Originally Posted by
cbn42
Not an actual study, but here's a paper that throws out some numbers. [url]http://thefederalist.com/2017/04/10/heres-real-reason-airlines-constantly-overbook-flights/[/url
An interesting article, but I think an oversimplification. It doesn't account for a multitude of complexities:
- there are a significant number of different seat prices and cancelation rules on each flight;
- some are refundable if the customer doesn't show, some are not;
- some customers will accept a $200 voucher to wait for a future flight, others will want cash and more of it;
- sometimes there are more no-shows than oversells, so you have a few empty seats despite overselling;
- etc.
It would be interesting to see a reasonably comprehensive and objective study of the economics. However, I suspect no airline would be willing to release the data necessary to do the study, even if it were to be confidential.