I think swissbignose has hit the nail on the head there. I'm certainly in no position to say whether or not Qantas oversells tickets on their flights, but speaking from personal experience its never been something that's happened to me, being bumped to another flight (apart from mechanical issues - but that's another story). No doubt if Qantas was looking to bump someone, the people on this board would be less likely to be first in line (they *generally* seem to give some respect to status, well I get that vibe anyway), but even so, I've never seen hordes of teary eyed travellers pounding on the counter at the gates, being left behind from their flight, as seems to be depicted all too often on the US side of things. Apart from the politicians looking after the consumers I'm sure the tabloids and current affairs shows would have a field day about it too if it was happening on a regular basis.