I class - redefining math?
 

I just witnessed the oddest thing. A domestic flight is scheduled with a 319. This starts out with J=9 C=9 I=9 on, for example, seat counter. I watched a flight go to I=0 C=0 J=2. I then watched it go back to C=2 J=6. Now a 319 has 14 J seats. This means that 8 of them are presently full. By my count, that means I should be 1, not 0, but it is I=0 on seatcounter. If I=0 is correct, then it should have started with I=8, not I=9 as it did. Assuming that all seats in J are actually booked in I, that would mean that 8 of them are booked in I resulting in I = 9-8 = 1. Do seats not go back into I once they've come out?

The answer is not necessarily.

Depending on demand, etc. for that flight, an I or D booking that is cancelled does not necessarily go back to I or D, respectively.

So yes, the redefined math. Excellent. :)

That's not quite how the inventory works.

C is a subset of J, so J6C2 means there are 6 seats left, 2 of which they are willing to sell at the C fare.

I see you're redefining math too. :p :p :p

14 - 6 = 8 seats available, not 6+2 = 8.

The numbers next to the booking class bucket does not necessarily indicate the number of seats remaining.

AC doesn't oversell J, so for J it actually does indicate the # of seats remaining.

Edited to add: assuming that the # is less than <9

I is an interesting thing. I have seen many flights a good month or more out where they show J9 C9 I0 to asia, probably one of the reasons they created I. I have also seen flights showing J9 C9 I8 to asia only a few days out. It is a lost caused trying to figure out how it works. As far as I see it, C is a subset of J, and I is a subset of C.

Nope, that is not the way it works.

It's late in the workday, and all this talk of redefining math got me thinking:

Let S be a number representing seats up front
S = AJ + BC + DI
Where A, B, and D are real-valued constants >= 0
Now assume J, C, and I to be complex variables (Ir + iIc), which are initially purely real.
A rotation of I by 90 degrees (or pi/2, if you prefer) will make I purely imaginary, and all D seats in I will be (i.D.Ic), thus not real and not able to be booked.

Assume there are N 319s in service, R of which are refurbished. Given that I have yet to see one of these "refurbished planes", it can be also assumed that these R 319s are imaginary, and thus composed of imaginary seats while (N-R) 319s have seats which are purely real.

Since all stories indicate the new J seats are angled slightly, and that the refurbished planes are imaginary, it can be assumed that the collective angle of the seats in J will add up to 90 degrees (pi/2), thus making the total number of seats S on a plane purely imaginary, and suggesting the number of refurbished planes (R) might be a complex term (Rr + iRc).

If we treat all the seats in all N planes as a group, by adding or subtracting refurbished J seats we effectively change the total angle of the seats and thus the number of real and imaginary seats. (for example, if half a plane is refurbished, the collective angle is 45 degrees, and thus half the seats should be real.

Since J and C are more likely to be purely real numbers (which is possible but not discussed here), this means I is most heavily affected by the addition of new J seats.

So the likely cause is somebody just put in a new J suite on the assembly line and you'll have to wait until after lunch when they put another seat in before the numbers change.

I'm curious to hear how that doesn't work. Are you saying that I can be > C or > J to start? Or that C can be > J?

Best explanation yet!! :)

I can't believe that this is true. Overselling makes perfect sense, especially in the business class cabin where a lot of people have flexible tickets and are likely not to show up.

SmilingBoy.

The consequences involved in p!ssing off such a very expensive ticket holder by not being able to give them a seat in J are perhaps too great to make overbooking that cabin worthwhile.

You always have the option to ask for volunteers first, and then you star unloading by looking at status and fare class paid. Unlikely you would need to IDB a J ticket holder. Perhaps they mean that they don't sell more J class tickets than seats in the cabin, but on top of that C, I and award tickets?

SmilingBoy.