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Should a law be passed that bars airlines from overbooking flights?

Should a law be passed that bars airlines from overbooking flights?


  • Total voters
    58
Bull****.

Know what's AMAZING about air travel in the EU? There are very strict Air Passenger rights that allow individuals to file for compensation from the airline for up to 600 Euro if the flight is cancelled, delayed up to 3 hours, you're bumped from the flight and other reasons. The only escape clause for the airline is if the reason for the service interruption was "extraordinary circumstances." Air passenger rights - Your Europe

I myself claimed (non-EU foreign nationals are entitled as well) and received 600 Euros this past March when my flight back to Chicago was cancelled and I was delayed by 6+ hours.

Honestly ... it's a complete and total joke that anyone here is opposed to such laws. Why the HELL would you prefer your travel plans being screwed up with cancellations, late flights and being bumped from flights and receiving nothing for it? The only people who believe this are idiots. If I buy a $900 dollar ticket from an airline and if that company does not provide appropriate service, I am going to pass a law to get compensated.

Simply put I will always chose this:

Top 10 Airlines EMEA On-Time %
Airline On-Time Percentage
airBaltic 94.39
Finnar 89.52
Austrian Airlines 89.28
LOT - Polish Airlines 88.88
KLM 88.45
SAS 88.21
Monarch Airlines 88.18
Iberia 87.53
Flybe 87.47
Qata Airlines (Middle East) 87.12


Over this bull****:

Top 10 Airlines North America On-Time %
Airline On-Time Percentage
Hawaii Airlines 89.11
Alaska Airlines 86.38
WestJet 85.88
Delta Air Lines 84.46
Southwest 82.12
Virgin America 81.58
American Airlines 80.14
Air Canada 79.46
United Airlines 78.99
JetBlue 78.26

https://info.oag.com/hubfs/Free_Reports/Punctuality_League/PunctualityLeagueReport2015.pdf
Why did you cherry-pick only part of my post to include, and snip out the rest? If you had bothered to read and absorb the entire post in context, you would know that it did not warrant inclusion in your "Bull***".
 
Should a law be passed that bars airlines from overbooking flights?

Lots of examples in recent news. Chances are these types of incidents aren't new, they're just trendy in the media now that they've caught our attention.

It should be banned. Companies shouldn't be allowed to sell more products and services they don't have or can't provide. If customers canceling at the last minute is really that much of a problem then they should charge cancellation fees. Because I can't imagine it being most costly than reimbursing customers with their ticket price and extra money every time they kick a customer of a plane.
 
Should a law be passed that bars airlines from overbooking flights?

Lots of examples in recent news. Chances are these types of incidents aren't new, they're just trendy in the media now that they've caught our attention.

Every time I fly Southwest the plane is full. Does that mean they are 100% accurate, or are some people getting bumped?

I don't know the answer, but we have become "butts in seats" rather than people.
 
like i said, if they can worm out of it through fine print in the contract, then regulation is needed.
If people are too lazy to read what they are agreeing to, they deserve what they get. If they are too dumb to understand it, maybe their caregiver should fly with them. ;)

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If people are too lazy to read what they are agreeing to, they deserve what they get. If they are too dumb to understand it, maybe their caregiver should fly with them. ;)

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if the airlines refuse to understand that constantly infuriating their customers is going to result in demand for regulatory action, then they aren't paying attention to historical trends.
 
if the airlines refuse to understand that constantly infuriating their customers is going to result in demand for regulatory action, then they aren't paying attention to historical trends.
Its a shame so many people think the government has to protect them from every little inconvenience.

Companies would compete on service if customers demanded it. If all the customers do is bitch that There should be a law companies aren't likely to change because they are not currently losing customers and, if the government does step in, all their competition will be similarly affected.

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Are you condoning and/or approving that? Generally, when people pay less for something they are knowingly paying less for less comfort and fewer perks, not nothing at all.

Am I condoning being denied the service you paid for simply because an airline suddenly finds it inconvenient to provide it? Absolutely not. I was just trying to point out that in addition to having to endure crappy seats, increasingly limited elbow and leg room, inedible food or no food at all, and service from an often harried and understaffed cabin crew, economy passengers are more likely to get arbitrarily bumped, dumped on or otherwise abused by companies they've paid good money to. When flying Economy, the reduction in creature comforts goes with the territory. Up to a point. But in other respects all passengers should be treated equally. At present this is not the case.
 
Its a shame so many people think the government has to protect them from every little inconvenience.

this isn't merely an "inconvenience."

Companies would compete on service if customers demanded it. If all the customers do is bitch that There should be a law companies aren't likely to change because they are not currently losing customers and, if the government does step in, all their competition will be similarly affected.

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there should be a law in this case.
 
Am I condoning being denied the service you paid for simply because an airline suddenly finds it inconvenient to provide it? Absolutely not. I was just trying to point out that in addition to having to endure crappy seats, increasingly limited elbow and leg room, inedible food or no food at all, and service from an often harried and understaffed cabin crew, economy passengers are more likely to get arbitrarily bumped, dumped on or otherwise abused by companies they've paid good money to. When flying Economy, the reduction in creature comforts goes with the territory. Up to a point. But in other respects all passengers should be treated equally. At present this is not the case.

Fair enough.

When I log on to Amazon and purchase a product I reasonably expect to get said product. That's not unreasonable. In fact, if I were to purchase a product that exists, but is then taken from me at a later date, generally that's considered fraud. I do not see why one industry should be exempt from fraud. If a seat is available at the moment of purchase, that should be my seat, same as if I bought a book from Amazon.
 
I'm pretty sure it's already illegal to accept payment on goods or services you can't provide.
 
I flew more before deregulation than I fly now. :shrug:

It's the hassle that keeps me away now.

Same here. I used to fly a ton, but since the TSA, I won't except in the direst circumstances. I choose not to be groped by people who can't even keep terrorists off planes.
 
Bull****.

Know what's AMAZING about air travel in the EU? There are very strict Air Passenger rights that allow individuals to file for compensation from the airline for up to 600 Euro if the flight is cancelled, delayed over 3 hours, you're bumped from the flight and other reasons. The only escape clause for the airline is if the reason for the service interruption was "extraordinary circumstances." Air passenger rights - Your Europe

I myself claimed (non-EU foreign nationals are entitled as well) and received 600 Euros this past March when my flight back to Chicago was cancelled and I was delayed by 6+ hours.

Honestly ... it's a complete and total joke that anyone here is opposed to such laws. Why the HELL would you prefer your travel plans being screwed up with cancellations, late flights and being bumped from flights and receiving nothing for it? How could anyone be that ridiculous? If I buy a $900 dollar ticket from an airline and if that company does not provide appropriate service, I am going to pass a law to get compensated.

Simply put I will always chose this:

Top 10 Airlines EMEA On-Time %
Airline On-Time Percentage
airBaltic 94.39
Finnar 89.52
Austrian Airlines 89.28
LOT - Polish Airlines 88.88
KLM 88.45
SAS 88.21
Monarch Airlines 88.18
Iberia 87.53
Flybe 87.47
Qata Airlines (Middle East) 87.12


Over this bull****:

Top 10 Airlines North America On-Time %
Airline On-Time Percentage
Hawaii Airlines 89.11
Alaska Airlines 86.38
WestJet 85.88
Delta Air Lines 84.46
Southwest 82.12
Virgin America 81.58
American Airlines 80.14
Air Canada 79.46
United Airlines 78.99
JetBlue 78.26

https://info.oag.com/hubfs/Free_Reports/Punctuality_League/PunctualityLeagueReport2015.pdf

What's bull**** is wimpy people that demand the government make everything perfect for them. Where the hell does it stop? When the government regulates bowel movements?

Let the buyer beware. If you had ANY IDEA at all how businesses operate, then you would know that the more rules and regulations put on them, the more costly their service gets.
The EU and America are apples and oranges when it comes to air travel with huge differences in laws and regulations. Comparing the two is silly.

Here is an idea....you don't like it...DON'T fly.

Then you can use your precious government-run rail service you EU-types seem so proud of.
 
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Here is an idea....you don't like it...DON'T fly.

That isn't really a valid solution. The United States is large enough that there's no other practical way to cross it in any reasonable amount of time.

And given the small number of airlines and the fact that they all do this, "the market" doesn't seem to be solving the problem.
 
Should a law be passed that bars airlines from overbooking flights?

Lots of examples in recent news. Chances are these types of incidents aren't new, they're just trendy in the media now that they've caught our attention.

I don't know why congress even investigated airline customer service. The airlines are a business. If you don't run your business right it goes out of business. The stock price of United Airlines plummeted and lost millions and millions of dollars from their debacle. If they can't learn from that all by themselves then they deserve to go out of business and a new airline can pop up. We don't need congress wasting their time getting involved in business, unless it is some sort of a monopoly.
 
Laws are not the solution to events in every news cycle. This is a perfect example of a problem that the market will sort out.

Put if a law were passed, it should necessarily include the right for the airline to charge no shows for their full ticket price.

Sent from my LG-V930 using Tapatalk

Umm, airlines *do* charge no-shows full ticket price.

It is called non-refundable fares
 
Umm, airlines *do* charge no-shows full ticket price.

It is called non-refundable fares
That is true, but... The cost of the ticket is reusable on a different flight. It is not forfeited. I was suggesting the the ticket cost be forfeited.
 
That isn't really a valid solution. The United States is large enough that there's no other practical way to cross it in any reasonable amount of time.

And given the small number of airlines and the fact that they all do this, "the market" doesn't seem to be solving the problem.

It isn't much of a problem and the fact is, it is too expensive for these planes to take off if every single seat isn't filled. You want to know whose fault the overbooking problem is? The customers who don't show up. The airlines have to overbook so they have enough people on the plane to make it financially feasible to fly. Go yell at the people who don't show up. It's all their fault.
 
That is true, but... The cost of the ticket is reusable on a different flight. It is not forfeited. I was suggesting the the ticket cost be forfeited.

Which it should be. If you cancel more than, say, a week before the flight, you lose your money, no refunds, no other flights, no excuses. But nobody will go for that either.
 
So, if weak travelers get this law past - what's next?

A law against cold coffee served?

A law against serving rolls that are more than 26.7869594 hours old?

A law against turbulence during a flight?

If we allow gay people to marry, what's stopping people from marrying dogs ?!

^same line of reasoning. It's called a "False Extrapolation". The reasoning behind :

"I bought my plane ticket & I got kicked off the plane. This is not fair."

Is very different from :

"I bought my coffee but it's cold."

In the plane example, the person bought an expensive service that the company did not honor.
In the coffee example, the person bought a coffee, got a coffee, but it didn't match his expectations. Apples & oranges.
 
Its a shame so many people think the government has to protect them from every little inconvenience.

Companies would compete on service if customers demanded it. If all the customers do is bitch that There should be a law companies aren't likely to change because they are not currently losing customers and, if the government does step in, all their competition will be similarly affected.

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I think with airlines that's a little more complicated. If they all had something that states their percentage of bumps offs, on time record, etc. then consumers could and would make a choice based on service. As far as I know there is no readily available information for a consumer to make an informed decision.
 
I don't know why congress even investigated airline customer service. The airlines are a business. If you don't run your business right it goes out of business.

Because although they are private businesses, airlines are also a vital part of our national infrastructure just like the highway system. And since the US has no government-owned or -run airline to provide that vital service, they need to regulate the private airlines
 
Except when it isn't.

Give me an example of where it's not. Not showing up is always the fault of the person who doesn't do so. They should be held accountable for their actions, or in this case, lack of actions.
 
I think with airlines that's a little more complicated. If they all had something that states their percentage of bumps offs, on time record, etc. then consumers could and would make a choice based on service. As far as I know there is no readily available information for a consumer to make an informed decision.
If someone is too lazy to do a little research, they deserve what happens to them. :shrug:

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