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This is just a guess...United needed to get a couple of pilots on the flight from Chicago to Louisville or else another flight would be delayed/canceled.

Only reason I can think of an employee would take precedence over passenger.

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Why didn't they figure this out before boarding everyone? It's much easier to deny boarding than to pull someone off of a plane.

I don't know. Last minute logistical changes based on timetables, planes, weather, etc. The reason why I guessed this is because my brother is a pilot.

That's not overbooking then, do the same rules apply?

Whether or not they do, the airline is still able to remove any customer and offer customers money to volunteer to be bumped.

They should have offered a ton more than $800 for that then.

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