http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/23/business/23bump.html?_r=3D1&hp&oref=3Dslo= gin The New York Times August 23, 2008 More Flights Are Overbooked, but Payoffs Are Rising By MICHELINE MAYNARD and MICHELLE HIGGINS The bad news: the likelihood that travelers will be bumped from an overbook= ed flight may grow worse this fall when airlines shrink their fleets to cut= unprofitable flights and inefficient planes, meaning even fewer empty seat= s than there are now. The good news: airlines are required to offer richer rewards =E2=80=94 twic= e the amount of money they used to pay out =E2=80=94 for passengers bumped = from a flight. The payoff can be even greater for people who know how to ba= rgain. In the first six months of the year, about 343,000 passengers were denied s= eats on planes, according to the Department of Transportation, out of 282 m= illion passengers. Most of those people volunteered to give up their seats = in return for some form of compensation, like a voucher for a free flight. But D.O.T. statistics also show about 1.16 of every 10,000 passengers had t= heir seats taken away outright because of overbooking =E2=80=94 which may s= ound like a low rate, until your name is called. =E2=80=9CI hear all kinds of nightmares,=E2=80=9D said Clay Escobedo, a sup= ervisor at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport in Nevada. He was told earl= ier this week that there were not enough seats for his family on a Horizon = Air flight to Los Angeles, where they were to connect for a trip to a resor= t in Mexico. =E2=80=9CI didn=E2=80=99t think it could happen to me.=E2=80= =9D Back when most tickets were refundable or easy to change, and the airlines = offered multiple daily flights to many cities, carriers used to routinely o= verbook about 15 percent of their seats. Passengers who missed their plane = could simply catch a later flight. Rules are tighter now, and passengers with nonrefundable tickets can only e= xpect a credit for an unused ticket, often minus a hefty fee, if they chang= e their flight. That means they have more incentive to show up. But airlines still overbook, regarding bumping as a necessary part of doing= business, especially in the face of record fuel prices. Overbooking, after= all, helps ensure flights are as full as possible, a priority for the fina= ncially troubled carriers. That strategy can also backfire on the airlines, said Tim Winship, an edito= r with SmarterTravel.com, a Web site that offers travel advice. The practic= e is =E2=80=9Cbad for them, it=E2=80=99s bad for morale, and you end up wit= h a potential riot on your hands among people who have to be compensated,= =E2=80=9D he added. Even with the higher compensation for being bumped, many passengers are ang= ered by the practice. =E2=80=9CIt feels like I=E2=80=99m paying them for goods and services, and = what I=E2=80=99m getting back is some useless voucher and a =E2=80=98good l= uck with getting home,=E2=80=99 =E2=80=9D said Andrew Cox, a manager at a J= immy John=E2=80=99s sandwich shop in Lansing, Mich. He agreed to give up his seat at Kennedy International Airport in New York = last week in exchange for a $400 voucher good toward a future Delta flight = and a seat on a later flight, only to find out that his later flight was ca= nceled. =E2=80=9CThere=E2=80=99s just so much passing the buck,=E2=80=9D Mr. Cox sa= id. =E2=80=9COf course there are things that can=E2=80=99t be controlled, b= ut a flight has a certain amount of seats. It=E2=80=99s pretty simple. If f= lights are being overbooked, then what does that say about how the airline = runs their business?=E2=80=9D For Delta Air Lines, bumping became a big concern last summer, when 3.3 pas= sengers out of every 10,000 travelers were bumped, more than double the ind= ustry average. So Delta started using new technology to better track differences in no-sho= w patterns based on time, day and season. =E2=80=9CWe now have a much better view of how many passengers we expect to= show up=E2=80=9D for the same flight on a Tuesday versus a Friday, said Be= tsy E. Talton, a Delta spokeswoman. The methods have helped Delta cut its i= nvoluntary bumpings in half, putting it more in line with the industry aver= age. In fact, the rate of forced bumping for all the airlines declined in t= he first six months of 2008, compared with the same period last year. But t= he rate remains higher this year than in all of 2007, and has been on a ste= ady climb since 2002. Meanwhile, Continental Airlines said it was introducing a new feature on it= s Web site and at airport kiosks that lets travelers automatically check in= within 24 hours of their return flight. The step is meant to save traveler= s the trouble of going online to check in the day before their return fligh= t. It can also help protect them against getting bumped, since Continental = will know that they plan to make the flight. The higher cost of payouts, which the Transportation Department doubled thi= s spring after last summer=E2=80=99s travel chaos, gives the airlines extra= incentive to refine their overbooking models. Travelers can now receive up to $400 if they are involuntarily bumped and r= ebooked on another flight within two hours after their original domestic fl= ight time and within four hours for international. They are eligible for up= to $800 in cash if they are not rerouted by then. The final amount depends= on the length of the flight and the price paid for the ticket. Even stricter rules apply in Europe, where compensation ranges from 125 eur= os (about $185) to 600 euros (about $888), depending on the length of the f= light and the amount of time the passenger will be delayed. Compensation must be paid immediately in cash, or with a voucher if the pas= senger accepts it, and the airline must offer a choice of a refund, a retur= n flight to their departure city or an alternative flight. Volunteers also = receive compensation, which they negotiate with the airline. Passengers are learning, however, that if an airline does not get enough vo= lunteers at a lower figure, they might be able to bid up the offer, and als= o obtain sweeteners that include vouchers for meals, hotels, transportation= and even plane tickets. Mr. Escobedo, traveling with his wife, daughter and two grandsons, was told= there were only three seats for them for their Horizon Air flight to Los A= ngeles to connect for their vacation in Mazatlan, Mexico. =E2=80=9CI stood my ground,=E2=80=9D he said. =E2=80=9CI kept telling the a= gent, =E2=80=98That plane better not pull away from the gate. You need to m= ake another announcement.=E2=80=99 =E2=80=9D The agent complied, and, once everyone was on board, asked for two voluntee= rs so the Escobedos could travel together. The airline offered a free round= -trip ticket, good for a year, to anywhere that Alaska or its partner Horiz= on Air fly, and promised that volunteers could still reach Los Angeles via = San Francisco that day. Stephen Schwartz, a graphic artist, immediately put up his hand, as did Mar= garet Cockrell, a professional development educator. Her reason for volunte= ering? =E2=80=9CThis family deserves to go on their vacation,=E2=80=9D she = said. Mr. Schwartz added: =E2=80=9CA round-trip ticket. Who could pass that up? N= ow, I can go anywhere I want.=E2=80=9D When Mr. Schwartz arrived in San Francisco after giving up his seat from Re= no, he learned his connecting flight to Los Angeles was also overbooked. Th= ere, the airline was offering $250 vouchers to passengers who would agree t= o take a later flight. Mr. Schwartz said he was tempted, but ultimately declined because he had ar= ranged to be picked up in Los Angeles so he could reach his job at a summer= camp. But Mr. Schwartz had already received an unexpected reward. As he gave up t= he seat in Reno, Mr. Escobedo, head of the vacationing family, handed him a= nd Ms. Cockrell each $20, so they could buy themselves lunch. =E2=80=9CThey saved the day for me,=E2=80=9D Mr. Escobedo said. Kathryn Carlson contributed reporting. 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