Why Do Airlines Overbook Flights — and What to Do If You Get Bumped

When checking into your flight, have you noticed a prompt asking if you’d be willing to change your trip? Alternatively, you might have heard an announcement at the gate asking for volunteers to take a later flight. Yes, it’s true — most airlines overbook their flights. Booking a plane ticket doesn’t actually guarantee you’ll have a seat on that flight. So, why do airlines have this practice?

“The reason why airlines overbook flights is because some people do not show up for them,” former pilot Dan Bubb, a professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, tells Travel + Leisure. “Airlines make money when all seats are full, and the planes are at cruising altitude. When passengers don’t show up for their flights, those empty seats could be sold to other passengers.”

No-shows happen for a variety of reasons, from missed connections to last-minute schedule changes to passengers going on standby for an earlier flight. And airlines work exceptionally hard at crunching the…