At some point in your traveling life you will come across a widely practiced process in the airline business known as "Bumped" or even "dumped". Airlines capacity manage their flights which has become more of a science than an art. Airlines typically use historic data and overlay several operational factors which an algorithm will ingest and then produce a forecast capacity model which is then tweaked by an airline analyst that only human intervention and intelligence can provide with, currently. All this to say that airlines do and can get their capacity models wrong. Not by a huge amount I will state but even small variations in planning can create a scenario where more seats are sold than are available. The airlines place an educated bet based on the analysis that a number of passengers will not show for various reasons I.e. a number of passengers may just be late to catch the flight, miss the flight due to traffic congestion, mis-connect from another airport etc. etc.
Over the years US carriers have reduced or eliminated the practice of selling more tickets than seats which is not an illegal practice partly due to the airline’s argument of no shows and revenue risk.
Customers can be denied boarding because of the nightmare scenario where more passengers turn up for a flight than there are seats. The algorithm that the airlines used, or the analyst got the model simply wrong for this one flight. This scenario can cause mass chaos, resentment, and sometimes verbal and physical confrontations at the airport between the customers denied boarding and the airline employee at the airport tasked with navigating this tricky situation.
In the event denied boarding impacts you as a customer, you should know your rights in the US at least, which will allow you to better navigate informed outcomes. Remember there will be scenarios where airlines can deny you boarding and there will be no recourse for you and is perfectly allowable. Essentially there are 3 scenarios where a customer gives up their seat.
1) Voluntarily
In this scenario more passengers hold a ticket and are ready to fly than there are seats on the flight and the airlines should first ask passengers to give up their seats voluntarily, in exchange for compensation. The compensation can be in many forms to incentivize a passenger to give up their seat including virtual money or vouchers, or a hybrid including an upgraded seat on the next flight. The passenger can negotiate somewhat with the airline directly as there normally aren’t any limits. It will all come down to how desperate the airline is. If you are one of the customers accepting to give up your confirmed seat in exchange for the incentive the airline is giving you always ensure you understand what you are being offered, what form it takes, any restrictions associated with the offer. You are within your rights to have the airline explain
2) In-voluntarily aka “bumped” in the industry
In the scenario where more ticket holders arrive for a flight than there are seats, plus the airline was not able to succeed in getting enough volunteers to give up seats. The airline can then bump customers (Involuntary denied boarding) from the flight. Each airline has their own denied boarding criteria to select which customer will be impacted.
There is no law in the US which prevents the airline from bumping. However, the airlines operate under some form of fair boarding priorities which is not dictated any US legislation. Bumping criteria can include the frequent flyer status of the customer, fare paid by the customer, what time the customer checked in. A customer with a high loyalty status who checked in very early and paid a high fare is less likely to be selected to be bumped. A note to all customers, check-in online where possible as soon as check-in is open as this works in your favor.
Let’s say that you were unlucky and were a victim of being selected to be bumped the airline must provide written notification to you which outlines your rights plus an explanation outlining how the carrier decides on who gets bumped. Involuntary denied boarding doesn’t always require the airline to compensate you for several reasons such as the original scheduled aircraft has been down gauged meaning a smaller aircraft is operating resulting in fewer operational seats, a customer’s cabin was downgraded, the flight is a charter flight and not a scheduled flight etc. As long as you met these criteria and were bumped, you are entitled to compensation. (1) You had a confirmed ticket, (2) checked-in for your flight on time (3) you arrived at the boarding gate on time (4) and the airline cannot get you to your destination within one hour of the original arrival time. The last item #4 is one that customers and airlines remember the least.
3) Safety related.
An airline can deny boarding for any of the following reasons and is not required to compensate the denied customer. Some of these are common sense but item #4 can be very subjective and tricky.
1) Being intoxicated or under the influence of illegal drugs.
2) Attempting to interfere with the duties of a flight crew member.
3) Disrupting flight operations or engaging in unruly behavior.
4) Having an offensive odor that is not caused by a disability or illness.
Make sure you know your consumer rights when traveling specially if you are denied boarding when holding a confirmed seat. Airlines all have playbooks they try to stick to when handling denied boarding, but it is important to know they also have some latitude in compensation limits and the form of compensation. Remember the airline employees are not out to get you, they are executing the company policies. Be humble be polite and professional at all times and hopefully everything will work out for you and the airline alike.
Travel Tips!
You can lodge a complaint with the DOT in the USA by using an online form. Of course it could just be comments instead of complaints as long as it is not related to airline safety or security. This may include, but is not limited to, topics such as flight delays and cancellations, overbooking, disability, tarmac delays, baggage, discrimination, refunds, ticketing practices, family seating, frequent flyer programs, charter flights, privacy and air ambulance service. |
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