Originally Posted by
lsugolfer
Well when I called the Plat line, I inquired about being put on the standby list for said flight. The CSR said she would do it and the chances to get on the flight looked good given that the flight was full/oversold in Y but there was still "positive space" on the flight.
Not sure what is so confusing here.
Perhaps you are the victim of a CSR using the term incorrectly.
She probably meant that while Y=0 (and thus you can't be confirmed in Y), there were still seats in F (i.e. F>0). That along with where you'd be placed on the standby list led her to claim that you had a good chance of getting cleared off the standby list.
Another terminology clarification:
"Overbooked" means there are more confirmed passengers booked in a cabin than there are seats in that cabin.
"Oversold" means that more passengers have presented themselves for boarding in a cabin than there are seats in that cabin.
I.e. "overbooked" exists as a state in a run up to a flight, but it is likely to change considerably as people cancel flights, etc. "Oversold" means you've come to the moment of truth (boarding), and there are too many people.