Passengers are more likely to be stranded by these airlines – thanks to an annoying industry practice

We are not on board with this.

A new report exposes the most guilty U.S. airlines for overbooking their flights — a strange industry quirk that leaves hundreds of thousands of paying passengers stranded each year.

The findings, compiled using statistics from the government’s latest Air Travel Consumer Report, surprisingly revealed the act of ticket holders being pulled off a crowded plane at the last minute – often in exchange for vouchers or valuable miles a fraction of what the customer paid. usual.

“Many airlines in America engage in the practice of overselling flights to maximize profits. They assume that not all booked passengers will show up, so they sell more tickets than there are seats available,” said Marc Porcar, CEO of QR Code Generator.

“While this approach can reduce the number of empty seats and help keep fares low, it often leads to significant problems for some travelers and can cause frustration and stress for some passengers,” Porcar said.

Two Delta affiliates topped the bad list – Endeavor Air, known to most as Delta Connection, had 13.05 passengers turned away for every 10,000. Fellow pond jumper SkyWest followed with a rate of 7.99 per 10,000.

Frontier was third overall with a rate of 6.47 per 10,000. The low-fare flyer grabbed the boobie award for the most involuntarily boarded passengers, at 11,328. Fourth was Spirit with 6.41 per 10,000.

Legacy carrier Delta ranked fifth (6.32 per 10,000) but all 115,827 passengers who were bumped voluntarily left the line, according to the report.

Hawaiian Airlines and Allegiant Air were the two airlines least likely to ask for your seat, at 0.83 and 0.66 out of every 10,000 passengers moved. Hawaii had six forced fumbles while Allegiant reported none.

If you hope this never happens to you, try to be more valuable to the airline as a customer, experts say.

“The selection process is generally random. However, airlines may prefer to start the process from the group of passengers who do not have any loyalty status,” Anton Radchenko, founder of Boston-based AirAdvisor, told Travel + Leisure.

And while there are usually plenty of volunteers, suppose you find yourself on the receiving end of an offer you can’t refuse. In that case, fight for your rights, urge the professionals.

That’s because many airlines will try to avoid offering real money, which doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask for what you’re owed — some cheesy points or free airport food while you wait for an open seat. that, they say.

“Involuntarily giving up a seat is called ‘denied boarding’ and the law provides for compensation ranging from $675 to $1,350, depending on the delay after arrival at your destination,” Radchenko told T+L.