Overbooked Flights

How can it happen?

Every major airline accepts more reservations for flights than it has seats available. This practice is known as overbooking. Flights are overbooked because a certain percentage of passengers are expected to be "no-shows". This means they change their travel plans but do not cancel their reservations. If airlines only booked reservations according to the number of seats on a plane, then potential customers would be denied their travel preference and a number of flights would leave with empty seats. To avoid this situation, the airlines always accept more reservations than the seats available.

This means there is a slight chance that a seat will not be available on a flight for which you have a confirmed reservation.

How does airline handle an overbooked flight?

If the flight is overbooked, no one should be denied a seat until airline personnel first ask for volunteers willing to give up their reservation in exchange for a payment of the airline’s choosing. If there are not enough volunteers the airline will deny boarding to other persons in accordance with its particular boarding priority (mostly first come first served). With few exceptions, persons denied boarding involuntarily are entitled to compensation. Airline should rebook you on the first available flight to your ticketed destination.

What can I do to avoid this situation?

We advise that you should always arrive at the airport early and check-in early. When airlines bump passengers, they usually begin with the people who checked in last (even if they arrived before the check-in deadline). This is why it's important to get your name punched into the computer as soon as possible.

The complete rules for the payment of compensation and each airline’s boarding priorities are available at all airport ticket counters and boarding locations.