Overbooking is a common practice in the airline industry, but it can become a nightmare for passengers if they’re denied boarding. In this article, we will discuss what overbooking is, why it happens, and how you can avoid getting bumped. We’ll also consider strategies to get fair overbooking compensation. Let’s get started!
What is overbooking?
Overbooking is the practice of selling more tickets for a particular flight than there are available seats. This often occurs when airlines expect some customers to cancel their reservations. Overbooking can lead to problems for customers who have paid for a reservation but cannot be accommodated due to a lack of space. Airlines may offer incentives such as vouchers or upgraded tickets to encourage passengers to give up their seats.
Why does it happen?
As mentioned earlier, overbooking happens because airlines want to maximize their profits by selling more tickets than there are seats available on a flight. Air carriers assume that some passengers will not show up, arrive late or cancel their flight at the last minute, so they can then fill those seats with other passengers.
This allows air carriers to make more money from the tickets sold than they would if they only sold as many tickets as there were seats available on the plane.
Who is a potential victim of overbooking?
When a flight is overbooked, the airline must determine who gets bumped. The airline typically looks at a variety of factors such as fare class, loyalty status, and check-in time to decide who should be left behind. Generally, passengers who paid the lowest fares or have no loyalty status with the airline are usually the first to be bumped. Therefore, passengers who:
- Book and check in late;
- Are last on board;
- Do not have assigned seats;
- Purchased an economy-class ticket;
- Aren’t enrolled in an airline’s frequent flier program;
are at higher risk of getting involuntarily bumped on an overbooked flight.
Passenger actions if overbooking occurs
If a passenger is affected by an overbooking situation, they should take the following steps:
- Ask to speak to an airline representative. Make sure to get their name and contact information.
- Ask for compensation for being bumped from the flight. Airlines are required to compensate passengers for being bumped from a flight due to overbooking. The amount of compensation varies by airline, but you can typically expect a free ticket or a voucher for future travel.
- Ask if there are any other flights available that day or the next day that you can take instead of the one you were originally booked on. If there are no other flights available, ask if the airline can put you up in a hotel until another flight is available.
- File a complaint with the airline’s customer service department after the incident has been resolved to ensure that it is documented in case any further issues arise from the situation.
The amount of monetary compensation
Travelers, who are flying to Europe on a European airline or out of Europe on any airline, are protected by the European law. The maximum compensation amount is €600 if passengers did not volunteer to give up their seats in exchange for various perks. Passengers can claim overbooking compensation up to three years after a denied boarding.
In general, your overbooked flights compensation depends on flight distance — the longer the flight, the bigger the compensation:
- For flights up to 1500 km, the compensation is €250;
- For flights from 1500 km to 3500 km, the compensation is €400;
- For flights that are longer than 3500 km, the compensation is €600.
However, they are not covered for flight disruptions caused by extraordinary circumstances that are not an airline’s fault.
Bottom line
To avoid getting dumped, travelers should check in online 24 hours before their flight and arrive early at the airport. Additionally, passengers can consider purchasing travel insurance or a flexible ticket that allows for changes and cancellations.
