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I don't get the hate for overbooking. If you know 3% of passengers won't show up for whatever reason -- they're late, missed connections, cancelled plans -- it

by wsxcde 10y ago

I don't get the hate for overbooking. If you know 3% of passengers won't show up for whatever reason -- they're late, missed connections, cancelled plans -- it makes sense to sell 103% of capacity and give everybody 3% cheaper fares. This is a good idea. They only thing we need to do is regulate overbooking to make sure that when this probabilistic premise fails, customers are treated fairly and respectfully. I'm sure if United had offered $2000 for someone to take a different flight, they'd have found takers. The mistake here is poor management of the situation from united and Chicago PD, not overbooking.

FussyZeus 10y ago
> and give everybody 3% cheaper fares. If someone can prove this actually happened and United (or any airline really) didn't just pocket that money as profit, I will eat my hat and post the video for all to see.
- AnimalMuppet 10y ago
  Not proof, exactly, but... I read somewhere that total airline profits for domestic carriers from 1960 to 2010[1] were $0. The history of airlines is just bankruptcy, restructuring, reworking union contracts, belt-tightening, and rinse and repeat. [1] This is from memory. Actual years may vary.