Southwest to Stop Overbooking as United Uproar Echoes

Post by noer » Thu, Apr 27, 2017, 9:46 PM UTC

gregschlom wrote: post #17

I have a question for the HN crowd: what would happen if airlines sold their seats at a fixed price and let customers resell them? For the sake of the discussion let's assume that all seats are in the same class (ie: economy) - there are no business / first class seats. So the idea would be: 1. All seats are sold at the same price, no matter how early or how late you buy. The price covers all the costs associated wit…

Post by sjm-lbm » Thu, Apr 27, 2017, 9:47 PM UTC

jowiar wrote: post #23

gregschlom wrote: post #17

I have a question for the HN crowd: what would happen if airlines sold their seats at a fixed price and let customers resell them? For the sake of the discussion let's assume that all seats are in the same class (ie: economy) - there are no business / first class seats. So the idea would be: 1. All seats are sold at the same price, no matter how early or how late you buy. The price covers all the costs associated wit…

The challenge is whether you are fundamentally buying a seat on a particular plane, or transit from point A to point B. Almost all simple solutions re: air travel break down once connections get involved.

Post by coderholic » Thu, Apr 27, 2017, 9:48 PM UTC

gregschlom wrote: post #17

I have a question for the HN crowd: what would happen if airlines sold their seats at a fixed price and let customers resell them? For the sake of the discussion let's assume that all seats are in the same class (ie: economy) - there are no business / first class seats. So the idea would be: 1. All seats are sold at the same price, no matter how early or how late you buy. The price covers all the costs associated wit…

Post by loeg » Thu, Apr 27, 2017, 9:48 PM UTC

aresant wrote: post #12

This response feels knee jerk. It's been demonstrated in countless other threads (1) and articles (2) how economically important it is to overbook. Overbooking is central to airline profitability and their ability to provide flexibility - like partial refunds, or SW's "open tickets" policy on business select. As a consumer I appreciate these things and find them incredibly useful. United's response of "We'll push the…

Post by gshubert17 » Thu, Apr 27, 2017, 9:49 PM UTC

mwfunk wrote: post #7

sandworm101 wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see how it could. Only a handful of people on any one flight are ever bumped, on average. The bumped are normally put on other flights. The only 'win' is where someone doesn't show and also doesn't fly or get a refund. I cannot see how it is more than 1 or 2% of revenue. That said, perhaps I am dead wrong and overbooking is being used for darker purposes. Perhaps they are deliberately overselling flights at p…

Well, if it's a 1-2% decrease in revenue there might be a 1-2% price increase. I thought the margins for US airlines were incredibly small (could be wrong, I'm no expert).