5 ms·

Running a professional bump&compensation fund sounds like a fun project. Would love to see how this works out. At the same time it would be a consumer-protectio

by 1337biz 14y ago

Running a professional bump&compensation fund sounds like a fun project. Would love to see how this works out. At the same time it would be a consumer-protection service as it would de-incentivize airlines from overbooking flights.

PeterisP 14y ago
Actually, all the stuff that I read about overbooking flights seems strange, as I (and my colleagues) have flown a lot and have never even seen such an incident of overbooking. It may be that excessive overbooking is an USA-specific issue, and here in EU airlines are already deincentivized from this due to the compensations they would have to pay.
- bazzargh 14y ago
  I've had it happen to me 4 times (BA, BM) on the Friday flights back to Glasgow. Compensated every time, in all but one case cash in hand. I was also offered an overnight stay in Prague when they overbooked my flight back to Schipol, but unfortunately I'd switched flights to Zurich moments before they told me. I did have one odd delay with EasyJet - not due to overcrowding - where our plane from Luton to Glasgow was reassigned to a flight to Malta - probably because they were about to hit the limit for compensation - and Stelios, then the owner of the airline, took the flight up with us to apologise in person to every passenger.
- rtpg 14y ago
  it's more that it happens a lot in very concentrated periods. There's are things like 3 day blocks in the summer where it happens a lot, and outside of that it disappears. FYI, the compensation paid by the airlines is decent (new ticket(bumped to business) + 800 dollars for an int'l flight). These are FAA rules, not EU. I am not sure of the EU compensation scheme but I think it's around the same idea.
- dguaraglia 14y ago
  I experienced it once, while flying back to Brazil from London using British Airways. They fucked up so badly, they were asking for volunteers the first day (I volunteered, got paid £450 + hotel, a sweet deal if you ask me), and then again next day. I've seen it happen again on a trip from Buenos Aires to SF. I think this phenomenon is probably more noticeable in infrequent (daily or so) 'important' (read: long and expensive) flights people are unlikely to forget about or cancel at the last minute.
- joezydeco 14y ago
  I see it a lot in the summer, especially on flights that are heavy with tourists. The airlines are selling last-minute tickets to business travelers at the higher last-minute prices. It seems like they actually can make money doing this. If the business traveller paid $1200 over what the tourist paid, giving the tourist $700-$800 back still makes the airline a higher amount of revenue.

by 1337biz 14y ago

PeterisP 14y ago

Actually, all the stuff that I read about overbooking flights seems strange, as I (and my colleagues) have flown a lot and have never even seen such an incident of overbooking. It may be that excessive overbooking is an USA-specific issue, and here in EU airlines are already deincentivized from this due to the compensations they would have to pay.

bazzargh 14y ago
I've had it happen to me 4 times (BA, BM) on the Friday flights back to Glasgow. Compensated every time, in all but one case cash in hand. I was also offered an overnight stay in Prague when they overbooked my flight back to Schipol, but unfortunately I'd switched flights to Zurich moments before they told me. I did have one odd delay with EasyJet - not due to overcrowding - where our plane from Luton to Glasgow was reassigned to a flight to Malta - probably because they were about to hit the limit for compensation - and Stelios, then the owner of the airline, took the flight up with us to apologise in person to every passenger.
rtpg 14y ago
it's more that it happens a lot in very concentrated periods. There's are things like 3 day blocks in the summer where it happens a lot, and outside of that it disappears. FYI, the compensation paid by the airlines is decent (new ticket(bumped to business) + 800 dollars for an int'l flight). These are FAA rules, not EU. I am not sure of the EU compensation scheme but I think it's around the same idea.
dguaraglia 14y ago
I experienced it once, while flying back to Brazil from London using British Airways. They fucked up so badly, they were asking for volunteers the first day (I volunteered, got paid £450 + hotel, a sweet deal if you ask me), and then again next day. I've seen it happen again on a trip from Buenos Aires to SF. I think this phenomenon is probably more noticeable in infrequent (daily or so) 'important' (read: long and expensive) flights people are unlikely to forget about or cancel at the last minute.
joezydeco 14y ago
I see it a lot in the summer, especially on flights that are heavy with tourists. The airlines are selling last-minute tickets to business travelers at the higher last-minute prices. It seems like they actually can make money doing this. If the business traveller paid $1200 over what the tourist paid, giving the tourist $700-$800 back still makes the airline a higher amount of revenue.