Originally Posted by
Gauges and Dials
It's not nearly that simple.
I go to book a flight from point A to point B next Tuesday. The fare would be $500. The airline doesn't sell me a ticket because the flight is fully booked and they're no longer allowed to oversell. Meanwhile, someone else holding a ticket no-shows, and the aircraft dispatches with an empty seat. The airline is now:
- Down $500 in lost ticket sales.
- Up $X in reduced fuel burn
- Down $Y in lost loyalty; because I couldn't get my seat I try their competitor, and might like them and make the switch.
- Up $Z in reduced risk of having to deal with a voluntary or involuntary denied boarding payout.
Not sure this is true. The no-show has paid for the seat and is unlikely to be refunded. The airline still has 100% income.
They then sell that seat to a standby passenger and have 105% income
As a loyal customer, would you not prefer to be told that the flight you wanted was full and you had that chance to make alternate arrangements or would you prefer to be sold a ticket which, when you get to the airport, you are told it will not be honoured .
I am sorry but overbooking just does not make any sense at all to me.
The stupidity of bumping 10% of your pax onto another flight does not save money, you still have to fly them AND you give them compensation.