SOUTHWEST TO END OVERBOOKING PASSENGERS
June 9, 2017
Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly stated in a May 16, 2017 interview with the Wall Street Journal that the airline sought ways to mitigate the risk of repeating the April 9, 2017 incident on United Airlines where a passenger was taken off of a flight after refusing to surrender his seat. Mr. Kelly explained that overbooking is a tool that airlines use to keep fares low. The practice capitalizes on bookings where passengers pay for transport but otherwise fail to appear for the scheduled flight. The airline is then able to sell the unused seat to a second passenger and is able to keep the fare paid by the absentee passenger.
In the interview, Mr. Kelly explained that the number of no-show passengers has decreased over the years to such a degree as to make the overbooking practice less lucrative than it had been in the past. Also, the CEO believes that ending the overbooking business model is “the right thing to do.”
Southwest joins other airlines, like JetBlue, that do not overbook flights.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).
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