Selling more seats than are available; its a common practice in aviation. Usually, this doesn’t lead to many problems but when it goes wrong, the impact to passengers can be severe… Remember United and Dr Dao who was dragged off the plane because he refused to give up his seat?
My experiences – And how I made €150
Last week when flying back from Munich I encountered an overbooked flight. Due to my Elite+ status with the airline, this is usually not a big problem for me. (Passengers with status are the last ones that will be “bumped” (taken off the flight)). However, this time I wanted to see what I could get out of this situation so I asked if they were still looking for volunteers.
And yes, they did! It was at this moment that negotiations started; I was offered a voucher for future use and rebooked on the next flight (4 hours later). Since this was too late for me I asked them to put me on the next one (operated by Lufthansa) and in Business Class as a gesture.
And off I went; one hour later, flying back to Amsterdam on Lufthansa (in Economy though) with some free money to spend on my next flights. Not a bad idea to opt in as a volunteer, right?
Read the rest of this article to find out how to spot if your flight is overbooked and what to do!
Why overbooking?
On almost every flight, some people don’t show up because they miss their connection, cancel last minute or miss the flight. This leads to empty seats which cannot be used to generate revenue. With tight margins, airlines chose to overbook their flights to maximise the revenue generated by each one. And with the current technology, airlines are very well aware which flights usually have empty seats.
This practice works pretty well and usually works out fine for the airlines. People don’t show up and if they do, it’s just a matter of moving up a few people from economy to the business class to solve the problem. But sometimes things go wrong, its then when airlines have to take measures.
What does the airline do when a flight is overbooked?
The first thing that airlines will do is to find volunteers. If the matter is very tight this will happen at check-in but usually, this happens at the gate, just before boarding. If they found enough volunteers they will re-accommodate these travellers. If they don’t, they will bump people involuntarily from the flight.
When you volunteer you can negotiate with the airline. If you are bumped involuntarily, the airlines have to compensate you. This ranges from €125 to €600 based on EU law.
How to spot an overbooked flight?
In order to benefit from the strategic choice of the airline (overbooking) you first need to know if the flight you’re taking is overbooked. One of the first things you can do is to keep an eye on the seat-map during check-in. Plenty of seats available? Too bad for you, it’s not overbooked. But if all seats are taken there might be a chance of an overbooking.
Secondly, if you have the feeling your flight is overbooked; just move over to the check-in desk and ask. If the answer is yes, let them know you’d like to volunteer and start negotiating. Make sure to put the stakes high, the airline will definitely respond and see whats possible to help you out.
Going after an involuntary bump requires a lot of luck. You never know if you will be the person they randomly select. If you have the extra time, definitely volunteer and negotiate with the airline!