Travelers Agree This Airline Solution To Overbooking Is Completely Backwards And Unfair

Have you ever booked a plane ticket, taking careful consideration of your seat choice, maybe even forking over a couple extra dollars to get that window seat in the exit row, only to show up on the day of the flight to a downgrade? Well, you're not alone. Every day, passengers are frustratingly bumped from their prepaid flight seats to middle seats, rows with minimal legroom, and sometimes off the flight completely.

This is due to the common airline practice of overbooking. The frustrating reason why airlines can and will overbook flights is simply that the more tickets they sell, the more money they make. Airlines bet on the fact that some passengers may not show up for the flight, allowing everyone to usually get the seat they paid for. While this works most of the time, sometimes everyone shows up for their scheduled flight time, which means airlines have to boot some passengers to make room for others. One frustrated Air Canada customer took to Reddit to air out their concerns with the practice. u/HeyHeavy made a post in a travel subreddit explaining how they were downgraded from a confirmed business class seat to an uncomfortable middle seat in economy. The user expressed their frustration, saying, "Just don't understand how this is acceptable ... Would love to hear about any other experiences — first time flying Air Canada, and might be my last ..." It seems that several other passengers agree that this overbooking snafu is just plain unethical.

This practice is not just limited to Air Canada; in fact, there are several airlines that frequently overbook flights. Frontier Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Airlines are among the common culprits of overbooking. If you are downgraded or booted off your flight, travelers can seek compensation for the flight from the airline, but some Redditors agree that paying customers shouldn't be downgraded in the first place. One user, u/szu, noted, "It's usually an offer to upgrade rather than downgrade. If there's no upgrade, it should be an automatic offer to transfer to a partner."

Another user, u/10S_NE1, expressed their distaste for overbooking practices, saying, "I really don't understand how the government allows airlines to operate this way. Surely no other business sector has the right to sell you something, take your money the moment you book, and then substitute a far lesser option, and you just have to suck it up." While this user's complaint is fair, other industries also tend take part in overbooking, like hotels. Despite customer protest, the U.S. Department of Transportation makes it clear that "bumping" or getting denied access to your preapproved flight is not illegal. So, how do you avoid getting booted off your next flight?

While there's not a surefire way to 100% protect yourself from downgrades or bumping, there are some precautions you can take to make sure you're a bit less likely to get booted. According to CNN, the best way to avoid downgrades and bumping is to check in for your flight as early as possible. When the airline decides who is up for a downgrade, they look at people who most recently checked in for a flight. Airline loyalty programs are also a good way to avoid getting bumped. The more you fly with one airline, the less likely you are to be first on the list for downgrades.

When booking your flight, be sure to read up on the airline's downgrading or flight cancellation compensation policy. While it differs from airline to airline, passengers are usually entitled to fare difference compensation for downgrades. This means that if you paid $600 for a business class seat and are moved to a $200 economy seat, the airline owes you $400 in compensation. Document the price of your ticket when you booked, as well as the airline's policy in the event that you are downgraded. While downgrades aren't always predictable, you are still entitled to compensation when they occur.