I had a situation this week where a passenger did not check in for her flight and when she arrived at the airport she was told that the flight had been over booked and that she and her husband were to be put on Stand By with no guarantee of flying that day
Unfortunately, getting bumped from a flight is fairly common these days as airlines overbook in a bid to hedge against no-shows and cancellations
Airlines overbooking flights is a relatively standard practice and passengers, whether they realize this or not, agree to the policy when purchasing flight tickets. Although carriers vary in their processes, generally an airline will overbook in order to offset the perceived likelihood of no-shows.
Before an airline forces a passenger to give up his/her seat due to overbooking, the airline must ask passengers on the flight if they are willing to give up their seat voluntarily in exchange for compensation and a seat on a later flight.
Bumped passengers whose travel is delayed for at least an hour are entitled to compensation with the amount based on the length of the delay and the one-way price of the ticket.
BUT If there are not enough volunteers, the airline shall proceed to refuse its service to the number of passengers that cannot be seated, obviously this can have a major affect if your cruise sails the same day
How to avoid getting bumped in the first place
Always check in online when check in opens – this is usually from 48 or 24 hours to 2 hours before departure
- Pre-booking a seat. You’ll usually pay a fee to pre-book your seat, but you’re less likely to be ejected than someone who has not for two reasons. First, you will have paid more for your flight (some airlines opt to bump the passengers who paid the lowest fare). And second, the airline will actually have to renege on the seat assignment (they may be more likely to eject a passenger who does not have an assigned seat and perhaps did not check in online).
- Check in early. Some airlines will bump the passengers who checked in latest.
- Joining a frequent flyer program. You’re automatically pegged as more valuable to that airline.
- Flying off-peak. Fly on a less crowded plane and you’re less likely to be bumped.
- Don’t give in, stand your ground and make sure the airline staff are aware that you have a cruise to catch
Luckily for my passengers they did make the flight and were upgraded to Business Class but this story may not have had such a happy ending and they might have missed their cruise!