By Eric Morath
The Detroit News

With air travel on the rise and cash-strapped airlines cramming planes with passengers, more and more travelers are doing the bump - surrendering their seats in exchange for travel, hotel stays and cash.

The number of passengers denied boarding was up 27 percent on domestic airlines in the first three months of 2004 compared to the same period last year, according to a Detroit News analysis of U.S. Department of Transportation data.

"Airlines have got to keep planes as full as possible to make any money," said Minneapolis-based airline analyst Terry Trippler. "They want to fill them up even if they have to oversell to ensure that."

More people were bumped from flights in the first quarter of 2004 - about 235,000 nationwide - than any previous quarter since Sept. 11, 2001. That's enough people left on the ground to fill 448 Boeing 747 jumbo jets.

Major carriers are filling planes to record levels to earn profits amid intense competition with low-cost carriers. At the same time, domestic air travel is up 8.7 percent through May of this year, according to The Travel Industry Association.

On Friday, Wilma Allateef of Bridgeport, Mich., was preparing to board a flight to Houston for a family reunion. If offered a bump, Allateef said she would pass rather than arrive late and break her travel party.

Her boyfriend, Melvin Brown, had other thoughts. He was more than willing to wait for the next Northwest Airlines flight to Houston.

"If they volunteered $500, I'd volunteer to get off the plane," he said.

When a flight is overbooked, gate agents ask for passengers willing to give up their seats. Far less often, airlines will bump passengers involuntarily. Northwest, for example, involuntarily bumped 963 people in the first quarter, up 26 percent from a year ago.

Despite the increase, the chances of being bumped are still relatively low. About 20 passengers are bumped for every 10,000 that fly. The vast majority - 95 percent - are voluntary. That's because travelers like Sandy Koski of Brighton, Mich., jump at the chance to get bumped.

Nearly 15 years ago, Koski cautiously volunteered her family to be bumped from a Delta Airlines flight to Orlando in exchange for a later flight and round-trip tickets to Los Angeles. While there, Koski attended a taping of the TV show The Price is Right, came on down and won a pickup truck and other prizes.

Now she attempts to get bumped every time she flies.

"I call ahead to see if the flight is overbooked," she said. "If it is, I am in hog heaven. I get there early to volunteer to be bumped."

Koski has become a savvy negotiator. Three years ago, she turned a bump off a Northwest flight from Dallas to Detroit into two round-trip tickets to Guam, worth $3,000. The trip allowed her to spend Thanksgiving with her son, who was serving in the Navy.

For the best chance of getting the boot, Koski recommends booking morning flights during holiday seasons. She prefers to take round-trip tickets, normally for anywhere in the continental United States, over travel vouchers or cash.

"You have to make it worth my while," she said.

If passengers are bumped, they should be aware of their rights, said Richard Copland, president and CEO of the American Society of Travel Agents.

If an airline denies boarding to someone who doesn't want to be bumped, federal laws requires the company must repay between 100 or 200 percent of the one-way fare to the final destination or up to $400, depending on how long the passenger is delayed from the scheduled arrival at his or her final destination.

Passengers who volunteer might have much sweeter rewards for missing their flight - if they negotiate, Copland said.

"If everyone was aware of their right to negotiate, then the airlines wouldn't get away with just a $200 voucher," he said. "You can do OK. Maybe wait two hours for a flight and get a free round-trip ticket."