Originally Posted by
Often1
It all depends on where you sit. Not only does allowing people to hold impossible bookings affect availability, but it also affects pricing. If I book a cheap seat and it's the last one and I don't intend to fly it, that's good for me. But, when you come along, the cheap seats are gone and you are stuck paying more. That's bad for you.
They also assume some percentage of cancellations or no shows, so to some extent it could already be baked in there. They are fully aware of their Elite cancellation policy. And even for non-Elite members, they can cancel too (if they pay the change fee, which is nearly always worthwhile on a transcon). They're also aware that Saver customers will simply no show. And in low fare markets, there can be a high no show factor.