On average, Americans say they would need USD 599 to voluntarily give up their seat due to overbooked flights
A latest study by Texas-based travel company Upgraded Points has uncovered the frequency of involuntary denied boardings across major airlines in the United States, highlighting the carriers most likely to bump passengers in 2024.
On average, Americans say they would need USD 599 to voluntarily give up their seat due to an airline overbooking a flight.
However, some state residents expect much more to make up for the inconvenience. The residents from the states that would require the most money are:
California: USD 832
Iowa: USD 799
Utah: USD 784
Alabama: USD 774
Texas: USD 729
Involuntary denied boardings per 10,000 passengers:
Frontier Airlines: 3.21
American Airlines Network: 0.60
Spirit Airlines: 0.43
Southwest Airlines: 0.14
JetBlue Airways: 0.09
Keri Stooksbury
“Few travel experiences are more frustrating than being bumped from a flight after purchasing a ticket. Yet it happens frequently since airlines routinely sell more tickets than available seats in anticipation of no-shows. We studied this industry practice to give travellers a heads-up on which carriers are most likely to have this issue,” says Keri Stooksbury, Editor-in-Chief, Upgraded Points.
Beyond compensation, the study revealed other considerations that come with denied boardings. Nearly half of Americans or 46 pc say the longest delay they would accept on a future flight is 2 to 4 hours if they voluntarily gave up their seat.
However, 13 pc would be willing to wait over 7 hours if necessary. About 50 pc of Americans would be less likely to give up their seat during peak travel times, like the holidays.
The statement adds that 42 pc think fair compensation for being bumped involuntarily is a 200 pc refund plus rebooking on the next available flight.
Nearly 27 pc believe the refund should be 400 pc or more, while 25 pc think a 100 pc refund is enough.
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