Overbooking of airlines should be illegal when families are booted so one person can have a seat. There is no compensation
1 Like
Overbooking is the sad state of air travel, trying to be efficient by making sure every seat is occupied, because they lose money if a seat is empty.
My opinion, is the Government should mandate that anyone involuntarily denied boarding due to an overbook shall be entitled to 125% of the ticket value in cash and rebooking to their destination at airline expense (if that rebooking is the next day, then the airline shall arrange and compensate the passenger for meals/hotel). If the airline cannot accommodate getting the affected passenger to their destination in less than 24 hours of their original arrival time, the airline must then compensate the passenger 300% of the ticket value in cash.
Keep in mind, if a passenger voluntarily accepts being removed from the flight (the typical PA announcement asking for volunteers) none of the above applies, but it would pressure airlines to better compensate those that voluntarily take an alternative option.
2 Likes
Ditto for Amtrak which also overbooks.