These are the airlines most likely to bump you from flights (2024)

FAQs

Which airline bumps the most passengers? ›

Airlines have a pecking order of bumping passengers. Your booking class (think first class or basic economy vs. premium), the time you checked in (early bird gets the seat), and your frequent flier status play significant roles in deciding who stays and who must go.

"If there are not enough passengers who are willing to give up their seats voluntarily, an airline may deny you a seat on an aircraft based on criteria that it establishes, such as the passenger's check-in time, the fare paid by the passenger, or the passenger's frequent flyer status.

This practice is based on historical data that shows that not all passengers who have reservations actually show up for their flights. An airline overbooking is needless to say a regular and completely legal practice.

That's more passengers than the next three airlines combined. According to the airline's contract of carriage, Delta will provide those that volunteer to give up their seats, or are involuntarily bumped, a seat on the next available flight at no additional cost or a flight on a different airline.

Deciding on who gets bumped depends on the carrier. Some call for compensated volunteers others do it based on the last person to check in. Bumping is actually relatively rare and predictable. Busy flights are the most likely to have a problem.

One is to check in early. Once you check in, you'll probably get a seat assignment, and the chances of getting bumped decrease. Don't wait to board! If you're not in your seat, the airline may assume you won't show up and give your seat to another passenger.

Based on our analysis, we found that the U.S. airline with the highest number of involuntary denied boardings per 100,000 passengers was Frontier Airlines, which had 6.28 bumped passengers per 100,000 people. Spirit followed with a 5.57 bumped passengers per 100,000.

This is called “denied boarding compensation” or “DBC” for short. Most bumped passengers who experience short delays on flights will receive compensation equal to double the one-way price of the flight they were bumped from, but airlines may limit this amount to up to $775.

How do airlines choose who to upgrade? ›

Nowadays, the majority of upgrades are done via an airline's computer system, which will typically generate a list of who should be offered an upgrade based on a combination of data (rewards program membership, affiliated credit cards, etc.)

In most cases there are enough volunteers and nobody needs to change flights against his or her will. Passengers with special needs, such as children travelling alone, families with small children, groups and passengers with connecting flights have priority to board the plane.

If you are bumped involuntarily and the reason is within the airline's control and required for safety purposes, you are entitled to a specific standard of treatment and rebooking or a refund. If you are bumped involuntarily and the reason is outside of the airline's control, you are entitled to rebooking.

If there are not enough volunteers, other passengers may be denied boarding involuntarily in accordance with the following boarding priority of (name of air carrier): (In this space the carrier inserts its boarding priority rules or a summary thereof, in a manner to be understandable to the average passenger.)

But if no volunteers step forward, the airline typically determines the passengers who get bumped based on established criteria, including check-in time, fare class, and frequent flier status. “The process of selection is generally random.

In a ranking of carriers, Frontier Airlines topped the list for the most complaints, with 20 grievances for every 100,000 passengers, PIRG said, which also found that the Denver-based budget airline had the worst record last year when it comes to involuntarily bumping passengers off flights.

American Airlines Group ranks first by number of employees and passengers carried.

Typically, the best seats on a plane for avoiding turbulence are either over the wings or towards the front of the aircraft. The plane's wings keep it balanced and smooth, whereas the aircraft's tail can bounce up and down more, making turbulence more noticeable.