ks.234
Half way to Infinity
That's what they do and hope for a certain percentage of no shows...
my DiL was in the unfortunate position of being the first in the queue to be refused entry to the plane. The person in front or her went through, then the steward, or whoever it was, turned away my DiL and everyone behind her. There were lots. No explanation, no information, nothing. Same at information desk, which was crowded with everyone else asking the same questions, no information, no explanation other than that cannot board.That is a bit odd as every flight I have ever been on has boarded families with children first. However your presumption is correct, all airlines overbook their flights (10% I think) and occasionally have to ask for volunteers to take a different flight, usually with some form of compensation. Only after then do they choose unwilling passengers against a list of priority - class booked, amount paid, frequent flyer status etc etc. Unfortunately cheap flight holiday flyers usually have the lowest status.