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Gadling's guide to getting bumped: What is overbooking?
When a flight sells out, most people assume that the ledger book closes, the flight is full, the plane flies and everyone's a happy camper. Secretly though, the airlines don't do this. Depending on the market and the flight, often times airlines will sell seats they don't even have, strictly for the purpose of maximizing profit and loads.It's called inventory management, or simply, overbooking. Say on a 100 seat jet, your statistical data suggest that two people are going to miss the flight. So you sell 102 seats and assume the flight will be 100% full. The two people who should statistically miss the flight are stuck and will need to buy another ticket, while you keep the profit from the extra two sold tickets as overhead. Alternatively, if 102 people actually show up, the extra two people can be bumped, rebooked on different routes and the airline will fork over a couple hundred bucks. Either way, the airlines win.
Obviously, certain markets have a tendency to have more no-shows. LAX could have a high volume of overbooks because of the hideous traffic around the area and large number of seats on outbound jets. Conversely, Houghton, MI will have fewer overbooks because they know 99.9% of people make their flights. Of course, all of this data is hush hush and the airlines won't discuss how or to what extent they overbook their jets.
The problem is that most people believe that a bump is going to create all sorts of problems and that they're not going to get home until next Tuesday. That's not necessarily true; a little research and planning can often guarantee you get home that same night, if not barely later than originally scheduled, if not earlier. With the tools and knowledge below, you can shift the power from the gate agent to yourself, massaging the system to ultimately get you the vouchers and itinerary that you want.Ask yourself first though whether you want to devote the care and patience to ruining a perfectly good itinerary and sacrificing your travel plans to the gods. For some people its just not worth the 300$ voucher or the free ticket in exchange for the potential hours of waiting around in an airport or sitting in the middle seat in the back of the plane. For people like me with time to kill and an empty pocketbook though, defeating the system is a small grain of justice for the atrocities that we have to put up with on a daily basis, in our lives, and all around us.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
kimi Nov 1st 2007 5:15PM
I fly twice a month and ALWAYS fly United. Why do I fly United? Because they are always so overbooked that I know they'll be asking for volunteers to take the next flight. If I feel lucky and like taking a risk I don't go to the counter immediatly when they inquire because the amount of their offering increases as they get more desperate. I'm only taking a 600 mile flight so their first offer is generally a $200 voucher, if they get no volunteers it's a $200 voucher and a first class seat on the next flight, wait a minute longer and they'll be offering a $400 voucher and the first class seat. Flying out of SFO this usually means no more than an hour delay as the flights to my destination leave almost hourly. I have started flying in the day before I have to do business so there is no stress upon delay and should the next flight be the following morning I never accept their offer of the night at the Budget Inn, if you ask they'll put you up in a four star hotel.
If you don't want to take a chance on missing out, you really want that voucher, seat yourself close to the podium. If there are others anxious for that voucher you want to be right there, the first in line.
With a little patience you might never pay for another flight again. I've been flying on a voucher and given another for being bumped. No exageration, I've recieved $5000 in voucher in 2007. Remember, patience is a wondrous virtue.
Leon Nov 2nd 2007 12:33PM
Recently we flew Spirit Airlines out of Ft. Lauderdale. The flight was scheduled to leave At 6:40 AM. We had seat assignments and arrived at the check in counter at 6:00 AM. We had been line for over an hour. We were told that the flight was full and the door closed. We were offered seats on the 1:30 PM with a $70.00 per person transfer charge. We disputed all of it and did get the fees waived. Upon our return I attempted to contact Spirit and couldn't to talk to anyone with any authority.
We filed our concerns with the Department of Transportation and must have made a mistake since we received a letter from United Airlines with an apology and a travel voucher on our next flight.
We'll never do the Spirit thing again since this is quite common with them.
carlos Nov 2nd 2007 4:31PM
I am an airline employee. Let me suggest a couple of things. Chances are your luggage will go on the flight you originally booked on. I recommend a carry on with a change of clothes and minimize your hygene supplies. Security will only let you go through with a minimum of 3 oz. toothpaste , deoderant, mouthwash... . Also if you are flying out the next day instead of later and you are in your home town. decline the hotel and see if they will up the voucher value. If you are stuck somewhere and need a room ask for a r.o.n kit. this is an overnight kit with basic hygene supplies. If your trip is flight is more than 3 hours see if you can get a first class seat. It is a waste to fly first class for a flight under 3 hours. Make sure the voucher you get is for anytime and check restrictions also
Len Jan 16th 2008 11:33PM
My wife and I one time booked an evening flight on United from Newark to Tampa to visit relatives. We took a bump in DC for which we received a total of $600 in vouchers plus a night in a hotel and meal tickets. The next morning we flew first class all the way to Tampa via Chicago. Coming back my wife had to work while I took another bump, with a $300 voucher and a night at the Hyatt. We paid $400 for a round trip to Tampa while United paid us $900 for the trip. NBot Bad.