What happens if your airline oversells your flight?
The check-in assistant at Gatwick airport had her script memorised, but by the time she made her pitch for the 200th time she winced as she pointed to the information sign on the counter: "Good morning Sir, unfortunately this morning's flight to Vancouver is overbooked. So we're offering passengers the option to fly tomorrow via Toronto as well as offering you £300 (AU$630) in cash and a night in a hotel with dinner. Would you be interested in flying tomorrow morning?"
As alluring as dinner for one in an airport hotel followed by an extended day or flights and layovers instead of snowboarding sounded, I politely declined. But a handful of passengers decided to take the money and the bag, as there were a few empty seats down the back when we took off.
Earlier at the airport another European airline staff-member old me of having to fork out over £5000 ($10,400) in hotels, meals and compensation in for just one overbooked flight on one day over Easter. He said they were relieved to make sure all families and elderly passengers didn't get bumped from their planned departure as the airlines targeted younger couples when trying to lure passengers onto a new flight.
To the person in the street this would sound like a breach of contract if you paid to fly to a certain destination at a certain date, however some Antipodean airlines point out in the small print that their contract for carriage is not tied to a specific time, so bumping you to the next available flight is not a breach.
This jars slightly with civil aviation law and the Fair Trading Act.
However, European Union law sets out very clearly the rights to a cash payout when customers are shifted from overbooked flights, which explains why European carriers are desperate by comparison to overcompensate when their overselling algorithms cause them headaches – or when passengers are too punctual and nobody misses checking in on time.
A friend was offered any flight on the carrier's network (they chose New York) along with other compensation just for flying half a day later.
Luckily in Australia this is less of a regular occurrence. But what can you expect from our local carriers when you are bumped from a flight?
Qantas
The Australian flag carrier Qantas said its meticulous passenger load estimation means overbooking is a rare occurrence on trans-Tasman flights and those further afield as well.
Like its subsidiary Jetstar, Qantas will accommodate any jilted passengers who were bumped onto the next available flight. A spokesperson also said "other forms of compensation may be offered", but didn't go into details what those could be be worth.
Like with long delays or cancellations, it pays to bargain hard and be assertive to try and make the best of bad, overbooked situation.
Jetstar
Unlike some of the low cost carriers of Europe, our local budget carrier Jetstar says it has a " very conservative policy" for overbooking on flights and a Jetstar spokesperson said "it's very unusual for a customer to miss a flight due to this reason". Of course, not so uncommon that it doesn't have a policy.
If you voluntarily give up your seat on an overbooked Jetstar flight, the airline's policy is to place you on the next available flight and give you a $100 Jetstar voucher as well as accommodation and meals as and when required. If your replacement flight offered is likely to be more than a small inconvenience and is something more than a domestic hop, you might have more wiggle room to ask for more.
Air New Zealand
A spokeswoman for the national carrier of New Zealand said in the rare event of overbooking "we are committed to providing a fair and consistent approach to how we compensate and determine boarding priority, and asking for volunteers to change their travel plans in return for compensation will always be our first port of call".
Whether you volunteer to be placed on the next available flight with the carrier or have to be "involuntarily denied boarding" (i.e. bumped), Air New Zealand said the compensation is the same.
Due to the vast network of the airline, compensation is linked to the particular flight rather than being a flat rate. You could expect it to be in line with the value of a seat on that route.
The flag carrier said it complied with "applicable laws" in all circumstances, but that payments or other compensation would not be paid out in cases where overbooking has been caused by events outside its control, such as weight restrictions caused by weather, but also if a smaller aircraft has to be used for operational or safety reasons.
Perhaps due to the rarity of overbooking occurrence, its unlikely that Australasian laws will follow the lead from Brussels or Washington on specific regulated compensation for any overbooking.
While New Zealand or Australian civil aviation laws might not be as consumer friendly as their EU and US equivalents, remember that any carrier flying from an EU or US airport, including Qantas and Air New Zealand, is covered by US/EU law, so if you're bumped from a flight back Down Under, expect a minimum of €600 ($1000) or up to US$1300 ($1890) in cold hard cash (not vouchers!).
But if the same thing happened on your flight from New Zealand, you'd be at the mercy of your airline's specific policy.
Have you ever been stuck with an oversold flight? What happened?
Share your story in the comments.
Written by Josh Martin. First appeared on Stuff.co.nz.
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