What is 'Overbook'? How to avoid being invited to leave the flight in an unexpected way

Overbook is a popular form of ticket sales in many airlines around the world. The obvious to passengers, sticking to such a flight is really not desirable.

It may sound absurd, but this semi-formal chair is very popular in many airlines around the world, especially in high-flying and popular flights. There are things, few people really understand about overbooking, leading to more pressing when asked to leave his flight.

Why are airlines selling too many seats?

The reason is based on a very simple fact: there is a good proportion of passengers ordering tickets, but not appearing - or "No show rate".

For low-cost airlines, this does not cause any damage. But for businesses that allow to exchange tickets, passengers who leave seats blank can cause millions of dollars in damage.

This form of oversold chair is very popular in many airlines around the world.

So, some airlines carry out oversold business. It is easy to understand that they will sell more tickets than the actual seats in the flight, based on the assumption of calculating the "No show rate" rate. They need to make sure that when taking off, the number of empty seats is almost zero.

In fact, the rate of no show rate is usually not wrong, but there are some rare cases where no customer can cancel the trip. Meanwhile, the flight has officially fallen into "overbooked flight" status, and consequently of course some passengers will have to stay at the airport.

Who will go out?

Many people believe that if you buy a ticket with an overbook ticket , you must accept the invitation to be dropped into the flight if this happens.

But actually, no airline tickets are overbook tickets. When a plane is closed, the airline will ask if any passengers voluntarily give way to fly later. In case no one volunteered, there would be some people forced down to go on the next flight. And that person can be anyone except children and disabled people.

Volunteers or non-volunteers will all receive a compensation. It could be cash, along with some incentives depending on the policy and the law.

Check in early, especially with popular routes.

What to do to not become the required person to leave the flight

We still prioritize "voluntary" to help the flight go smoothly. But if you don't want to be kicked, you need to remember some things.

The first is early check-in , especially with popular routes. You should arrive at the airport earlier, or even check-in online before arrival if possible.

According to statistics, the latest check-in passengers are at the highest risk if the flight is over-booked. As for those who check-in before the majority, almost 100% of your place will not be "touched" to.

Also, if you are a frequent flyer of a certain airline, you will be very deep in the list to give way. Or if not, avoid choosing the peak flight time frame , the lower the flight rate will be.