Can airlines legally oversell flights?

Airlines do have the legal right to overbook seats for flights, and unfortunately, overbooking is becoming an increasingly common occurrence. Airlines overbook to maximize profit to compensate for last-minute cancellations.



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Moreover, every airline in the United States overbooks its flights at least some of the time. All but one, that is. JetBlue Airways (JBLU 2.70%) is the one holdout that chooses not to overbook its flights -- to be more customer-friendly.

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However, there is no fixed way to find out if your flight is overbooked. Since overbooking usually happens during peak season, passengers can contact the customer service representatives of their respective airlines and inquire about overbooking.

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What are the most overbooked flights?
  • 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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It's 400% for over four hour arrival delays with the same $1,550 limit. These are the amounts airlines must pay by law. They can pay more if they choose to. Airlines must offer the compensation at the airport on the same day.

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In some cases, passengers may be denied boarding as a result of overbooking, even if they have a confirmed reservation and have checked in on time.

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Passengers on US flights have clear rights to be reimbursed when it comes to damaged, delayed, and lost bags, which apply when you're flying between US cities. Find out exactly what you're entitled to on our delayed baggage compensation page.

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These five airlines bumped the most passengers:
  • Frontier: 2,442.
  • American: 2,069.
  • Southwest: 610.
  • Spirit: 444.
  • Alaska: 66.


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-Delta and Allegiant still are the least likely mainline and budget airlines to bump a passenger. During Q2 2020, both Delta and Allegiant bumped zero passengers. -American Airlines Group's trio of airlines improved their bumps per 100,000 passengers drastically in Q2 2020 versus Q3 2019 – Q2 2020.

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But if no volunteers come forward airlines can involuntarily bump passengers - though Delta says it rarely comes to this. Airlines use an algorithm to determine which journeys to oversell and by how much.

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Some airports have signs at the gate that will show how full the flight is. The only other option is to go through the sales flow at least a couple of hours before departure and put the guest count up to 8 (the max it will allow) and see if that flight is still available.

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Some of the factors that airlines consider when deciding who gets bumped include check-in time, fare paid by the passenger, and frequent flyer status. It is important to note that these criteria must not be used in a way that prejudices or disadvantages any passenger unjustly or unreasonably.

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When a flight has more passengers who are ready to fly than there are seats available, airlines must first ask passengers to give up their seats voluntarily, in exchange for compensation, before bumping anyone involuntarily. Airlines may offer passengers incentives, such as money or vouchers, to volunteer.

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When you are involuntarily bumped from a flight, you can get cash (a check or credit on your credit card) from airlines. Overbooking is not illegal, and most airlines overbook their scheduled flights to a certain extent to compensate for “no-shows.” Passengers are sometimes left behind or “bumped” from a flight.

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