Over booked Flight?

[shaq]

I'm on a US Air flight out of Rio on December 17th, I'm booked in Business class, and noticed that coach is fully booked and right now their web site is showing only 2 business class seats available. Is there a possibility that I could be bumped. I purchased the ticket and did not use miles does that make any difference?

[CruiserBruce]

Extremely rare chance you could be bumped. Just check in online as early as possible, and show up at the airport at the appropriate time- not the last minute, and you will be fine.

 

Fully booked, but two seats available? That is contradictory, but the fact is you are looking at a number of different factors, which take a careful eye, and a full understanding of airline policies to interpret.

 

Again, if you play by the rules, and follow those rules in a timely manner- read; do things early, not last minute- the chance of being bumped is incredibly small.

[Keith1010]

The following link on the US Airways internet site answer the question about what time to check in.

 

http://www.usairways.com/en-US/traveltools/checkin/airportcheckin/airportcheckintimes.html

 

They ask that you check in one hour before (I would get there way before that) for international flights also noting that if you are not checked in and at the gate 30 minutes before your flight your reservation may be canceled.

 

Expect that business class will be full. You'll either have people upgraded from coach to business class to make seats available in coach, or the tickets for business class sold by then or an employee of the airline places in the seats.

 

Keith

[KirkNC]

I would think it is highly unlikely.

[greatam]

The following link on the US Airways internet site answer the question about what time to check in.

 

http://www.usairways.com/en-US/traveltools/checkin/airportcheckin/airportcheckintimes.html

 

They ask that you check in one hour before (I would get there way before that) for international flights also noting that if you are not checked in and at the gate 30 minutes before your flight your reservation may be canceled.

 

Expect that business class will be full. You'll either have people upgraded from coach to business class to make seats available in coach, or the tickets for business class sold by then or an employee of the airline places in the seats.

 

Keith

 

OP is flying FROM Rio. Better plan on being at the airport THREE hours before flight departure. South American airports are notoriously chaotic. And South American citizens take A LOT of stuff with them. Check in times, even in priority/business/first class lines, can be very, very long.

 

I don't think you will bumped. But if you have the time (like the next day), you may WANT to be bumped (volunteer). You may come away with a VERY nice bonus. To give up my business/first class seats, I would ask for two business class seats ANY PLACE US Air flies at the very least. Next trip to Europe, Asia or South America, you fly in comfort at a VERY decent price (your time most likely overnight and a hotel room). Just make sure you can use the tickets within a year.

 

I know everyone recommends getting cash vouchers. But when you are dealing with business/first class, IMHO, it is better to take the GUARANTEED seats and not have to worry about the price.

[Globaliser]

I'm on a US Air flight out of Rio on December 17th, I'm booked in Business class, and noticed that coach is fully booked and right now their web site is showing only 2 business class seats available.

Where are you seeing that there are "only 2 business class seats available" and that "coach is fully booked"?

 

Are you looking at the seat map? If so, that is not a reliable indicator of booking levels.

 

I don't know which flight you're on, but I had a look at US801 from Rio to Charlotte on 17 December. The seat map that I can see shows four unallocated business class seats and no unallocated economy class seats at the moment.

 

However, the actual availability display is C5 D5 Z0 Y9 B9 M9 H9 Q9 N9 V9 W8 L2 S0 T0 G0 K0 U0 E0 R0 - which means that there are at least 5 business class seats for sale, as well as at least 9 economy class seats for sale (and very probably many more than that). To me, that flight doesn't look overbooked.

[Budget Queen]

I'm on a US Air flight out of Rio on December 17th, I'm booked in Business class, and noticed that coach is fully booked and right now their web site is showing only 2 business class seats available. Is there a possibility that I could be bumped. I purchased the ticket and did not use miles does that make any difference?

 

There is a lot of space on the Rio/Clt flight, including 5 in first class (they don't reference this as "business class, and US Airways only has two classes in their fleet).

 

First class is rarely overbooked, so, I highly doubt you won't get your purchased seats.

[kenish]

A side note is that US Airways flight attendants voted to strike a few days ago. Many steps will have to happen before an actual strike would occur. But, expect to get less than stellar service from disgruntled employees and possible delays if they are going "by the book".