Overbooking? Some Welcome Getting Bumped

Frequent flier Samir Bhatnager books for the bump.

Bhatnager intentionally tries to get onto flights that have an increased chance of being oversold. If he picks right and gets bumped, he receives either a free round-trip ticket or a voucher for about $200 off his next trip, depending on the airline.

Now that the summer travel season has begun -- a season that is expected to be the busiest in four years -- Bhatnager says he's ready to start racking up the free trips and cash vouchers as airlines routinely overbook their flights.

"Some people take mileage runs -- I take bump runs," said the Arlington- based hospitality manager. On a mileage run, a frequent flier takes a cheap flight to a place such as London or Amsterdam and returns on the same day just to bulk up the mileage account.

Many carriers are predicting that their planes will be nearly 80 percent filled this summer -- and that means more passengers can expect to be bumped. Even before the summer, bumping was on the rise. According to the Transportation Department's latest statistics, 235,052 airline passengers were bumped from their flights between January and March, up nearly 27 percent from the same period in 2003.

Since January, Bhatnager's bump runs have netted him two free round-trip tickets and five cash vouchers worth $1,500, most of which were on his favorite airline, Northwest.

Bhatnager takes personal flights on the weekends or arranges his business return flights with a possible bump in mind. He often chooses late-night flights into Baltimore-Washington International Airport, especially on Sundays. Bhatnager has found that late-night flights are often the fullest, especially if the airline backed up earlier in the day, forcing passengers onto the later flights.

Bhatnager also targets cities that have major weekend sports events or festivals. His strategy: Buy a cheap ticket in advance and schedule a return trip on the Sunday after the event, when travelers are rushing to get home.

To make sure he's one of the first people asked to give up his seat, Bhatnager visits the airline's Web site and prints out his boarding pass and seat assignment at least a day before the flight. Then he arrives at the gate at least an hour before the flight and alerts the agent that he's available to give up his seat if necessary.

Frequent US Airways traveler Alysia Brown said that though she has racked up six free round-trip flights since 2002, she prefers cash vouchers to free tickets. A voucher can be put toward a flight that will earn her frequent flier miles and help her boost her elite status with US Airways. Also, the airlines often don't allow a traveler flying on a free ticket to upgrade to first or business class.