the new policy, the passenger who volunteered for $150 will only receive a $150 voucher, and so forth for the others.
Streamlining the Bumping Process
This change comes after American Airlines introduced a new feature in its app where passengers could easily volunteer to be bumped from their flights. This “silent” method eliminates the necessity for gate agents to use loudspeakers, thereby announcing compensation levels to everyone involved, which prevents passengers from comparing compensation offers.
Moreover, according to reports, American Airlines’ gate agents are now encouraged to engage in one-on-one conversations with customers to discuss the available protections and voucher amounts. Loudspeaker announcements will now only occur if there aren’t enough volunteers utilizing the app.
Additionally, American Airlines is exploring the option of preventing compensation altogether in certain circumstances by rerouting a passenger’s trip instead. The airline is also considering eliminating paper vouchers by 2020, further modernizing its operational procedures.
