Why can US airlines offer tickets and passenger types?

US airlines are allowed to sell tickets in excess of the number of seats on the plane but must compensate passengers depending on the delay.

Selling tickets beyond the number of seats

A plane from United Airlines.(Photo: CNBC).

Over-seat ticketing is a popular method for airlines and is completely legal . Airlines do so with the assumption that passengers will leave.

Because airlines want flights with as little space as possible, they rely on historical data and time and season factors to forecast flight rates on each route, according to flight times, from that point, selling a lot of tickets.

When customers fly more than the number of seats, the airline is forced to remove some people from the flight. US airlines have ordered 40,000 passengers to leave their flights last year, not counting those who voluntarily give up their seats.

Voluntary people

For those who voluntarily give up their seats, the airline usually responds with a voucher or other gift and arranges for them to sit on the following flight. According to the US government, 434,000 passengers voluntarily dropped the seats of the country's 12 largest airlines last year, of which nearly 63,000 were from United Airlines. The airline that sold the most seats was Delta Air Lines - about 130,000 Delta passengers agreed to drop their seats last year.

Airlines sell out of tickets with the assumption that passengers will leave.

If there is no voluntary person, the airline may refuse to board passengers or remove passengers from the flight even if they do not agree.

Indemnify

The airline must provide the passenger with a written explanation of their compensation entitlements.

Compensation depends on the time the passenger is delayed. If the airline can arrange another flight for the passenger and take the person to the destination within an hour after the previous flight's landing time, they do not need compensation.

If a passenger arrives later than the schedule from 1 to 2 hours with a domestic flight or from 1 to 4 hours for an international flight, the airline must pay the passenger twice the fare, up to 675 USD.

Airlines will often remove passengers who buy the cheapest tickets because the compensation will be lower.

If a passenger is delayed more than two hours with a domestic flight or 4 hours for international flights, the airline must pay four times the fare, up to $ 1,350.

The object is not excluded from the flight

Airlines will often remove passengers who buy the cheapest tickets because the compensation will be lower. United Airlines said it will consider how long it takes the passenger to reach the destination on the next flight, they will not split a group together and will not choose minors to go alone.

Companies often sell more seats in the tourist season such as spring and summer vacations, but being forced to leave the flight can happen at any time with bad weather causing some flights to be canceled.