[jasode]

>This slow, maddeningly predictable war of attrition often results in delays of 45 minutes or more.

I'm a 2-million-miles frequent flyer on American Airlines and I've never seen voucher auctions require 45 minutes. Usually it takes less than 5 minutes. Often, the gate agents run the auction in the lounge which doesn't add any delay to the plane pushing away from the gate.

>We have a "not enough dopes" problem. There need to be more people willing to take buyouts, and since that's not happening,

Is the goal to have zero involuntary bumps? Because 40,000 involuntary bumps out of 660,000,000[1] seems like there are "enough dopes" on virtually every plane.

[1] https://www.dallasnews.com/business/airlines/2017/03/20/hold...

[jonnathanson]

Your experience differs from mine, is all I can say. What I wouldn't give for 5-minute auction games.