4 ms·

>...You'd then sue them and be awarded damages because they breached their contract with you. But it'd cost you a ton of money to do that, and so nobody will do

by opo 9y ago

>...You'd then sue them and be awarded damages because they breached their contract with you. But it'd cost you a ton of money to do that, and so nobody will do this. The limit on small claims court is usually 5 thousand and small claims court doesn't cost a "ton of money" and is very accessible. Since anyone could be bumped, there are cases where I am sure the damages would be greater than 5 thousand, but then you would have the incentive and means to hire a lawyer. The law to set up compensation limits in the US was done to lower the costs to the airlines, not as some way to help the consumer. There is no reason that anyone should ever be involuntarily bumped - this law just made people think this was somehow acceptable.

rlpb 9y ago
> The limit on small claims court is usually 5 thousand and small claims court doesn't cost a "ton of money" and is very accessible. You risk being awarded just a refund of the ticket, which I'm sure that United would offer anyway. And then you'd be down court fees and perhaps loss of earnings for a day to attend court. It's not worth it for ordinary people. > The law to set up compensation limits in the US was done to lower the costs to the airlines, not as some way to help the consumer. Overbooking lowers ticket prices. Lowering costs to airlines lowers ticket prices.
- opo 9y ago
  >...You risk being awarded just a refund of the ticket, which I'm sure that United would offer anyway. And then you'd be down court fees and perhaps loss of earnings for a day to attend court. It's not worth it for ordinary people. Court fees for small claims court are minimal. Your original claim was that it cost "tons of money" - I think you will agree that is not true. Your claim that "It's not worth it for ordinary people is just a guess. My guess is that the vast majority of the people who get a seat assignment when they book never consider the possibility it might be taken from them. Most of the time, people are conditioned to not want to cause a scene, but I can bet no one is too happy about it when the other side doesn't fulfill their end of the deal. Having even a small number of people filing cases against the airlines would cost the airlines far more than than they currently pay out (they have to show up at court etc) - it would also likely lead to class action lawsuits, etc. Those low statutory limits on payouts are there to make sure the cost to the airline is minimal. >...Overbooking lowers ticket prices. Lowering costs to airlines lowers ticket prices. I didn't say anything was wrong with overbooking. Whether it results in lower ticket prices or leads to more profit for the airline will actually vary, but it is ultimately immaterial - making more productive use of airplanes is good for everybody. The issue is involuntary bumping and treating this as somehow acceptable. If the airlines screw up and have too many passengers for too few seats, it is up to them to solve the problem through voluntary means - the system described in this article is one way to help do that. In the end, the whole idea of involuntary bumping should probably be viewed as regulatory capture. We don't allow that in other industries.

by opo 9y ago

rlpb 9y ago

> The limit on small claims court is usually 5 thousand and small claims court doesn't cost a "ton of money" and is very accessible. You risk being awarded just a refund of the ticket, which I'm sure that United would offer anyway. And then you'd be down court fees and perhaps loss of earnings for a day to attend court. It's not worth it for ordinary people. > The law to set up compensation limits in the US was done to lower the costs to the airlines, not as some way to help the consumer. Overbooking lowers ticket prices. Lowering costs to airlines lowers ticket prices.

opo 9y ago
>...You risk being awarded just a refund of the ticket, which I'm sure that United would offer anyway. And then you'd be down court fees and perhaps loss of earnings for a day to attend court. It's not worth it for ordinary people. Court fees for small claims court are minimal. Your original claim was that it cost "tons of money" - I think you will agree that is not true. Your claim that "It's not worth it for ordinary people is just a guess. My guess is that the vast majority of the people who get a seat assignment when they book never consider the possibility it might be taken from them. Most of the time, people are conditioned to not want to cause a scene, but I can bet no one is too happy about it when the other side doesn't fulfill their end of the deal. Having even a small number of people filing cases against the airlines would cost the airlines far more than than they currently pay out (they have to show up at court etc) - it would also likely lead to class action lawsuits, etc. Those low statutory limits on payouts are there to make sure the cost to the airline is minimal. >...Overbooking lowers ticket prices. Lowering costs to airlines lowers ticket prices. I didn't say anything was wrong with overbooking. Whether it results in lower ticket prices or leads to more profit for the airline will actually vary, but it is ultimately immaterial - making more productive use of airplanes is good for everybody. The issue is involuntary bumping and treating this as somehow acceptable. If the airlines screw up and have too many passengers for too few seats, it is up to them to solve the problem through voluntary means - the system described in this article is one way to help do that. In the end, the whole idea of involuntary bumping should probably be viewed as regulatory capture. We don't allow that in other industries.