For starting a one woman campaign against Easyjet's overbooking policy...

[onelittlefish]

I cam home from Spain today. At check-in I was told "sorry madam, the flight is overbooked - would you mind staying until Saturday. We will give you compensation" - obviously my answer is no. I have two children who I would like to see.

Anyway, at the gates to go on the aeroplane I see an elderly lady and man having a bit of an argument. Because they were the last to check-in they were told they had to get off the plane because there was no room for them. They tried ardently to stop them from taking their baggage off the plane but there was nothing that could be done - the men on the ground had already taken their luggage off and they were told they had to stay.

As the air stewardesses were herding us like cattle on to the plane into our shrunken economy seats, we were told "the flight is completely full, please make your way down the plane and hurry up", again we were told "this flight is COMPLETELY full". They were proud of the fact they had just kicked an elderly couple off the plane, and I felt they had no right to be proud of themselves. The couple wanted to leave.

Now what I did not realise is that overbooking a flight is now a common practice on EAsyjet flights (and other flights). It feels morally wrong to me. The point is that when I book a place on a flight it means I want to fly on that day. I have fulfilled my side of a contract - their side of the contract is that I should be able to fly on that particular day, that I paid for. Does anyone else think easy jet is outrageous or is this one woman campaign going to fizzle to nothing.

No RichMan I don't, and neither do plenty of others: this thread illustrates that. Being allowed onto a flight one has booked is not a perk, or an extra. Being stopped from getting on is not corner cutting. It's shredding the entire thing. Corner cutting would be no choice in seats, loading own bags etc (I should keep quiet about that before they bring it in shouldn't I?!)

Additionally, not all routes are covered by multiple airlines, or give a passenger a choice of budget and non-budget. Even if they did, as you point out yourself, non-budget airlines do it too. As there's no way to entirely avoid the risk of this happening, it's nonsensical to place the blame on the customer. Which is what phrases like 'a bit slack with checking in' do. Even if we all did as you do, to try and avoid being bumped, someone would still miss out when the plane is overbooked, not something they can necessarily control. It might even be you!

This is not new or unusual. I've been flying by air for, approximately, 30 years. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard the 'the flight is overbooked, anyone willing to give up their seats will receive X Y Z in compensation.'

So you can start your campaign. But you'll be wasting your time.

We've voluntarily been bumped off a BA flight before £200, hotel stay and dinner as compensation... But I imagine the budget airlines are far worse given that the make their tickets cheap by treating people worse than cattle...

What no-one has mentioned is that without overbooking flights would be generating (based on bedubabe's post and approx. 200 seats per flight) about 10% more CO2 - so over-booking is good for the environment.

We've left 4 seats at less than24 hrs notice because DD broke her arm while I was packing.

My sister was a travel bum for 3 years. She made loads out of being bumped- she even used to ask them at check in. Most flights will always have 2 or 3 passengers who are "short on money and long on time" so are happy to pocket the $200 and sit in the airport for 10/12 hrs.

Once BA gave her E200 for being bumped for 4 hrs on a flight to Madrid. When she got to Madrid, the hotel was overbooked, so she got bumped again......from her no star budget job to their sister hotel, which was 3 star.

So there are always people who benefit from any situation.

flangelina I accept it might be me because I understand the airline business model. It has been me. I had to spend an extra night in Rio, which tbh, wasnt a huge hardship but I could have done without it as we were moving house 2 days later. If you fly enough you are probably going to get bumped at least once in your life and lose your luggage once. That's life.

The US airlines are NOTORIOUS for doing this! A Govt Minister was travelling home recently and was threatened with not getting the internal flight in the US, to connect with his transatlantic flight home, because the plane was already full and no one was taking the compensation on offer - luckily, 2 people took it at the last minute so the Minister (2nd in q) got on.

It's not just airlines that do this. Wight link, (ferry service to the isle of wight). Overbook every ferry. You never get on the ferry that you've booked and they are always running late.

After many journeys, all of which have been late, limited information from staff and waiting time of over 2 hours at the quay side. I have seen e light and now only travel with Red Funnel.

They actually manage to run a service which is mostly on time and efficient.

Ah, I used to love this when I was a student with an American boyfriend.

He turned up at Heathrow to get his flight home; Virgin had overbooked so he got a whole free return flight in return for spending one night at a hotel.

It's because of the price of fuel.

I know it sounds odd but airline profit margines are tiny, American site but you get the idea just a few empty seats can make a flight unprofitable.

So it sucks, but I get why they do it and think you are best to let it go.

I remember my last Virgin Flight. Got to airport nice and early but was told upon check in that they did not have 2 seats together. To enable us to sit together we had to pay for extra legroom seats. The ones near the emergency exit. We didn't really have that much legroom as I recall as it seems to be a swapping point for trolleys etc. To add insult to injury the in flight entertainment didn't work. Virgin didn't give a toss as apparently its not part of the contract.

My last flight with Virgin was overbooked and they asked to downgrade myself and my DS, but I said no as I was travelling with my folks. The compensation they offered wasnt much either

Virgin used to be so good. They are rubbish now. Although tbf not not used them since having dc.

Nearly 100 bumped off Innsbruck flight this am. Enough angry people that armed police were called. Up to 30 school kids also. easyjet will be bust within 6 months. Faceless Internet sellers who leave us powerless and totally dissatisfied. Boycott the airline NOW... Monopolies Commission got this one terribly wrong. Bring back competition and more airlines covering Easyjets routes, they need a shake up...

"If you don't want to get bumped, check in in good time."

Even if everyone checks in early, someone has to be last.....

My sister and her BF make an effort to be bumped whenever possible with certain airlines (not the budget ones though). As a result they've enjoyed nights in expensive hotels, had some lovely meals and regularly ended up being upgraded to business or first class. As far as I can tell they intentionally turn up shortly before check in closes

I was on a Delta flight back from US that asked several times for volunteers to be bumped, I was relieved when people did volunteer.

I thought this happened on budget airlines but not the bigger airlines. Anyway, it has never happened to me/us. We only fly once a year now and I'd be livid if they changed the arrangements as it might mean missing a day of long-awaited holiday. Also the budget airlines are often not cheap at all. I always shop around and see what is available on bigger airlines as well.

But Rusty, everyone checking in early will never happen. I understand what you're saying, and if it happened, you're right. But it just won't. Some people will always try to scoot up at the very last minute before the flight closes because their time is so much more precious than everyone else's and then bitch and moan when they are bumped off.

Interesting to see how they would handle it if everyone turned up two hours before their flights, like me. Worked for years in the industry and know better than to wing it at the last minute. I know it's not always the case but being early's gotta be a good place to start.

Oh, I know it'll never happen, but like you I'd like to see what they'd do if it did...

DD got a bug before a school trip & wasn't allowed to fly so her seat was empty both ways in that case. I thought this was fairly common practice for most airlines. Whenever I've flown in the USA they seem to ask for volunteers to change flights. Great if you were flexible enough to be able to take them up on it.

I would imagine most people only don't turn up for a pretty good reason.

I know this happens -and I can see the business sense behind it. But it hasn't yet happpened to me.

However this Feb on our return from Lanzarote we were late checking in and there weren't three seats together. So me and DS got sat together and DH was on his own. The seats me and DS had were the lovely extra legroom seats half way down -by the emergency window/door. I couldn't stop stretching my legs out it was fab! (I am tall as is DS). Ds is 14 - and I wouldnt have thought that a child could have the emergency exit row seat but hey. We had to be shown how to open the door in case of an emergency too! The passenger next to me looked a little miffed though - as she was saying how she always paid extra for the xtra legroom seats - and I casually said that we were sat here as were late checking in ;)/.

So to us, the flight being full paid off.

The first time I came across this was in the USA about 15 years ago but there they actually held an auction at the gate and asked people to bid a price at which they would be prepared to be bumped off the plane.

The man who won the auction got a top class hotel and a weekend in Florida free of charge.

I think the rules need to be changed. It seems to me there is no penalty to overbooking so the perosn who gets bumped on UK low cost carriers suffers all the cost with little or no compensation.

How do you pick the victim who will be bumped? Its totaly unfair.

I used to travel on my own a lot so was regularly asked if I'd like to be bumped. I almost always accepted as the compensation was always so good. I was once asked, ever so politvely, if I would mind being 'bumped' to an earlier flight, going to an airport closer to home than the one I'd booked for, with a taxi to my door and a free flight in the future. Er, yes please!

Of course they weren't 'proud of kicking an elderly couple off the flight'. That's ridiculous - they have to re-fly them home anyway - and pay compensation - so where's the benefit in that?

I don't fly Easyjet because I don't agree with their policies; other airlines treat their customers better and I'd rather fly with them. They don't care about poor publicity because they know there are many people who care more for their cheap flights than principle. Up to you what you do.