Airlines “overbook” and then “bump” passengers all the time, but most flyers would be forgiven for not knowing that. Till earlier this week, few, apart from the odd irate customer at an airport check-in desk, paid it any attention.
At the start of the week, however, social media the world over erupted after videos of a customer of Chicago-based airline United Airlines being dragged off a plane went viral. David Dao was reportedly asked to vacate his seat because the flight was overbooked, and because the airline needed to make room for its own personnel.
A visibly shaken and distraught Dao, who was dragged off the plane by security personnel when he refused to comply, reportedly suffered a concussion, a broken nose, damaged sinuses, and lost both his front teeth.
The incident, quickly becoming a case study on what not to do when managing a crisis, has also turned the spotlight on the practice of overbooking. So what exactly is it?
Airlines across the world, fearing last-minute changes in travel plans, accept more bookings than the number of seats available in any given flight. Through this practice, they ensure that the “load factor” on their flights is as high as possible. Simply put, an airline’s profitability depends on their ability to ensure that their flights are always, or almost always, full.
In India, there are no restrictions on the extent to which airlines can overbook.
So what happens if 155 passengers turn up to take a flight that has only 150 seats? The airline then “bumps” five passengers onto another flight.
Aviation regulators allow this practice, but insist on a monetary compensation to the passengers that are bumped. In India, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in its Civil Aviation Requirements has a section that specifically deals with denied boarding.
When the number of passengers who have been given confirmed bookings, and who have reported for the flight well within the specified time ahead of the departure, are more than the number of seats available, an airline must first ask for volunteers to give up their seats to make room for other booked passengers, according to DGCA guidelines. In exchange, the airline, at its own discretion, may offer services like accommodation at a hotel or meals, if possible.
The rules go on to state that if a passenger has been denied boarding on account of overbooking, the airline does not have to pay compensation if they manage to arrange for an alternate flight that is scheduled to take off within an hour from the original time of takeoff.
If, however, the airline fails to do so, but puts the passenger on an alternate flight within 24 hours, it must pay, as compensation, an amount equal to 200 percent of the booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, subject to a maximum of Rs 10,000. In the event that the passenger is put on an alternate flight after 24 hours, or if he or she chooses not to take the alternate flight, the compensation rises to 400 percent.
So could something like the United Airlines incident occur in India? Jitender Bhargava, former executive director at Air India, said there is a possibility that such a situation could arise, but it is likely to be rare.
Bhargava believes that the incident at United Airlines was simply a case of poor management, lack of planning, and an absence of sensitivity to the customer.
“There are no instances of offloading once you have given the boarding cards,” said Bhargava. “Barring an extremely difficult situation, where you have boarded the aircraft, but prior to takeoff, there is a technical glitch and you have to change to a smaller aircraft because an aircraft of a similar size is not available. But barring that situation, once you have given a boarding pass, you fly a passenger.”
From an airline’s perspective therefore, according to Bhargava, the decision on bumping a passenger has to be taken before a boarding pass is assigned.
For the passenger, the safest course of action is to arrive well in advance for a flight, or better yet, to simply do a web check-in.
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