Air Canada Observation

[chasbos]

Just got home from our yearly trip down to Fort Myers for some sun and golf. Now we always fly from either Buffalo or Detroit because it is a whole lot cheaper than flying from Toronto.

Last night we boarding our flight on Air Tran (which we paid $200 CAD return) right beside the Air Canada gate heading back to Toronto.

Well, AC must have over booked because they were looking for someone to give up there seat and take a flight home the next day. Ok, this does sometimes happens - but what they were offering this person who gave up their seat was UNREAL!

They were offering - hotel voucher, food voucher, taxi voucher and get this $1000!!!!!!!!!!!! If I was on that flight, I would have stayed an extra night.

IT is not a wonder they have a hard time making money - that is way over compensating.

 

[dvcdisney]

We always see and here AC do that. It is amazing how much they would offer. And it does seem to happen all the time with other airlines. We were in Atlanta last summer and Delta was offering quite an incentive. They apparently needed about 6-10 seats . It makes me nervous that they would overbook for so many.

 

[dancin Disney style]

All carriers over book by 20%. Usually they will offer a free roundtrip ticket to take the later flight. If that flight is the next day they will offer the hotel and food comp as well. I have never seen them offer cash though but I've heard that it does happen.

If I'm ever in the situation to be offered a ticket to fly later I'd be all over it. I'm self employed so if I get home a day late it's not that big of a deal. Plus, quite often I don't schedule work for myself the day after a trip.

 

[chasbos]

I have seen other airlines offer up free tickets before too - when we flew to San Antonio last summer NWA was asking for volunteers on 2 or 3 flights!! IF we were not the last flight of the day to San Antonio I would have taken it too. If it is only a couple hour wait, why not.

I think the airlines are going to have to review there booking policies because it seems like there are not as many no shows anymore.

 

[LadyKay]

What do the airlines do if there are no volunteers?

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

All carriers over book by 20%.

WestJet is one airline that does not overbook their flights, because that's what one of their agents told me last week when I called them about something.

 

[crashbb]

What do the airlines do if there are no volunteers?

They voluntell someone to take the next flight.

It is what is generally referred to as an involuntary bump. There are rules for the compensation that the airline provides and each airline has rules as to who they will choose (fare class, check-in time, presence/absence of connections, etc).

 

[MECH8T7]

What do the airlines do if there are no volunteers?

If there are no volunteers, they begin bumping passengers and I think they generally do it based on the reverse order in which passengers check-in for the flight...can't recall whether higher fare classes get higher priority and are less likely to be bumped.

On flights originating from the U.S. (e.g., AC flight going from Florida to Toronto), the minimum compensation for being bumped (if they can't rebook on a flight that gets you to your destination within a certain period of time of the flight from which you are being bump) is dictated by U.S. regulations and is in the form of cash. It is something like twice the amount of the ticket up to a max of US$400 per person.

I don't think Canada has similar rules and I believe the Canadian government leaves the compensation for being bumped at the discretion of the airline, though I believe the airlines must have a published protocol for bumping which passengers can ask to see at any time.

Strangely, it seems that the compensation the airlines offer to passengers to voluntarily give up their seats is often more generous than what they commit (or are obligated) to pay if they are forced to bump a passenger due to lack of volunteers. You would think that it would work the other way around.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I thought if no one volunteers to give up their seats the passengers who are on stand by need to take another flight, because I don't think they are able to bump other passengers. When I would watch Airline on A&E they would show situations where they needed volunteers to give up their seats for stand by passengers, however when no one did those standby passengers needed to make other plans and passengers with confirmed seats were not forced to give them up.

 

[crashbb]

I thought if no one volunteers to give up their seats the passengers who are on stand by need to take another flight, because I don't think they are able to bump other passengers. When I would watch Airline on A&E they would show situations where they needed volunteers to give up their seats for stand by passengers, however when no one did those standby passengers needed to make other plans and passengers with confirmed seats were not forced to give them up.

Of course they are. What if there are no stand-by passengers? Or if everybody who really bought a seat shows up and they oversold my 10% (NEVER actually seen this happen)? If the plane carried 200 people, they'd be looking to "bump" 20 people, before even beginning to consider the stand-by passengers.

Read the two posts above yours.

ETA - They aren't going to bump passengers to seat stand-by passengers, but if there aren't enough seats for all the ticketed passengers and there aren't enough volunteers, they HAVE to bump people - they'd have nowhere to seat them.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Of course they are. What if there are no stand-by passengers? Or if everybody who really bought a seat shows up and they oversold my 10% (NEVER actually seen this happen)? If the plane carried 200 people, they'd be looking to "bump" 20 people, before even beginning to consider the stand-by passengers.

Read the two posts above yours.

ETA - They aren't going to bump passengers to seat stand-by passengers, but if there aren't enough seats for all the ticketed passengers and there aren't enough volunteers, they HAVE to bump people - they'd have nowhere to seat them.

Oh I just assumed if there are no seats for the stand by passengers then they would be put on the next flight. So I just learned something new.

 

[crashbb]

Oh I just assumed if there are no seats for the stand by passengers then they would be put on the next flight. So I just learned something new.

Okay, you aren't getting it.

The stand-by passengers WILL wait until the next flight (or the one after that, or the one after that...).

What we are talking about are the NON STAND BY passengers - those that have an actual ticket. If the airline oversells the flight and more people show up than they expected, the stand-by passengers become a non-issue (they are NOT getting on the flight). Unfortunately, some of the ticketed passengers are also not going to get on the flight. First, the airline will ask for volunteers, but if they don't get enough, some ticketed passengers will be involuntarily bumped. They are making room for other ticketed passengers, not for stand-by passengers.

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Okay, you aren't getting it.

The stand-by passengers WILL wait until the next flight (or the one after that, or the one after that...).

What we are talking about are the NON STAND BY passengers - those that have an actual ticket. If the airline oversells the flight and more people show up than they expected, the stand-by passengers become a non-issue (they are NOT getting on the flight). Unfortunately, some of the ticketed passengers are also not going to get on the flight. First, the airline will ask for volunteers, but if they don't get enough, some ticketed passengers will be involuntarily bumped. They are making room for other ticketed passengers, not for stand-by passengers.

Got it.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

I watched a whole news program regarding "bumping" (CTV, W5, can't remember). Most of the airlines do, in fact, over book their flights therefore having to bump passengers. The program totally ticked me off. To think this is not only common practice but it is legal common practice. I figured if you paid for a seat, you should be sitting in it upon take-off. The whole thing is absolutely ridiculous and I think the government should step in (as they did with the expiry date on gift card fiasco). It should simply not be allowed. According to the report, Air Canada is the biggest culprit of this growing trend.

As CR Resort Fan 4 Life pointed out, WestJet received major Kudos during the program because they do not practice over-booking and/or bumping!!! I will not book with any other carrier now (the horror stories throughout the show were insane, people missing their parents funerals, childrens graduations etc. etc. etc. all due to being bumped). Our last 3 vacations to WDW have been with WestJet and it is truly one of the greatest experiences I have had flying. They are very professional from the gang behind the ticket counter to the flight attendants!!!
for WestJet

Another Buyer Beware heads up.
End of rant!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

Mickey's Best Girl,
I agree with you 100% about WestJet because the two times my family and I flew with them they have always their employees have always friendly and the flights have always been a lot of fun.

As for Air Canada this past December we did not have a great experience with them. I don't know how this is possible but when we flew with them from Toronto - Orlando we never had confirmed seats and only had them confirmed for our flight from Tampa - Toronto, even though they took off my dad's Aeroplan points. So we had to go stand by and we were lucky to be seated in Business Class with the other stand by passengers since the Economy seats were full, however because of that we are going back to WestJet and had it not been for the Aeroplan points I don't think we would have went on Air Canada.

 

[crashbb]

Funnily, the ONLY time I've ever been involuntarily bumped was on WestJet.

Clearly, on odd situation if they don't overbook (I can think of situation as to why it would occur, but I was given no extra information), but given that I've flown WJ less than 10 times (1 bump) and AC well over 100 (0 bumps), my percentages differ from the norm.

Was the show only about Canadian airlines? I know that American airlines tend to be worse than Canadian ones. I am much more likely to see an American carrier ask for volunteers than I am to see it when flying a Canadian carrier. In fact, I know many Americans who purposely book their tickets to maximise their chance of being bumped - they have flexible schedules and want the compensation.

Given that there are 3 (if you include Porter, which hasn't been around all that long, so would only be included on a very recent show) non-Charter airlines in Canada, I find it funny that any airline could be called "the worst culprit of a growing trend", when the only other airline is said not to overbook - slight hyperbole!

 

[DCA_MillionaireFreak]

They didn't do that for my Dad when they cancelled his flight though.

 

[minnie56]

Westjet DO overbook-they all do..
I Like WJ-I like AC
Flew in from MCO last nite w/AC..flight was fine. On time, good crew. No probs.
If they do not get a volunteer (someone asked here) then they involuntarily offload someone!