The Economics Of Getting Bumped From Your Flight

August 7, 2015 in Daily Bulletin

Flights get overbooked and people are told that they can’t fly that day. Melanie Pinola looked into this:

  • Passengers should never volunteer to give up their seat. Airline compensation for doing so is as little a $200.
  • In contrast if no one volunteers and the airline is forced to deny passengers boarding, then Federal Law requires compensation of up to $1,300.
  • Passengers who want to avoid overbookings should shy away from United, Southwest, and, especially, Delta.
  • Instead they should consider Hawaiian, jetBlue, and Virgin America which have the lowest rates of passengers getting bumped.
  • Those who are signed up for frequent flyer programs also usually get to avoid being asked to get off the plane.

Read other details here.

Source: Life Hacker