Southwest Airlines to end practice of overbooking flights
Southwest Airlines is to stop overbooking flights - an industry practice implicated in a recent ugly incident on a United Airlines flight that has damaged United's reputation with the flying public.
Southwest last year bumped 15,000 passengers off flights, more than any other US airline. Carriers say they sometimes sell more tickets than there are seats because usually a number of passengers do not show up.
The practice of overbooking flights has come under intense scrutiny since April 9, when a passenger was dragged off an overbooked United Express plane after refusing to give up his seat for a crew member.
Southwest chief executive Gary Kelly said on Thursday that the airline had been thinking about ending overbooking for "a long time" because of fewer and fewer no-shows. But the issue gained more urgency after the United incident, he said.
Beth Harbin, a Southwest spokeswoman, said that with better forecasting tools and a new reservations system coming online next month, the airline will no longer have a need to overbook flights.
Politicians in Washington and elsewhere have called for a ban on overselling flights. Some critics have said airlines should leave a few seats empty if they think they will be needed by crew members.
JetBlue is currently the only major US airline with a stated policy that bans overbooking. United said on Thursday that it plans to reduce overbooking but not eliminate it entirely.
Dallas-based Southwest did not put a time-frame on the policy change, and Mr Kelly noted the airline may still need to bump people if, for instance, it has to use a smaller plane than the one originally scheduled.
Mr Kelly was asked on an earnings conference call if the move could impact Southwest's results. He said ending overbooking would have a minor impact on revenue but gave no figures.
Chief financial officer Tammy Romo said doing away with overbooking would reduce costs - airlines compensate passengers for giving up their seats - which would offset some of the revenue hit.
AP
