Airlines: Overbooking is legal?
The last few weeks, we have been shocked by the news of airlines overbooking some flights around the world, and violently expelling some passengers of the plane. The first one to be noticed, and for me, the most violent one, occurred in the Chicago O'Hare airport, on a United Airlines airplane. Investigating about this subject, I found out that it is legal for the flight attendants and officers to expulse a passenger from the airplane if the captain says so. He is the commander, and everything he says must be obeyed. 
The question that arises is: Every passenger that bought a ticket has the right to expect to travel? This sounds reasonable, and you might think that the answer is yes. But this is not right. There are many factors that may have influence in this, such as weight or technical issues. Even the smallest details can influence while traveling. So, to prevent monetary loss, airlines sell more plane tickets than seats no the plane.
Should this be ilegal? Should the law punish airlines for expelling passengers? In my opinion, it should. Is immoral, and also unfair, to sell 200 tickets with only 150 seats on the plane. I think there is a better way to solve the problem of passengers not showing up, if that is the excuse for selling more tickets. Also, I think that expelling a passenger of the plane using violence is not the way. As I understood after investigating, flight attendants have the obligation of asking for volunteers and offer a remuneration. So I don´t understand why officers took the passenger out of the plane using violence.
Oh my god!!! I would have never imagined that the passenger was the one breaking the law! I think it is so wrong to do what airlines do, it should be prohibited. Even if the captain has the last say, some means do not justify the ends, they shouldn't use violence. I agree a hundred percent with you Trini, airlines shouldn't sell more than the number of passengers that actually fit. There is a good proverb that goes: "he that too much embraceth, holds little" and in my opinion, it represents well what airlines do in the ticket selling.
ReplyDeleteBefore I read about this, I was certain that the airline was the one commiting a crime. I could not believe that the airline, for a moment, thought about pressing charges. I totally agree that the proverb you wrote describes the situation perfectly.
DeleteGood proverb Asu! :o)
DeleteI can not believe this is true. Personally once I happened that my seat had another owner besides me, but to solve it, i was benefited by the airline. I would never imagine that you can lose your ticket just because the commander says so.
ReplyDeleteUnbelievable! This can't be happenig in such a globalize world as ours, were travelling is a thing of every day. Everybody is exposed to this abuse of the airlines. It is important to redifine the flying terms that establish the rights and duties of the airlines and of the passengers.
ReplyDeleteI think that if airlines don't want this to happen to them, they shouldn't sell more tickets than the plane has, because they are risking something like this to happen, that no one accepts the remuneration and they have to kick him out by the good way or the bad way. American Airlines in my opinion had it coming by kicking the man, who by bad luck was a Chinese doctor and can be confused with discrimination, also by the force used by the guards to kick him off was more than the one they needed.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hluPT4F329U Here is CNN coverage of the topic if you want to see how they kicked him and the full story.
I think is totally fault of the airlines and not the passenger, if i buy a ticket to travel, they can't take me out without a reason, and not in all the world is like this, many places have the system of give you money if you wait and go in the next plane, in my case, one time i did that, and they pay me like 60 dollars only for waiting 1 hour more. In my opinion they should change the system because the captain is not a dictator that do whatever he want
ReplyDeleteI had no idea that this was happening! I can't believe that the plane's pilot can kick you out of it! I totally agreewith you Trini, it should be ilegal because you prepare everything for your trip and suddenly you get kicked out because the commander say so? I would have never expected that. Someone should do something about it.
ReplyDeleteI think that both airlines and passengers prefer that these kinds of problems do not happen. If airlines sell more tickets than the plane can supply, they must deal with the consequences that will bring them but expelling the passengers is not the correct solution. I think the captain should not have the authority to get someone off the plane without having the right reasons and evidence.
ReplyDeleteI just read that it is a business model based on probability and it´s completely legal. In my opinion the airline is responsible, not the passenger, so they should solve the problem in a civilised way. Violence is not the solution. Also it is absolutely inmoral and unfair, no one has the right to kick you off the plane if you paid your ticket.
ReplyDeleteSomeone must do something about it.
I think that the airlines should be responsable of all the problems with the sale of tickets, because the passengers has a shedule for their trip, and the airline is disrupting that because they are losing money, that is unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteairlines should not abuse passengers because they pay for tickets of airplane and this is an abuse, where the law should be fine for these actions that take the airline. Every time there are more problems on airlines because being more uncomfortable. We should never accept this kind of violence anywhere.
ReplyDeleteI didn't knew it was legal, Im shocked. But i think that even if it is legal there is no reason to use violence with the passengers everything can be solved by taking and offering something in exchange. I can't believe that this is a world rule and legal everywhere, people deserves more than this trick that airlines use. Maybe people should appeal for new laws in this situations.
ReplyDeleteI knew that this happened but like you stay one night in the country and the airlines gives you money. But I never thought What colud happened if no body accept to stay and dont fly. The violence with the passengers its unbelievable, the problems can be solved by talking. Algo all the passengers hace the same benefits because all of them pay the same
ReplyDeleteAs passangers, we are supposed to be paying not only for the travelling, also for the service, and that should include obviously the certainty of having your own seat insured. On the other hand, there are always ways to avoid volience. I'm sure that in a future a law will be created for this to prevent misunderstandings.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all this airline gave the option of taking the next flight to the passenger that could do this, after that they offered money with the option of taking the next flight and when nobody accepted they took this mesure. I believe that making this legal must be done because if there are extra passengers in the flight it is really dangerous and airplanes are not allowed to fly if they dont pass all the safety mesures and instead of having one less person that doasent flies that day they would have a houndres others that lose their flight too.
ReplyDeleteI think that overbooking should be illegal because it goes against the rights of the consumers in the aspect that it does not ensure a service that a passenger paid to have. It is almost as if I sold someone a bike and after receiving the money I tell him that he won't get the bike because i need a friend of mine to use it.
ReplyDeleteUnbelivable, violence over organization just to get more money from passengers! Overbooking should be illegal and also punished, moreover when it envolves violence in it! Passengers are supposed to have a good experience while traveling and have the same rights as all the passengers to fly. Overbooking is disrespectful to everyone, this shouldn't be happening .
ReplyDeleteI think that overbooking is ilegal. Fisrt the airline company can´t be irresponsable about the amount of people that the airplane can have, this put in risk many lives. Second if the airplane company made the mistake of giving a ticket to a passanger, knowing that the airplane is full, needs to be responsable and try to solve the problem without hurting the passanger. There are many other solutions and if the company solve this proble with violence they put themselves in biger problems as a demand.
ReplyDeleteI think that, obviously, selling more plane tickets than the number of seats its an immoral act and goes beyond stupidity, but, literaly kicking someone out of the plane who bought a ticket and had the right to stay inside is insane. This attitude cannot be accepted by any airline in the world.
ReplyDeleteWow! Never heard about this. It seems impressive that they sell more tickets than they can because it is illegal for airplanes to take off if the plane is over-crowded, it is very dangerous. This should be illegal because they can not take passengers off the plane because the passengers are ready to travel and when they are ready to travel the captain takes them off the plane because the plane is overbooked and they have already paid their ticket. I think they should better organize the sale of tickets to not have more of these problems in the world.
ReplyDeleteThis is insane! I can not believe there are such unfair and abusive laws. I think modifying this law is an urgent matter. If there are no volunteers willing to leave the plane, the airline should keep offering money until someone agrees to leave and not kick out any passanger. Imagine being this poor man that got kicked out of the plane for no reason. Wouldn't you feel Discriminated and furious?
ReplyDeleteThe second i heard that things like this were happening i couldnt believe it, because everyone knows that overbooking its a normal thing, but these types of actions are horrible. Companies have to be prepare for these types of situations, and they have to have the correct personal that could manage the situation in the best way possible, because these agressive respond cant happen again.
ReplyDeleteOh my god!!!
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