Hi All,
Airline overbooking, a widespread practice in the commercial aviation industry, is an issue that has attracted significant attention due to its potential for causing passenger inconvenience.
The primary reason airlines overbook flights is to maximize revenue by ensuring that every seat is occupied. Despite confirmed bookings, airlines often face situations where passengers fail to show up for their flights, resulting in empty seats and missed revenue opportunities. To counteract this, airlines use predictive analytics based on historical data to estimate the likelihood of no-shows and accordingly overbook flights.
Overbooking management is a complex process involving careful planning and communication. When a flight is overbooked, airlines typically request volunteers to give up their seats in exchange for certain incentives such as vouchers, future travel credits, or upgraded tickets on subsequent flights.
If there are no volunteers, airlines may have to involuntarily deny boarding to some passengers. In such cases, airlines are obligated to compensate passengers as per the regulations set by governing bodies like the Department of Transportation or Directorate General of Civil Aviation in respective countries.
Overbooking is more common during peak travel periods, such as holidays and weekends, when flights are likely to be fully booked. Additionally, overbooking is more prevalent on popular routes and larger aircraft where the financial implications of empty seats are greater.
To avoid legal repercussions, airlines adhere to consumer protection regulations and clearly explain the terms and conditions of carriage, including overbooking policies, at the time of ticket purchase. This transparency ensures passengers are aware of the potential for denied boarding and the corresponding compensation.
Furthermore, airlines utilize robust predictive models to minimize the likelihood of having to deny boarding. They also invest in customer service and effective communication strategies to manage passenger expectations and dissatisfaction in overbooking situations.
These below are sample of SOP on overbooking situation mostly in some Airlines :
Before denying boarding to any passenger, Airlines will call for volunteers. Any passenger who volunteers and accepts the compensation offered to volunteers does so as full settlement of all and any claim for compensation against the airline.
Right to re-routing or refund
Passengers who are denied boarding, voluntarily or otherwise, shall have the choice of either:
- Re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to the final destination of the ticket presented at check-in at the earliest opportunity or at a later date at the passenger’s convenience, subject to availability; or
- A refund for the unused portion of the ticket. In addition, where the denied boarding disrupts a connecting journey for which the passenger holds a through ticket (with a planned connection time of 24 hours or less) and the passenger no longer wishes to continue to their destination, a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity, and,where the passenger can prove that the journey no longer serves any purpose in relation to the passenger’s original travel plan, a reimbursement of the flown sectors. Refunds and reimbursements will be paid to the purchaser of the ticket.
Right to care
Passengers who are involuntarily denied boarding are entitled to refreshments and meals in a reasonable relation to their waiting time as Airlines as a means of contacting two people outside the airport and hotel accommodation if necessary. Transport between the airport and place of accommodation will also be provided as required.
Eligibility
To be eligible for any of the rights under this law, passengers denied boarding must have a valid ticket with a confirmed reservation for the flight (or have been transferred by us onto the flight from another flight on which they had a confirmed reservation), have presented themselves for check-in in good time and be in possession of the necessary travel documents. Passengers will not qualify if there are reasonable grounds to deny boarding, such as health, safety or security.
Volunteers and boarding priorities
If a flight is oversold (more passengers hold confirmed reservations than there are seats available), no one may be denied boarding against his or her will until airline personnel first ask for volunteers who will give up their reservation willingly, in exchange for a payment of the airline’s choosing. If there are not enough volunteers, other passengers may be denied boarding involuntarily in accordance with the following boarding priority of Airlines
- Standby passengers and airline or Travel Industry related employees, traveling on a reduced or concessional fare basis.
- Apex (advance purchase excursion)
- Youth Fare.
- 22/45 day.
- 14/21 day.
- Full fare Economy Class.
- Business Class.
- First Class.
- Unaccompanied minors and Stretcher cases and their escorts.
- Employees whose movement is of a high degree of urgency-(Repositioning crews, Engineers traveling to urgent operational duty or traveling to or from disaster areas).
Compensation of involuntary denied boarding
If Passengers are denied boarding involuntarily, Passengers are entitled to a payment of “denied boarding compensation” from the airline unless:
- Passengers have not fully complied with the airline’s ticketing, check-in, and reconfirmation requirements, or Passengers are not acceptable for transportation under the airline’s usual rules andpractices, or
- Passengers are denied boarding because the flight is canceled; or
- Passengers are denied boarding because a smaller capacity aircraft was substituted for safety or operational reasons; or
- Passengers are offered accommodations in a section the aircraft other than specified in Passengers ticket, at no extra charge, (a passenger seated in a section for which a passenger fare is charged must be given an appropriate refund): or
- the airline is able to place Passengers on another flight or flights that are planned to reach passengers final destination one of the scheduled arrival of Passengers original flight.
In conclusion, while the practice of overbooking can lead to customer dissatisfaction and potential legal issues, it is a revenue-maximizing strategy employed by airlines to compensate for expected no-shows. Airlines manage this situation through a combination of voluntary and involuntary denied boarding,
Salam Sehat Semangat Sukses
Bambang Purnomo , SS-BA, CSCA, CAVM Solution Consultant
