Can an airline give your seat away?

The vast majority of the time, passengers don't have any problems boarding their flights. But occasionally, airlines may “bump” passengers and have them give up their seats. Bumping, also known as “denied boarding,” happens when there are more passengers scheduled to fly on an airplane than available seats.



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For domestic flights in the U.S., airlines have to pay you 200% of the value of your one-way ticket up to $775 if you arrive at your destination one to two hours past your originally scheduled itinerary or 400% of the one-way ticket price, up to $1,550 if your arrival delay is longer than two hours.

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You will likely get assigned a seat during check-in (though you should still skip it if the airline tries to tack on a fee) or, at the very least, at the gate. Again: You don't have to select a seat in order to get a seat.

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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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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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Depending on the airline, if you've just purchased a flight and don't have a seat assignment, typically, you should wait until 24 hours before your flight when your check-in window opens (and blocked seats become available).

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As long as you ask though, you should be okay - there are no rules or laws against swapping seats. The best place to sit is actually the back of the plane, according to one flight attendant.

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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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It means exactly what it says - Your seat will be assigned at the gate. Usually, this happens when the flight is full, or even oversold. At the time you bought your ticket, you either did not select a seat or no seats were available.

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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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