FOLLOWING the muchpublicised
incident that saw
a passenger dragged from a
United Airways’ aircraft, US
lawmakers have asked the
Department of Transport to
investigate the practice of
overbooking with the aim
of scrapping the practice
altogether. But experts say
overbooking is necessary
for the sustainability of the
aviation industry.
Canada’s Transport Minister,
Marc Garneau, has also
announced that legislation
addressing the rights of
airline passengers, including
overbooking rules, will be
introduced later this year.
Iata says overbooking flights
allows carriers to better
manage revenue and creates
more choice and cheaper
fares for consumers. “The
airline business is unique in
that once a flight takes off,
the seats on that flight are no
longer available for sale; it’s
a time-sensitive, perishable
product,” Iata said in a
statement.
Susan van der Ryst,
corporate communications
manager of BA Comair, says
the carrier carefully monitors
booking and load patterns for
each flight using sophisticated
computer modelling to
accurately determine the
overbooking profile.
SAA spokesperson, Tlali
Tlali, says the airline sets
conservative overbooking
parameters by analysing
demand patterns. He says
SAA experiences an average
of between 5% and 10%
no-shows.
Kirby Gordon, head of Sales
and Distribution of FlySafair,
says South African-based
airlines handle overbooking
differently to the US. In
the US, airlines will bump
passengers at the boarding
gates, whereas in South Africa,
he says, “if we need to deny
passengers, we’ll do so at the
point of check-in so we have
more time to make alternative
arrangements and avoid
delays and nasty surprises at
boarding”.
Overbooking is also not
necessarily a bad thing for
the passenger, he adds.
“Passengers who miss flights
generally still want to fly and
often look for a change or
standby options. Overbooking
ensures that the airline
maximises its seat capacity,
which helps us keep those
options open without massive
financial impact on the airline
or the customer.”
However, some airlines
don’t practise overbooking.
SA Airlink ceo, Rodger Foster
says: “A booked ticket is a
contract, and non-performance
by an airline for overbooking
reasons is in breach of that.”
Most South African airlines
compensate passengers
who have been bumped
from a flight. Travellers on
FlySafair can get a full refund
by cancelling their trip or
the airline will offer them an
alternative flight and R1 000
in cash as compensation.
On SAA, if a passenger
meets the airline’s check-in
requirements and is willing
to surrender their seat, the
airline will book them on the
next available flight. SAA will
also provide them with a
denied boarding flight voucher
in the same region and class
if they volunteer, as well as
refreshments/meal vouchers
after a two-hour delay for a
domestic or four-hour delay for
regional or international flights.
Should the next available
flight only be the next day, the
affected passenger’s meals
and accommodation for the
night will be covered by the
airline.
