Is overbooking flights legal in Australia?

It is legal to overbook seats for a flight on the provision that passengers who don't get a seat due to overbooking must be compensated with an alternative flight, cash, or travel vouchers. Depending on when you decide to travel, you may encounter being asked to opt taking your scheduled flight.



Yes, overbooking flights is legal in Australia and is a common industry practice among major carriers like Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Jetstar. Airlines use sophisticated algorithms to estimate the "no-show" rate for each flight, selling more seats than the aircraft can hold to maximize revenue and keep ticket prices competitive. Unlike the United States or the European Union, Australia does not have specific federal laws that mandate a fixed cash compensation amount for passengers who are "bumped" from an overbooked flight. Instead, these situations are governed by general Australian Consumer Law and the airline's own "Conditions of Carriage." Typically, if you are bumped, the airline will offer a seat on the next available flight and may provide meal vouchers or hotel accommodation if the wait is overnight. While some airlines might offer an "expirable" travel voucher as a gesture of goodwill, they are not legally required to provide the high-dollar cash payouts seen in other regions unless you can prove a "consequential loss."

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Involuntarily Giving Up Your Seat (Bumping) 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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Without sufficient volunteers, passengers (usually those with the lowest fares) must leave involuntarily when there is overbooking on a flight. Each must receive a written statement explaining how the carrier chooses whom to bump.

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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 -1.22%) is the one holdout that chooses not to overbook its flights -- to be more customer-friendly.

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One is to check in early. Once you check in, you'll probably get a seat assignment, and the chances of getting bumped decrease. Don't wait to board! If you're not in your seat, the airline may assume you won't show up and give your seat to another passenger.

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Overbooking is a way for airlines to manage their revenues and maximize profits, simply by taking in more bookings for a flight than there are seats. This is to avoid planes flying out with empty seats, because once those planes take off there's no way for the airline to recover any revenue from that empty seat.

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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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If there are not enough passengers who are willing to give up their seats voluntarily, an airline may deny you a seat on an aircraft based on criteria that it establishes, such as the passenger's check-in time, the fare paid by the passenger, or the passenger's frequent flyer status.

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While skiplagging isn't illegal, American Airlines filed a civil lawsuit earlier this month against Skiplagged.com, accusing the company of unauthorized and deceptive ticketing practices and tricking customers into believing they've gained access to a secret loophole.

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OVERBOOKING OF FLIGHTS If the flight is overbooked, no one will be denied a seat until airline personnel first ask for volunteers willing to give up their reservation in exchange for a payment of the airline's choosing.

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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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NEW YORK (AP) — Ever wonder how airlines decide who gets a seat upgrade on flights? Airlines say it's strictly by the book: Loyal customers are rewarded based on their status in frequent flyer programs. But some flyers insist that once in a while, they get upgraded even when they've bought the cheapest seat.

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Whether you're flying from New York or New Orleans, Lisbon or London, airlines continue overbooking to compensate for “no-shows” all the time. Simply put, they sell more tickets than they have available seats. And it's not an illegal practice.

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