bumping, denied boarding and schedule changes

Air travel is more complicated than ever, and we’re finding that many travelers don’t understand what happens if there’s a schedule change, if a flight is oversold, or if you get bumped involuntarily. So, without further ado, here’s the deal:

Oversold Flights

It’s a fact that airlines routinely sell more tickets than they have seats on a plane. That’s because if a plane takes off with an empty seat, it’s lost revenue for the airline. Airlines bank on a certain number of no-shows, hoping that the plane will be as full as possible.

But sometimes they guess wrong. If they’re oversold, they’re required to ask for volunteers before bumping a passenger. They’ll offer compensation for taking a later flight, but there are no rules for how much they have to offer you, or when or how they have to accommodate you on a later flight.

Keep in mind — the airline needs volunteers. You can negotiate. Which flight can they get you on? Can they upgrade you to a higher class of service? How much compensation will they give you?

If you are inclined to take an offer, ask a lot of questions. When is the next flight? Are you guaranteed seat assignments? Do the vouchers for future travel have restrictions, or expiration dates?

If they don’t get enough volunteers, then they may bump people involuntarily, which is a totally different thing. 

Involuntarily Denied Boarding.

They can’t have people standing in the aisle, so if there aren’t enough seats, that’s when people get bumped. Airlines get to decide who to bump. They set their own criteria, so it could be based on time of check-in, frequent flyer status, or even how much you paid for a ticket.

Who can’t they bump? They can’t bump you after you’ve already boarded the plane.

If you’re involuntarily bumped, and it’s because they’re oversold, or it’s the airline’s fault in some way — then you’re entitled to compensation for the inconvenience, under the law. But if it’s not the airline’s fault — like you’re bumped because of weight restrictions or a change in the aircraft (downgrade to a smaller plane), you might not be entitled to compensation.

By the way — hotels do this too. They bank on a certain number of “no-shows” so that they don’t have empty rooms. In that case, guests may be “walked” — moved to another nearby hotel that does have the space. 

Flight Cancellation

If your flight is canceled, most airlines will offer to rebook you for free on their next flight to your destination as long as the flight has available seats. There’s a possibility that they might book you on a different carrier, though. For example, we had a flight cancellation last year for the first leg of a United flight, and United re-booked us on a Delta flight so that we were able to make our connection and get to Tahiti in time for our Windstar cruise.

If your flight is canceled and you choose not to fly, you are entitled to a refund for the unused transportation – even for non-refundable tickets.  You’re also entitled to a refund for your fees for checked bags and seat assignments.

If the airline offers you a voucher for future travel instead of a refund, you aren’t obligated to accept that — they’ll offer that first, and if you think that it’s your only option — you are legally entitled to a refund, but only if you choose not to fly on a later flight, and you don’t get both the refund and the vouchers for future travel.

Airlines are not required to give you meal vouchers or pay for hotel rooms if your flight is canceled, but many will do that according to their own policies. Airlines are not required to reimburse you for other travel that you miss — if you miss your cruise or tour, or non-refundable resort or hotel nights.

Delays

Delays are more complicated. If a flight is delayed, but not canceled, there are no rules requiring airlines to compensate you. If there’s another flight on that airline, or on another airline that isn’t delayed, you can ask to be switched, but there’s no requirement that the airline has to accommodate you.

If the delay is significant — and there’s no definition for what constitutes significant — the airline would be required to offer a refund for a delay if you choose not to travel — again, you don’t get a refund if they put you on a later flight and you take that flight.

If you need access to your checked bag, that can be a problem.

Schedule Changes

Check your flights before you leave for the airport — there may have been a schedule change. Schedule changes are coming fast and furious these days. If you’ve booked your ticket through Huckleberry Travel, we’ll monitor the flight, but sometimes with a last minute change or cancellation of a flight, we might not even know about it.

If the schedule change is significant or if it messes up a connection, you may be able to re-book in advance, without having to pay the difference in fare.

Keep an eye on your email, make sure the airline has your phone number, or check your reservation periodically to see what’s up.

Avoiding Problems

So, how can you avoid problems when traveling? Here are our tips:

• Belong to the Airline’s (or Hotel’s) Loyalty Program. Less likely to be involuntarily bumped, or walked to another hotel.

• Check-in early. 

• Book through a travel advisor. If your travel agency is a ticketing agency, they can see the airline’s inventory, access alternatives for you in case of a schedule change, and they may have relationships with the suppliers — not just airlines, but hotels, resorts, tour operators — to trade on goodwill to help you. And people who book through a travel advisor rarely get walked from an overbooked hotel — they know that if they do that to one of our clients, for example, we’ll never book at that hotel ever again — and neither will most of the other agencies in my network once word gets out.

• Ask a lot of questions, and negotiate — especially if you need meals or hotels

• Always put travel insurance in place with trip interruption or trip delay protection, as well as coverage for lost or delayed luggage.

• Be kind to the airline employees who are on the front lines, if you’ve put them on full-blast, that’s not a recipe for getting them to go above and beyond for you.

Of course, as a result of the problems we’ve all experienced recently, the Department of Transportation is working on new rules which may change all of that. If you’d like help booking your next flight, don’t hesitate to reach out to us! We’re on top of all of this.