Interestingly, it was the US that pioneered substantial compensation payments to passenters they overbook. In 1976, Ralph Nader took a case to the US Supreme Court alleging that overbooking amounted to fraudulent mispresentation. The airline concerned was ordered to pay $61 in compensation – and $50,000 in punitive damages! To avoid exposure to more claims like this, US airlines have traditionally been more generous than others in their compensation packages...