Why Airlines Overbook

12 Comments on Why Airlines Overbook

1. Very educational. It makes sense for a airline’s main hubs to overbook if 75% of their feeder flights are too late to make the connection. But why are those late so often? Weather I understand, but airlines seem to use “mechanical issues” as an excuse for late departures. Convenient.

2. So if I book a flight and don’t show up I get my many back? NO. So that seat has been paid for.

3. Until Airlines understand they are in the business of consummating America’s business deals and uniting families they will never succeed.
   Unfortunately they see themselves in the business of moving large pieces of aluminum from one location to another.

4. Whatever happened to “the friendly skies of United”?
   And attractive stewardesses? Now we get surly homosexuals of united.

5. People miss flights (partly) because connecting flights are late, so the airline overbooks to compensate.

   In other words, “We give you crappy service because we give you crappy service.”

   I do realizes, though, that (relatively) inexpensive ticket prices are based on the fact that some seats are, in effect, paid for twice. If the airlines refunded all the tickets then all ticket prices would be raised to make up the difference.

   That is not to say I like it, but there is no such thing as a free — or discounted — lunch.

   That does not mean that airline employees have to be such asses.

6. Brad is right. If all the seats are paid-for, then they could have 100% of the passengers not show up, and take-off empty, and STILL make a profit. The only fair way to fix this is for the airline to only sell “stand-by” tickets after all the seats are reserved. That includes employees dead-heading. A GOOD airline could use this debacle as an advertising opportunity.

7. Remember the good old days when a cross country flight was undersold and you could stretch out across 3 seats with a pillow and a blanket?

8. Rather than tell the airlines how to run it…
   Wait – the government is already doing that. How about if the government stops doing that, the airlines figure it out themselves based on making a profit, and realize that the Southwest version (or at least in that direction) of doing business is the most profitable and change their model. Versions of Yelp ensure good feedback, satisfaction is reflected in which airline people patronize, and we realize the most efficiency. It would be as if we had a free market system or something.

9. I used to work for a major airline as an aircraft cleaner. I spent 10 years cleaning up other peoples crap, doing the menial work that the mechanics didn’t want to do, putting up with faggot flight attendants who wanted a plane to look like it just got an overnight cleaning on a 20 minute turnaround, and pulling trash bags with empty beer cans out of the cockpit.

   I don’t fly anymore.

10. I’m not sure what airlines people are flying but it depends on ticket you’ve bought. For most a 2 hour cancellation will result in a full refund for full fare passengers, for those flying cheap tickets there is usually rebook fee and in most cases a rebook fee is charged if the cancellation is within 45 minutes of departure regardless of class. The problem is a lot of business travellers (I know from experience) will text their AA’s and have them change the departure about 2 hours and 1 minute prior to the flight or even closer then charge the company the fee. United could have handled this better however the dipshit tried to sneak back on board after he had deplaned and the whole thing snowballed. I don’t think United has anything to fear in court as it’s plainly noted that the airline can ask a passenger to delay or take a different flight. Buying your ticket means you’ve agreed to these conditions. Hell, the guy could have held out for more the a hotel room and 800 bucks.

11. I used to fly student standby back in the sixties. A trip from Syracuse to LaGuardia was $11. Military also could fly standby. When my brother got out of boot camp (Navy – Great Lakes) in 1968 we both flew home for Thanksgiving on the same flight.

12. @ P Henry,

    Yep. Eighteen-twenty years ago, I slept acress three seats between Chicago and Seattle more often than not. Of course those were 6 something a.m. Flights, but still, I was there in a flash, rather than a four hour dragged out flights.

    The last time I flew out there was right before my family moved back to the Midwest, and I had a horrible flight. I was dozing in an isle seat, and I got a coffee pot dumped in my lap. I woke to my own scream.

    Soaked through to my underware. Had to spend the rest of the flight in a dry jump seat with a blanket over my torso. Would you believe I had to fight for compensation. Finally, after months, AA came up with a $600 or less flight ticket as compensation.