John lives in Detroit, and Emily lives in Chicago. Though both John and Emily spend a great deal of time at their respective city airports, they never seem to fly anywhere.
And yet each has collected a great number of free tickets.How did they do it?
They got bumped from flights they had no intention of taking.
The airlines call it "denied boarding compensation." They call it their own personal (and lucrative) "infrequent flyer" program.
If you've ever been "bumped" from a flight, then you know what I mean. For the rest of you - read on.
It all dates back to a fateful day more than 10 years ago when an airline passenger named Ralph Nader attempted to board an Allegheny Airlines flight.
He was holding a confirmed reservation and a ticket. But the airline had overbooked the flight, and Nader was bumped.
Nader sued, claiming that the airline had breached its contract with him.
Ultimately, because of intense political pressure, the Civil Aeronautics Board enacted a new rule that protected passengers in the event of an overbooking situation.
But now, more than a decade later, most passengers are still confused about the bumping - or denied boarding - rules, as well as what specific rights they have in these cases. And some passengers, like John and Emily, have taken unfair advantage of the situation.
For starters, let's look at what happens if your flight is canceled. If it is because of weather, air traffic delays or a mechanical problem, you are usually entitled to absolutely nothing. Airline schedules are not considered guarantees, and the cancellation and delay policies differ wildly among airlines.
That doesn't mean the airlines won't help you, but they are not legally obligated to do so. In these cases, there's usually a pecking order. Most airlines will help their first-class and business-class passengers first (as well as high-mileage members of their frequent flyer programs). You are at the mercy of the gate agent and-or supervisor at the airport where the cancellation or delay occurs.
A more common occurrence is when you show up for a flight with a valid reservation and the plane is overbooked.
What rights do you have in that situation?
Lots.
The actual number of passengers bumped by airlines has been slowly declining. Last year, American bumped just .05 passengers per 10,000 passengers boarded; Pan Am bumped 9.75 per 10,000. This year, the most recent Department of Transportation report for flights between April and June shows a continuing decrease.
But there isn't an airline I know that doesn't overbook its flights as a matter of habit. After all, an airline seat is a precious commodity. Once a plane leaves the gate with an empty seat, that revenue is lost and can't be recouped. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand why - with no-shows averaging 20 percent - airlines consistently overbook their flights.
Under a strictly enforced federal mandate, when a flight is overbooked, the U.S. Department of Transportation requires the offending airline to ask for volunteers who might be willing to take another, later flight. In return for their efforts, the volunteers are then given a substantial reward - cash or a free ticket.
In recent years, fewer and fewer airlines actually part with cash. Instead, they seem happier to part with vouchers for free flights at a later date.
But what if no volunteers can be found?
It's the airline version of "Let's Make a Deal." The gate agent will board the plane, announce that no volunteers - or not enough volunteers - have been found and start the bidding to buy your seat from you. The bidding can be as low as $150 and as high as $2,500, depending upon the flight and its distance.
If you have been denied boarding (and you checked in for your flight within the airline's rules, usually within 20 minutes prior to scheduled departure time), the airline is responsible for getting you to your destination within one hour of your originally scheduled arrival time. If it can accomplish this (and almost always, it can't), then it is not responsible for providing any additional compensation.
However, if your arrival time is between one and two hours late, then the airline is obligated to pay you an amount equal to the one-way price of your ticket (with a minimum of $200). If your arrival will be more than two hours late, the required compensation is twice the price of the one-way ticket (maximum $400). More often than not, you get to keep your original ticket, which can either be used later or refunded.
If you're already on the plane and the airline asks for volunteers, you could be in for some free travel. And sometimes, the number of free flights and vouchers awarded can get absurd. Take the case of one Brighton, Mich., family of five. Their flight from Denver to Detroit in the summer of 1988 was overbooked. United Airlines asked for volunteers. The family received five vouchers for free travel.
Last summer, they used the vouchers to make a similar trip. And history repeated itself. They volunteered again. And got more vouchers. Their next flight was - you guessed it - also overbooked, and the family received five more vouchers.
It's the voucher idea that John and Emily like so much. Each knows which flights from their city have the best chance of being oversold. Not surprisingly, these are popular early-morning business flights to New York and Washington D.C. Or, during holiday periods, flights to popular warm weather destinations like Hawaii or the Caribbean.
And John and Emily aren't alone. Other less than scrupulous non-passengers like to frequent the Denver and Phoenix airports in the summer, when either high altitude or temperatures often weight-restrict the number of passengers each aircraft can board. And others specialize in late-afternoon flights between New York and Chicago and Houston and Chicago on Fridays.
The best part of the voucher deal is that most of the vouchers are good for free coach travel any time and anywhere in the continental U.S. There are few if any restrictions on when you can use them. And most of these vouchers are transferable.
But remember, denied boarding compensation rules only apply on flights within the U.S.
On overseas flights, or on flights aboard foreign airlines, you have no denied boarding rights whatsoever. Still, a caste system does apply at some foreign airlines - first and business class passengers are usually accommodated (but no financial or voucher compensation is provided).
(c) 1989, Los Angeles Times Syndicate