Gadling’s guide to getting bumped: The alternate route

Chances are, after the jet leaves the terminal and you’re dealing with the gate agent, he or she is going to try to toss you onto the next identical itinerary, give you your voucher and send you on your way. What’s important to remember though, is that its the airlines’ responsibility to get your home; after all, you did volunteer to give up your seat at their benefit. So you’ve got a little bit of leverage and can make a few demands.

Primarily, you have sway over your return itinerary. If you’re in a small airport with only a couple of flights out a day you’re going to have more difficulty, but if you’re in a hub, your options can be numerous. My favorite thing to do is check seatcounter at the same time I’m checking loads for alternate routes. For example, if I plug in my DTW-LAX flight on NW next Sunday I get my actual flight leaving at 5:30 and I see that there is also a direct flight leaving at 7:40, as well as two flights connecting through Minneapolis, one leaving at 7:04 and one leaving at 7:40.

It’s handy to have these alternate routes written down (or memorized, if you’re the minimalist like me) so that you can have a point to argue with the GA when he or she is rebooking you. For example, the agent could find that the 7:40 DTW-LAX flight is full and try to rebook you for the next day. That’s where you suggest connecting through Minneapolis. They have complete authority to reroute your itinerary or send you to Narnia if you ask for it.

Another handy trick is to know the surrounding airports. If someone is picking me up or I have easy means to get around, I’ll suggest Ontario, San Diego or Santa Ana as alternative airports to fly into.

Finally, consider other carriers within the alliance of your airline. Northwest may not have flights headed to Los Angeles available later that afternoon, but Continental or Delta may have outbound flights. If you’re really itching to get out ASAP, ask the agent to search on those carriers.

As a last resort, you can always call the reservation hotline while you’re on your own. If you’ve done your research and think that you can get a better itinerary, call up a phone agent, tell them you got bumped and suggest some alternate routings. This has worked for me a few times as I was waiting in super long lines to get rebooked.