Can airlines give away your seat?

Airlines have the right to give your seat away or deny you boarding, even if you have a confirmed reservation and may be on the way, said Justin Albertynas, CEO of the travel-tech start-up RatePunk. He reminded me that airlines overbook flights to compensate for potential (and common) no-shows and cancellations.



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Overbooked flight compensation under US regulations
If the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements for you, you are entitled to 400% of the one-way fare price, not to exceed $1,350 as well as any optional fees paid as part of your reservation (e.g. bag fees, seat upgrades, etc.).

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Choosing an airplane seat when you purchase a ticket doesn't guarantee you that seat. Guaranteed assigned seats on commercial flights is a myth. Even VIPs or celebrities sometimes lose their seats.

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Sometimes, when an airline asks for volunteers to give up their seats and fly on a different flight, there are not enough volunteers. When this occurs, the airline will select passengers to give up their seats. This is called “involuntary denied boarding” or “bumping.”

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While it is legal for airlines to involuntarily bump passengers from an oversold flight when there are not enough volunteers, it is the airline's responsibility to determine its own fair boarding priorities.

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Passengers who are denied boarding involuntarily due to oversales are entitled to compensation that is based on the price of their ticket, the length of time that they are delayed in getting to their destination because of being denied boarding, and whether their flight is a domestic flight or an international flight ...

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is delayed by more than two hours beyond its scheduled departure time, or cancelled. Ryanair, as a policy, does not overbook its flights.

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Passengers flying on overbooked flights might be asked to accept a bump, and receive a hefty financial amount in return. It's common practice for airlines to sell more tickets than seats on flights, anticipating that a certain number of passengers won't show up.

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You will be assigned one when you get to the airport. “Just because you do not have an assigned seat when you look to check in does not necessarily mean that you're not going to fly on that aircraft or that you're going to miss the flight,” Hobart said.

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Photo: When you are attributed the seat number 0 during check-in, that means there aren't any seat available. They won't even apologize, they simply don't care.

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Here's a look at American carriers, starting with the worst for overbooking and descending to the best:
  • Spirit Airlines — 78 IDBs per million passengers.
  • Frontier Airlines — 55.
  • Southwest Airlines — 41.
  • Alaska Airlines — 28.
  • American Airlines — 24.
  • United Airlines — 13.
  • Delta Air Lines — 3.
  • JetBlue Airways — 2.


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Overselling flights is a common practice in Europe in which airlines sell tickets to more passengers than there are seats on the plane. This is done to avoid having vacant seats when the plane takes off. Overbooking a flight is perfectly legal in Europe.

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Passengers can inquire about overbooking by contacting their respective airlines or using apps that show available seats per cabin. If your flight is overbooked, airlines will usually ask for volunteers to give up their seats and offer compensation in return.

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Ryanair's bag policy permits you to bring one personal bag for free, which must be up to 15.7 x 7.8 x 9.8 inches (40 x 20 x 25 cm) and fit under the seat in front of you.

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If you choose not to pay to reserve a seat, your seat will be assigned to you free of charge when you check in, between 24 hours and 2 hours prior to departure.

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However, this is not done intentionally, he says, or because of any change in the seat algorithm. Instead, it is because certain seats are more desirable for those booking ahead – so Ryanair have started to “hold” them. “We want to keep certain seats available for people who might want to purchase.”

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Yes, it's totally legal, although there are consequences. The airline must compensate you for the seat that has been sold to you but not that you have been unable to occupy. Overbooking on your flight: more tickets have been sold than the number of seats on the aircraft.

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You can claim compensation directly at the airport, but it's rare that airlines pay the compensation immediately. It's usually best to wait until you've reached your destination and the trip is over to claim both the overbooking compensation and the refund of your additional expenses.

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