What businesses use overbooking?

An airline, rail or shipping company may book more customers onto an aircraft, train or cruise ship than can actually be accommodated. This allows them to have a (nearly) full vehicle on most runs, even if some customers miss the trip (tickets are often rebookable afterwards). Such customers are called no-shows.



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For example, an airline overbooks a flight in expectation of a certain number of passenger no-shows. Similarly, a restaurant overbooks its seating reservations, since some patrons never show up for their reservation slots.

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Before you travel, please check the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office advice for your destination. Sometimes airlines book more people onto a flight than there are seats on the plane. This is because people don't always turn up — despite having booked a flight.

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Like many airlines, easyJet routinely sells more tickets than there are seats on the plane for popular departures. The airline says its typical no-show rate is 5 per cent, or an average of nine passengers for each full flight.

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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.

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Each carrier determines their own bumping criteria, but airline staff may choose to bump passengers who were last-minute check-ins, those who didn't make a seat selection when booking, those not at the gate 30 minutes before check-in, or passengers with low-priced seats.

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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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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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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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Yes, You Can Still File a Lawsuit
One impacted flier has filed a class-action lawsuit asking for $5,000,000 in refunds. Apart from disruptions, cancellations, and overbooking, you can also seek compensation for discrimination, negligence, or safety issues.

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Carriers have been overbooking their flights for decades as a way to maximize income. According to Tech Crunch, on average, 5% of travelers miss their flight, and there are some situations where up to 15% of passengers do not show up.

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Overbooked flight with Wizzair Airlines sell more seats than available because they expect that some passengers will not show up on the day of the flight. This causes problems for travelers when more passengers show up to the airport than there are seats available.

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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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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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What is the definition of overbooking for a hotel? Overbookings, or double bookings, happen when a hotel sells more rooms than it has available for a given night. Many hotels do this deliberately to offset last-minute cancellations or no-shows and avoid losing revenue and occupancy.

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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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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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Overbooked flight with Ryanair When this happens, passengers are denied boarding even though their booking was reserved and confirmed correctly. In these cases, airlines will generally offer some type of compensation to passengers who are willing to give up their seat and fly at a later time.

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