Did You Know that Airlines Are Allowed to Overbook Flights?

(SPOT.ph) Several airline passengers complained of getting bumped off their flights due to alleged overbooking of flights, with Cebu Pacific and other airlines receiving heat on social media. But did you know that overbooking is allowed and practiced worldwide?

Overbooking is "accepted practice" under the Air Passenger Bill of Rights, and there's no limit to it, executive director of Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) Carmelo Arcilla told the Senate committee as senators urged the agency to explore sanctions and other possible recourse to address the "wantusawang overbooking" issue that Senator Nancy Binay called a new modus. 

"The purpose of this is to be able to fill the plane... if it is abused, it will cause inconvenience and suffering to the people," he said during the first Senate committee hearing on passenger complaints regarding Cebu Pacific's delayed, cancelled and overbooked flights on Wednesday, June 21.

"Siguro dapat na matingnan kung bakit nangyayari ngayon, hindi na overbooking nga e, parang nagiging modus ngayon cancellation with no explanation," Binay said, citing passengers' experiences.

Also read: My Flight Got Delayed Then Cancelled, What Do I Do Now?

Why airlines overbook flights

Overbooking is the general term for when airlines sell more seats compared to the seats of the aircraft. It's a common practice worldwide, said Arcilla.

"Ang umiiral na patakaran sa ating batas ay ito pong Air Pasenger Bill of Rights (APBR), issued in 2012. Ang current provision po d'yan, it does not asset a limit to overbooking," he said.

Before 2012, the limit to overbooking was 10% of the seats in the aircraft but was suspended when the APBR was issued. Why, though? The belief was there was an effective counterweight to discourage the practice, he said.

"Ang paniwala po, this is a disincentive for airlines to overbook dahil 'pag marami silang na-overbook, marami silang babayaran, lalong lalaki bayad nila."

So why do flights overbook in the first place? It's to allow the airline to fill the aircraft. When this happens, more passengers can ride the flight and the cost can be distributed to a wider market base. In effect, it results in possibly lower fares across the network, said Arcilla.

What should happen if an airline overbooks a flight

Under Section 10 of the APBR, in the case of overbooking, air carriers must shoulder the expenses, consequences, and inconvenience caused to affected passengers.

If you've seen the Netflix show Manifest (or at least the pilot episode), you may be familiar with what's supposed to happen in case of overbooked flights. In case you don't know, here's how it should work:

1. The air carrier must determine the number of passengers in excess of the aircraft's actual seating capacity
2. It must announce that the flight is overbooked, and that it is looking for volunteers willing to give up their seats in exchange for air carrier compensation.
3. Interested volunteers should be given amenities and offers to choose from, which may include: priority booking in the next flight with available space; endorsement to another aircraft upon payment of any fare difference; provide accommodation if the passenger opts to; and/or cash incentive.
4. In case the number of volunteers isn't enough to resolve the overbooking issue, the air carrier should increase the compesation package until it meets the required number of volunteers.