Why do airlines over-book flights?

[Southern Dad]

True, and I'll not disagree but when the cost of a ticket per person is in excess of 300 dollars (for my flight to San Francisco), I'd hazard a guess that 99.99% of the people who buy tickets will be at the airport. I understand life circumstances can impact a person's plans to travel but generally I think that's the rare exception more then a rule.

You would be shocked at the number of people who don't show up for their flights. There's also the missed connections. Those that miss their connecting flights are rebooked by the airlines onto the next flight. However when bumped there are rules. They have to compensate you.

 

[mtneer]

Walk up businessman willing to pay $2000 for same day ticket is way more profitable than Joe buying that vacation ticket for $250 3 months in advance. Makes complete sense to bump Joe off that flight and offer to fly him later when an empty seat opens up.

Airline gets to keep Joe's money for 3 months and will apply blackouts/ restrictions on the voucher in the hope that Joe forgets/ never gets to use that voucher on a profitable route.

 

[Southern Dad]

Walk up businessman willing to pay $2000 for same day ticket is way more profitable than Joe buying that vacation ticket for $250 3 months in advance. Makes complete sense to bump Joe off that flight and offer to fly him later when an empty seat opens up.

Airline gets to keep Joe's money for 3 months and will apply blackouts/ restrictions on the voucher in the hope that Joe forgets/ never gets to use that voucher on a profitable route.

At one time, I commuted to Rhode Island, for about 8 months. I know, what was I thinking. At that time, I was a newly single father with a 4-year-old traveling with me. We flew up from ATL to PVD on Sunday nights, never got bumped. But the trip from PVD to ATL on Thursday nights we got bumped about a third of the time. The flight was almost always full. They would ask for volunteers. Since the perks were pretty good we often took it.

The best one we ever got was $1600 in Delta travel vouchers, a $200 gift card. Yes, the travel vouchers had blackouts but they were free. Our inconveniences, we left the next afternoon. On an Air Tran flight from MCO to ATL, they couldn't find any volunteers. People were getting mad. A gate agent offered us lunch, upgrade to first class and a tour of the cockpit for my daughter. The delay wasn't even two hours.

If you ever actually want to be bumped from flights, only have carry ons. Check in early. Sit close to the gate. They try and discreetly ask for volunteers before announcing it.

 

[Huntn]

If you don't show up for or cancel a flight last minute, do you get a refund if that seat is sold to someone else?

If it's a non refundable seat, the title is self explanatory. The difference in price is huge between refundable and non refundable. For a fight from Houston to Amsterdam, non refundable price: $1200, refundable price: more like $3000. For such a ticket my advice is go non refundable and purchase trip insurance which depending on the company runs a couple hundred dollars.

 

[senseless]

If it's a non refundable seat, the title is self explanatory. The difference in price is huge between refundable and non refundable. For a fight from Houston to Amsterdam, non refundable price: $1200, refundable price: more like $3000. For such a ticket my advice is go non refundable and purchase trip insurance which depending on the company runs a couple hundred dollars.

I was comparing this to a breach of an apartment lease. If the landlord is able to re-rent the property, the tenant's liability is reduced. Wouldn't the resale of an airline ticket be double dipping for the airline? Doesn't seem fair.

 

[Liberty.]

There is a whole work field cauled yield management. Noshows are about ~10% as a rule.

 

[Huntn]

I was comparing this to a breach of an apartment lease. If the landlord is able to re-rent the property, the tenant's liability is reduced. Wouldn't the resale of an airline ticket be double dipping for the airline? Doesn't seem fair.

As far as I know non-refundable tickets are non-refundable. However if you show up late for a flight, it may be discretionary, but I assume many carriers will try to accommodate the passenger. Fair? If you miss a concert or ball game, no refunds are given.

 

[Southern Dad]

As far as I know non-refundable tickets are non-refundable. However if you show up late for a flight, it may be discretionary, but I assume many carriers will try to accommodate the passenger. Fair? If you miss a concert or ball game, no refunds are given.

Many of the no shows for a flight are caused by a late connecting flight. Since that is the airlines fault not the individual, they book them on another flight.

 

[bradl]

Many of the no shows for a flight are caused by a late connecting flight. Since that is the airlines fault not the individual, they book them on another flight.

Most airlines have a standing rule that if the delay or cause of missing a connecting flight isn't caused by an "act of God" (my words), they'll comp you the booking on the next flight. If is an act of God (read: weather, earthquake, natural phenomena), you're SOL.

Nice pic of your daughter in the left seat! B757, or B767?

BL.

 

[wordoflife]

It's a risk that airlines take to fill each and every seat in case of no shows, delayed connections, last minute changes, and so on..

When they actually run out of seats, they know that some people will volunteer to take the next flight if they are compensated.

 

[Southern Dad]

Nice pic of your daughter in the left seat! B757, or B767?

Actually, it was Air Tran which only had B717 and B737-300. It was the latter.

 

[maflynn]

You would be shocked at the number of people who don't show up for their flights. There's also the missed connections. Those that miss their connecting flights are rebooked by the airlines onto the next flight. However when bumped there are rules. They have to compensate you.

Everyone showed up for my flight, and while I'm no travel warrior. Its hard to imagine someone blowing off a flight. I can see connections getting missed but this wasn't a connecting flight.

The plane was filled to the brim and and they had to bump a number of people off the flight.

 

[Huntn]

Many of the no shows for a flight are caused by a late connecting flight. Since that is the airlines fault not the individual, they book them on another flight.

I'm referring to the start of a trip, showing up for the first flight.

----------

Actually, it was Air Tran which only had B717 and B737-300. It was the latter.

Looks like a Delta cap she has on.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

Most airlines have a standing rule that if the delay or cause of missing a connecting flight isn't caused by an "act of God" (my words), they'll comp you the booking on the next flight. If is an act of God (read: weather, earthquake, natural phenomena), you're SOL.

Nice pic of your daughter in the left seat! B757, or B767?

BL.

You may recall the very real effects of what was termed the 'Act of God' in 2010 when the eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull (the very pronunciation of which created a bit of a challenge for news readers and news anchors across Europe) caused extraordinary difficulties and delays across the globe, especially in Europe.

I was on leave when the eruption happened, and, here, I must admit that I was quite blasé initially, as I wasn't due to return from leave for a further week, and thus assumed that any backlog caused by the eruption would have been well cleared by then. It wasn't. Thus, further delays and disruptions meant that, when the time came, my flight was also cancelled as all flights were still grounded due to possible dangers arising from volcanic ash, and my return from leave was - in turn - delayed by a further week as the backlog was slowly cleared.

This led to some fascinating bureaucratic paperwork in HR, and I do recall the term 'Act of God - Volcanic Ash' being written in the relevant section of the file.

 

[Macky-Mac]

Most airlines have a standing rule that if the delay or cause of missing a connecting flight isn't caused by an "act of God" (my words), they'll comp you the booking on the next flight. If is an act of God (read: weather, earthquake, natural phenomena), you're SOL.

Nice pic of your daughter in the left seat! B757, or B767?

BL.

weather delays and other "acts of god" they'll put you on the next flight that has a seat available but they won't pay your hotel or give you food vouchers.....so you're only half SOL

 

[bradl]

weather delays and other "acts of god" they'll put you on the next flight that has a seat available but they won't pay your hotel or give you food vouchers.....so you're only half SOL

Most airlines won't do that at all, because it was something out of their control. They might be able to get you on the next flight as standby, but definitely not a guaranteed seat, hotel stay, nor vouchers.

BL.

 

[Macky-Mac]

Most airlines won't do that at all, because it was something out of their control. They might be able to get you on the next flight as standby, but definitely not a guaranteed seat, hotel stay, nor vouchers.

BL.

well yeah, that's what I said isn't it?

They'll put you on the next flight that has a seat available but they won't pay your hotel or give you food vouchers.

so yeah, that's actually what they do....so not:

Most airlines won't do that at all

 

[KateJaksor]

When they actually run out of seats, they know that some people will volunteer to take the next flight if they are compensated.

I don't think that this is the good way to solve their own problems - at the expense of unsuspecting people. But, this is their cup of tea and we very often couldn't influence this.

 

[wordoflife]

I don't think that this is the good way to solve their own problems - at the expense of unsuspecting people. But, this is their cup of tea and we very often couldn't influence this.

Its also important to remember that some people pay a lot of money for flights while others pay less. I'm sure they can find a way to come out on top most of the time.

 

[tillsbury]

Bumps are tremendous. Yes, overbooking is normal to compensate for empty seats. When I used to fly transatlantic I would always go in a suit, always ask how the bookings were going. On more that one occasion we were bumped, usually to a flight only an hour or two later, but with an upgrade to business class and often a free economy flight voucher too. I couldn't stick my hand up fast enough.

Particularly on vacation flights, being smartly dressed is a critical difference. Airline staff hate bumping people in scruffy clothes, as it makes all the other passengers in business complain.

 

[Menel]

Why do airlines over-book flights?

Bumps are tremendous. Yes, overbooking is normal to compensate for empty seats. When I used to fly transatlantic I would always go in a suit, always ask how the bookings were going. On more that one occasion we were bumped, usually to a flight only an hour or two later, but with an upgrade to business class and often a free economy flight voucher too. I couldn't stick my hand up fast enough.



Particularly on vacation flights, being smartly dressed is a critical difference. Airline staff hate bumping people in scruffy clothes, as it makes all the other passengers in business complain.

Have you seen the way business executive millionaires dress these days?

Zuckerburg, hoodies?
Carmack, cargo pants and rumpled tshirt?
Appearance means nothing.

 

[tillsbury]

Have you seen the way business executive millionaires dress these days?

Zuckerburg, hoodies?
Carmack, cargo pants and rumpled tshirt?
Appearance means nothing.

They travel in first class if they are slumming it at all on a commercial flight. In business class people wear suits.

 

[Southern Dad]

They travel in first class if they are slumming it at all on a commercial flight. In business class people wear suits.

At least a shirt and tie... But as Barney Stinson says:

 

[yg17]

They travel in first class if they are slumming it at all on a commercial flight. In business class people wear suits.

No they don't. Maybe they did in the 1960s, when people in economy got a steak dinner. But today they don't.

I just sat 3 rows behind business class on a flight from Frankfurt to Chicago and could see what people were wearing and didn't see one person in a suit. People wear what's comfortable, especially for a nearly 9 hour flight. Suits are not comfortable.

 

[HereBeMonsters]

I've travelled over 5 million miles in either Business or First (very rarely down the back, depends on availability) and can safely say I have never worn a suit on a plane.