Oversold flights...

Tim

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I’m getting ready to board a regional jet, maybe 60-70 passenger capacity. They are oversold and asking for 6 volunteers because they’re over sold.

How do the airlines get away with this practice? It’s not that hard to figure out if a flight is at capacity or not. Yeah, I get that they play the odds of missed connections and cancelled flights, but a close to 10% overage is crazy.

On a side note....I really really miss my Elite status upgrades. This flying with the herd stuff sucks monkey sacks.

On the plus side, no free upgrades means I’m not having to travel so much anymore! Decent trade off I guess.
 
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Is it possible they had to switch planes to another model with fewer seats? I don’t know the business well enough tto know.
 
Is it possible they had to switch planes to another model with fewer seats? I don’t know the business well enough tto know.

Nope. It’s a canadair 900, same plane they listed on my original booking.
 
Even worse when there aren’t enough volunteers and the airline will have to kick someone off the flight or deny boarding to the lowest man on the totem pole.
 
I had to take “managerial accounting” with the unwashed masses of “business degrees” during one of my final semesters in enginerding school. Some scholar thought engineers needed some “math” that was geared toward running a business. Psssssh!!!

Anyway...
I distinctly remember one of the class examples was how airlines oversell seats and how it made totally clear and fine monkey math sense to do so. I can’t remember the solution or steps of the problem to save my life—likely because it didn’t make sense. But as I gazed around the auditorium of 300 +/- predominately future business leaders, I was able to glimpse into the hive of where the stupidity is born. Right then and there all 300 of those kids (I can affectionately call them “kids” since I was like a 5th year senior or something) lose a piece of their dignity and pledge allegiance to making more business sense than common sense.

To answer your question of why it’s acceptable...
It’s Ike gun control. They masses are indoctrinated at an early age and don’t question it later. “The Masses” being on both sides of the equation: the sellers and the buyers. We all bellyache about it but still line back up for another purchase in the future. And the sellers gladly keep up the practice. Rinse, repeat...
 
It is pretty incredible that I can hop a plane in AVL and get dropped off a couple hours later in Manchester, NH for a couple hundred bucks.
 
They also need to consider people who book and don’t show.
I don’t see this as justification for overselling. They’ve got the people’s money either way. Why should they give a damn if there’s an ass in the seat or not? In fact, it’s kind of better for them not to haul an ass in the seat—no resources burned directly on a person. It’s a relatively “free” couple hundred dollars.

It’s straight up greed that drives this practice. They’re gambling on some no-shows, banking that free cash, and still making more money on top of that same seat.
 
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They also need to consider people who book and don’t show.

If you book and dont show, youre still charged, right?
In theory, if they sell every seat and a few folks dont show they come out MORE ahead. A few hundred lbs of human + luggage less on the plane, less food and drink served, and they still made the same amount of money.


I dont fly too often, and when I do Im typically on a tight schedule, with work the next day. I'd not be volunteering.
 
I don’t see this as justification for overselling. They’ve got the people’s money either way. Why should they give a damn if there’s an ass in the seat or not? In fact, it’s kind of better for them not to haul an ass in the seat—no resources burned directly on a person. It’s a relatively “free” couple hundred dollars.

It’s straight up greed that drives this practice. They’re gambling on some no-shows, banking that free cash, and still making more money on top of that same seat.
ha, you posted just as I hit post = we had the same idea
 
I do NOT miss the weekly flights one bit. In the last year and a half I've flown exactly 3 flights, and if I could have gotten away from those I would have.

I did make lifetime gold on American, and same for Marriott so that helps.
 
I guess being charged for missing a flight could have to do with the class of ticket. Some can be changed with a fee and some at no charge.
 
It is pretty incredible that I can hop a plane in AVL and get dropped off a couple hours later in Manchester, NH for a couple hundred bucks.
It is! I marvel at this on a regular basis like a conestoga driver magically transported to the 21st century and plopped down in a flying sardine tin with a funny-talking man asking me if I want a sarsperilla! Astounding.

But no excuse for selling & taking money for something and not delivering.
I don’t see this as justification for overselling. They’ve got the people’s money either way. Why should they give a damn if there’s an ass in the seat or not? In fact, it’s kind of better for them not to haul an ass in the seat—no resources burned directly on a person. It’s a relatively “free” couple hundred dollars.

It’s straight up greed that drives this practice. They’re gambling on some no-shows, banking that free cash, and still making more money on top of that same seat.
Yep. If I pull a no-show (sometimes because the airline made me miss my connection), do you think they are NOT going to sell that seat AGAIN if at all possible?
I guess being charged for missing a flight could have to do with the class of ticket. Some can be changed with a fee and some at no charge.
Yes, but it's still a racket. For example, I recently had to extend a stay 1 week. I had bought a no change/refund ticket. Even though they sent me an offer to fly later due to anticipated weather delays, the extension didn't meet my needs and they would NOT accommodate my change, even as a courtesy for being a frequent flyer on their airline (AA). The charge to change my departure date for the return leg was more than the orignal RT fare. It was over a hundred dollars cheaper to buy a one-way return, so I did so - on a different airline. Think my original seats went back empty? I doubt it.

Had I bought a flexible ticket, I could have changed my departure date... for a $200 fee, after paying approx. $120 more for the exact same flights. So the only real question at ticket-buying time is: if something goes awry with my schedule, do I want to be hosed with the 8" or the 10"?

Side note: this one particular trip I feel like I won, in a way. Those weather delays? Regardless of the fact I never checked in or got on the plane, they kept sending me "updates" regarding my flight. I recieved 9 (Nine!) texts about delays on the first flight at 3 more about the connection I would have missed. I would have spent the night on the floor in the airport and gotten home a day later than planned. :)
 
I don’t book any flight for which I don’t get a seat. I understand that there are folks that specifically buy tickets on flights that are likely to be oversold, they take the credits, I haven’t the time o patience for that game.
 
It is pretty incredible that I can hop a plane in AVL and get dropped off a couple hours later in Manchester, NH for a couple hundred bucks.
It is pretty cheap. I remember routinely booking $400 round trip tickets to and from Boston 35 years ago for meetings at HQ.

I looked yesterday at flights there to look at a car and I can fly non-stop roundtrip now for $200.
 
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Just did my best OJ Simpson - running through terminal, not killing mistresses - to make a connection only to hear, “We are short a flight attendant and will begin boarding when we have a full cabin crew.......we are also waiting on flight crew”
 
Just did my best OJ Simpson - running through terminal, not killing mistresses - to make a connection only to hear, “We are short a flight attendant and will begin boarding when we have a full cabin crew.......we are also waiting on flight crew”
I did one of those runs a month and a half ago, it was not fun running with baggage as well as 2 high school kids and one of their mother
I had to keep looking back, checking to see if I could see at least 2 of the 3

We barely made our flight
Due to travel agency not telling us about a change in terminals
 
Also, for reselling the seat if you dont show up - doubtful.
Think about it - if you dont show up, when will they know? WHEN YOURE BOARDING.
So they wont know until the last minute, I doubt they'll shout out, "yo, who wanna go to Toronto, we'll take 125 right now" and some random dude will be like, "hell yeah, screw Miami, tell my boss I wont make it!"

Now, someone cancels well ahead of time...yeah, they'll want to get that seat sold
 
I do NOT miss the weekly flights one bit. In the last year and a half I've flown exactly 3 flights, and if I could have gotten away from those I would have.

I did make lifetime gold on American, and same for Marriott so that helps.
Amen - I am lifetime platinum on AA and do not miss flying one bit. So far, for the past 3 years, only took one yearly flight to WI and shell out for a first seat and can’t wait until I am back home.
I do not miss the weekly nor the international flights.
 
Also, for reselling the seat if you dont show up - doubtful.
Think about it - if you dont show up, when will they know? WHEN YOURE BOARDING.
So they wont know until the last minute, I doubt they'll shout out, "yo, who wanna go to Toronto, we'll take 125 right now" and some random dude will be like, "hell yeah, screw Miami, tell my boss I wont make it!"

Now, someone cancels well ahead of time...yeah, they'll want to get that seat sold
Many, if not most of the flights I take from hub to hub have standbys or others waiting (in addition to those hoping for earlier flights or upgrades). Some may be employees with free flight benefits, but a lot are people who paid less to fly standby.

So, yes, they do resell seats when someone doesn't/can't make it, even at the last minute.
 
Even worse when there aren’t enough volunteers and the airline will have to kick someone off the flight or deny boarding to the lowest man on the totem pole.


And how is it determined who that is?

.
 
Meh. If people volunteer (I often do) then it makes a lot of sense. Some of the people might have been bumped from an earlier flight that was canceled onto this one. I’m sure it costs them less in credits than an empty seat would.
 
This is one area Europe has us beat. Lots more competition in the market place and travelers have strictly enforced legal rights when the airline screws up.
 
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