[dx034]

According to the article, 4% of planes are overbooked. And if they are, <5 will usually be re-booked. Which is a low single-digit percentage of passengers. So your chance of being denied boarding is probably <0.1%. Wouldn't say that all tickets are standbye.

It's rather that thanks to the internet we know of stories like these. 10 years ago no one would've known.

[SilasX]

I say that you're "effectively on standby" when there's a potential for the overbooking to keep you off the plane, which is the kind of risk that should be made explicit.