10-16-2003, 07:38 AM
first of all, jet blue, i just wish they flew out of laguardia. song, i just heard about today actually, i believe it's a branch of delta. as far as overbooking, if it's a popular route they'll always be overbooked. my parents live in fla so i fly from jfk or lga to preferably fll sometimes miami if i have to althouth ft lauderdale or palm beach are often cheaper. but i've taken bumps, it's worth it if you have flexible time. the key is to threaten using their competition. i was flying back up here just before xmas a couple years ago and all area airports were closed. i had a stop over in n carolina and got stuck. i was on a late night flight and the people in the airport are never helpful. they basically handed out a sheet of paper with the booking number on it to everybody who had suddenly been stranded in charlotte. i got on the payphone in the airport and told them i had to be at work, at 10 in nyc, they told me the earliest flight they had was 9 in the morning, no good, i'd be fired. so, and here's the key. i asked them to check the other airlines for flights, and guess what, they had a seat on their 6am flight. still delayed but got me in just in time. i learned this from a time before when i volunteered my seat on a united flight which had a connection and they put me on a usairways direct flight, plus giving me a night in a hotel and 300 in flight coupons. if you show a sign of going to competition, they'll find you a seat. basically, whenever you're in a jam, ask them to find a seat on a competing airline, if there's one available they have to give it to you, i believe