OVERSOLD – What do you do if your flight is overbooked…???

I had a distressing call from a client this week, he had checked in for his flight in good time to Amsterdam ahead of a river cruise only to find out that BA had overboooked the flight and he was put on Standby

This situation is bad enough if you are going on a land based holiday or city break but it has a catastrophic knock-on effect if you are cruising

Not only that but the client and his wife are mid 80’s, not very mobile and were completely on their own – maybe the check in staff thought they would be a push over and would not kick off with the situation in the same way other passengers might

Thousands of passengers are suffering from the growing scandal of passengers being ‘bumped’ off over-booked flights.

Travel experts warn that on some flights as many as 150 tickets are sold for every 100 seats.

British Airways admitted it overbooked almost half a million seats a year as an EU report warned the problem among all airlines had reached unacceptable levels to which passengers heading for summer getaways are facing delays despite checking in on time with valid tickets and confirmed reservations.

The airline industry admits it is standard practice to accept more reservations than there are seats on the basis that some passengers will not show up.

Airlines have no set rules about which passengers they will order off a flight, initially they ask for volunteers before bumping anyone with offers of cash compensation or even free air vouchers.

This is all very well for students or passengers in no hurry to get to their destination but for cruise passenger if they don’t get their flight they can miss the start of their cruise altogether and may even have to join it 2 or 3 days later in the next port of call

The best advice to avoid getting ‘Bumped’ is to check in online pre departure and print your boarding passes, get to the airport early, pre book your seat even if there is a charge and join the airlines membership or Frequent Flyer programmes

If you are Bumped off the flight you should know your rights, every passenger affected by an overbooked flight has the right to adequate assistance including free meals and refreshments as well two phone calls, emails or faxes, accommodation and transport between the airport and your hotel. The Airlines have a duty of care to get you on the next available flight or to to next destination of your cruise

If you are one of the unlucky ones I would suggest you stick to the check in desk like glue and keep pestering the staff for updates – don’t go away and get a coffee, don’t get angry and start shouting, stay calm and explain that you HAVE to get on the flight because of your cruise arrangements, maybe cry a little and hopefully they will find the seats that you need

Have you been Bumped off a flight? I would be interested in your experience?