Ha! When airlines cut costs, it's not the upper management who take salary cuts. If that was indeed a regional flight, as indicated by a previous poster, that indicates what airlines do to cut costs. A first year first officer (co-pilot) for Republic makes $36,000 a year to fly a multimillion dollar machine with up to ~117 passengers. After 5 years that same first officer will barely make over $40K.

I thought that possibly it was one of the regionals but hadn't read anything to confirm that. Many people assume that they are flying whatever airline has their logo on the tail. It's not that simple.

This, times a million!

Most likely your husband was riding with commuters. They regularly are on the same flights because they always have the same start (home city-->base city) or end (base city-->home city). Commuters usually fly in uniform, so it's hard to distinguish whether they are commuting or deadheading.

Based on what I've read, many people are calling involuntary bumping fraud. But if it is legal and a person agrees to enter into a contract (buying a ticket) knowing that it's a possibility, how can it be fraud? That's was more what I was getting at. I think that it's like any other kind of agreement--many people don't read or are aware of the fine print because most of the time it doesn't apply to them. When it does apply they raise hell and argue about fraud and how their rights are being trampled. I'm appalled at how the airport security handled this. Once they realized they could not get the passenger off without using unreasonable force, they should have had United deplane everyone and proceed from there.

That first paragraph is not at all accurate. If a crew has already timed out or will time out during the deadhead, they cannot deadhead. Deadheading pilots are on duty (just riding not flying), and they cannot be on duty after timing out. They can get their license pulled for doing that. Editing to add: There's no way the same employees would be deadheading on the same flight on a regular basis. Pilot schedules change every month and are based on schedules that the company has built each month and are bid on based on seniority. Trips and pairings vary so much, especially at a legacy like United, that there's no statistical way that the same crew would be DH on the same flights with any kind of regularity.

Would you be willing to pay significantly more per ticket on an average domestic flight to cover this? Most people wouldn't. That's why airlines use algorithms to try to get flights as close to exact capacity as possible. As someone said earlier, there are many fixed costs that an airline has to cover whether there's one passenger or a full flight. It makes financial and environmental sense to fly at maximum capacity. Unfortunately an algorithm can only attempt to predict; real life happens which means that there are times when people won't make it on. It also doesn't account for the necessity of moving flight crews, which is constantly changing. Only people who work in the industry see the constant changes and movements that crews do behind the scenes. In certain instances a deadheading flight crew can tip the numbers from at-capacity to too-many-passengers, as it seems happened in this instance. Most people don't understand how airline routes and schedules work and subsequently think that it's simple to get a flight at capacity without overselling. It's not that easy, especially for huge airlines that have a complex, international route structure that is also coordinated with partner and regional airlines.

I immediately thought of the Lunar Chronicles--great series! OP, since you previously had a Russian phase you might like A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. I haven't read this one (it's on my TBR list), so you might verify that it doesn't have the murderous content you're trying to avoid.

What if no one volunteers?

I can also say that if a passenger is asked to deplane (for whatever reason deemed appropriate by employees) and refuses, the flight crew will involve the authorities. That is their right for the safety of the crew and passengers.

I find it interesting that so many people (not necessarily here, but in general) aren't aware that overbooking and involuntarily bumping passengers off of flights is federally allowed by the DOT. When you buy a ticket you are not 100% guaranteed the flight you have purchased. https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights

The bolded part is not accurate. Pilots do frequently live other than where they're based. But they are responsible for getting to/from their base city. That is considered commuting. The airline doesn't schedule those flights or guarantee an available seat for commuting pilots in most cases (exceptions made sometimes for training events or the like). The pilot is not officially on duty or paid while commuting. Deadheading is where a pilot ends a trip in one city and the next trip originates in a different city. For example, a pilot may fly from Chicago to Philadelphia but the pilot's next trip may start out of Detroit. The company is responsible for getting the pilot to Detroit, so the trip from Philadelphia to Detroit is deadheading. A pilot is officially on duty and being paid while deadheading. Depending on the contract, deadheading pilots may not be required or allowed to sit in the cockpit jumpseat. Most people aren't familiar with what a jumpseat is like. It's fairly tiny, crowded, and can be loud. If a pilot has a long day ahead after the deadhead, it's sometimes a safer and smarter choice to avoid the jumpseat in order to have a restful deadhead. Deadheading pilots are considered "must ride" meaning they take precedence over revenue passengers. There are a lot of time/rest issues involved in getting crews placed correctly. If a crew is scheduled to deadhead on a certain flight, if they don't make it on the flight they may time out by the time the next flight is scheduled to depart. Or they may time out as soon as they get to the city and can't complete the flight that originates there. There are very complex scheduling and rest requirements that make the issue way more difficult than just send them on the next flight. One displaced crew may impact dozens of flights. With all that said, it's sad that they had to forcibly remove a passenger. From what I've read the airport security guard (not a United employee) who removed him did not follow protocol and is being investigated.

I saw the mention of Taco Bell coupled with Jelly Belly and immediately wondered what a taco flavor jellybean would be like. At first it seems gross but I strangely like the smell of taco-scented stickers so maybe I'd give taco jellybeans a go.

Ok, all you black licorice lovers--we need to be bff's. Not because I love them too, but rather I want someone to give mine to since I can't stand them. No one in our family likes them so they usually get thrown out. I don't hate the buttered popcorn flavor but only like it in small quantities and with the right flavor to eat along with it. This is an interesting article about the creator of the buttered popcorn flavor, among others good and gross: http://www.confectionerynews.com/R-D/Accidental-inventions-The-barf-flavored-jelly-bean-inventor

If you're going for a themed look, graduation caps made out of mini Reese's cups and chocolate bars with school color sprinkles are all over Pinterest. This looks easy to do and you could use any frosting recipe: https://www.landolakes.com/recipe/18418/graduation-cupcakes/ Otherwise, just use a large round piping attachment and swirl it on. The fat, fluffy spiral is easy to do and looks nice. See this image http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dQHUnUrWnpA/TcTZhxVHw7I/AAAAAAAAB48/N8GrJNzFnlU/s1600/IMG_4982e.jpg If your cupcakes are going to be in a warm area for any length of time, don't use straight up buttercream. It will melt (don't ask me how I know that).

Same here. I can't take it regularly. I do keep it around, though, to take occasionally to help with certain issues (migraines, constipation). I've only tried the raspberry lemon flavor. It's not great but certainly tolerable.

I've never heard of Wish before. Can you tell me more about that site? It looks like Zulily or Joss & Main where you have to sign in to see deals.

That's one of the first sites I found when researching. Unfortunately they are only at the pre-pre-order stage right now. I do want to order from them once they get production going.

We really like our Shark. I think our model is the Lift Away Pro. We bought it from Overstock at a great price as a refurbished item. It was like new with absolutely no sign of use. We haven't had any problems with ours, but if you do, I think you can order parts directly from Shark. I hate the thought of something large like a vacuum being a "disposable" item (like only being able to get a couple years use out of it), so I like the idea of being able to change parts/fix.

Oh goodness, how I hate the feel of bare feet in shoes. I just recently bought some liner socks to wear with my boat shoes, and they are great. I never wear heels, but if I needed to I'd definitely try to find a pair of liners that worked with them.

I'd try a grout refreshing product--Polyblend Grout Renew (Home Depot) or Mapei Grout Refresh (Lowes). Test it in an inconspicuous area first to make sure you like the result. It's tedious but will give you a more consistent, cleaner look than just giving the grout a good scrub. I agree with everyone else who said to replace the brass fixtures and stall if possible. Try to use just one finish on the metal fixtures in the room, so you may want to change out either your cabinet knobs or sink faucets to match. Look into warm gray tones for a neutral but updated paint color. Since you have a lot of white (cabinet and tile) go for mid-tone, not too dark or light.

I'm glad that pantyhose are out of style. I wore them to the retail job I had while in college, but I lived in a much colder climate the. It makes me sweat just thinking about wearing them here in FL. Regarding the Leggs eggs--I remember having Christmas ornaments that were made out of them, cut out and with little figurines inserted like a Faberge egg. My favorite was always one that had a little deer and woodland scene inside. (much like this: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/4a/02/62/4a0262f5f5aff22b853ac87532441c01.jpg )

Do a search for girls' Bermuda shorts. We've gotten them from Target, Justice, and Old Navy in the past. I just did a quick search and JCPenney also came up.

I find the spinners to be kind of hypnotic to watch. I'm fairly sensitive to noise and sounds, especially when they're repetitive, so I can see the potential for it to become too much after awhile though. I'll definitely have to talk to my boys about being unobtrusive.

Thank you for all the suggestions and feedback. I'm expecting that if we get one of these that it'll drive me crazy. But it can't be any worse than all pen clicking, broken pencils, nail chewing, and so on that go on around my house. I know that the fidgeting won't stop so I'm hoping to channel it into movement that is less destructive and distracting. *fingers crossed*