[x1798DE]

I don't understand the hate for overbooking flights. Most of the time, I don't care at all about the system where flights are overbooked, because most of the time I don't get bumped. When they do overbook a flight and I've blocked out more time than I need for travel, I can make a few hundred dollars (not bad even in vouchers since I usually tend to fly the same route with the same airlines frequently enough) for the inconvenience and it's voluntary and cleared through a bidding process, meaning that usually the person who gets bumped is the person who is least inconvenienced by it.

It's a pretty low cost to customers (I've never met anyone who was unhappy that they got bumped, because the kind of people who don't want to get bumped don't opt-in) and it actually delivers returns in the form of lower ticket prices, since if they were underutilizing the space in the planes, it would be more costly to operate.

It seems to me that the problem with this situation was not overbooking, it was that for whatever reason they did not use the generally well-received bidding system to allow the people who were going to be bumped to select themselves. On a full plane, what are the chances that you can't find 4 people willing to give up their seats for $1000 (or even less)?

[handelaar]

Ryanair never overbooks, and United can only dream of its profitability.

[shimon_e]

They also don't have connections. Or aircraft with different numbers of seats.

[nwah1]

This is the way to handle it. Offer a monetary reward, and obviously the problem can be solved in a way where everyone wins. Even the airline. They shouldn't want to piss people off, and can consider it as spending on their brand if nothing else.

And great point about how it is more efficient this way. Reminds me of surge pricing, or congestion pricing. Economics ftw.