Full Flight Cancelled

[seashoreCM]

(posted on another forum)

Just a question of curiosity.

When a nearly full flight is cancelled weeks in advance, how to they decide who gets rebooked on what alternate flight?

I had booked a round trip to Disney World for Thanksgiving some time ago. Just yesterday I checked the airline website and found out that the return flight was cancelled but they rebooked me on the one and only other alternate direct flight within three hours, seemingly automatically.

Both flights in question were nearly full so there was no way everyone could have been booked onto that remaining flight.

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[mikek]

i'd be worried that they probably just stuffed 2 plane loads of people on that one flight.

THey overbook all the time- this would be extreme but who knows with the current situation.

I'd make sure you have seat assignments as soon as possible (unless of course you'd like to get bumped for compensation).

Sometimes they will tell you when you call that the flight is overbooked- when you call for seat assignments you might as well inquire.

 

[yoopermom]

This happened to me, too, on the second leg of our journey on Dec. 26, last flight out of ATL-MCO. That flight was TOTALLY booked, and yet "somehow" it seems as though most of us got put on the next earlier flight (yeah right). Since we would have had only a half hour layover, I called and convinced Delta to put us on an earlier flight connecting through Cinncinati, instead. I, too, would love to know how they can cancel a full flight and divvie those passengers out on the next earlier flight(s). Enquiring minds...
Terri the Yoopermom

 

[DebbieB]

One thing I've heard they are doing with the hub airports is moving people's connecting cities. For example, I live in Pittsburgh and have a non-stop PIT-MCO flight. It is cancelled, so they move the people who get on in Pittsburgh to another PIT-MCO flight, but they move the people on the cancelled flight who were connecting in Pittsburgh to a connection in Charlotte or Philadelphia.

 

[travelcoupons]

Are you now on the same size plane? Or it the new flight on a larger plane (such as a 757)?

 

[flyingcircus]

How do you know the flight was full??? Was it because it showed full in the airlines ressie system? Sometimes flights look full, when they are not! They sometimes"block" seats for protection off another flight, or are anticipating a downsizing of aircraft.

 

[yoopermom]

You're right, I should have clarified that the agent at Travelocity said, "I'm really surprised that they cancelled your flight since I showed it as being full". Now, I understand that *some* seats may have held back, but this was a huge plane, and all those passengers have to go somewhere! (Yes, our new plane is smaller on the Milw.-Cin. half of the flight, but the Cin.-Orl. one is larger, sorry my printout's at work, don't have the exact ##s with me...).
Terri the Yoopermom

 

[inkkognito]

We had the same thing happen to us. I don't know if either the original or the flight they moved us to was full, but we even have the same seat assignments. The new flight is two hours later than the original and is also a non-stop. I didn't even know our flight was cancelled till I called them today due to my paranoia. I am surprised that our travel agent hadn't notified us already. Oh well, I'm not complaining...I figured we might be a lot worse off than simply flying home two hours later.
Barb
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