Airline overbooking is a long-standing practice in the airline industry. It allows airlines to maximize passenger carrying capacity. Airlines usually use automated systems to analyze data on past no-shows and manage revenue. If their automated system predicts high no-shows, the airline will overbook flights to reduce empty seat numbers
If an airline overbooked flights with fewer no-shows, it might deny you boarding the flight. The airline will compensate you up to $2,000. The compensation may go way over this range if your flight arrives much later when you pay a higher ticket price.
You can request overbooking compensation if your airline inconveniences you. You’ll provide feedback to the airline to help them process your claim. We’ll look at the role of your feedback in streamlining airline overbooking compensation policies and a few more things.
Understanding Airline Overbooking and Compensation Policies
Airlines usually experience last-minute cancellations that result in unprecedented revenue loss. To shield themselves from such losses, airlines implement overbooking policies to sell more tickets than there are seats.
The aviation industry has airline overbooking policies to protect you from inconveniences. The aviation industry has regulations mandating airlines to compensate passengers:
European Union Regulations
If you booked a flight from any airport in the European Union, you’re eligible for overbooking compensation. The EC 261 Regulations primarily require EU carriers to compensate for overbooking.
Consumer Protection Act
While African airlines have no universal overbooking compensation policy, they have policies to protect you from flight overbooking. For example, airlines from South African airports will refund your air ticket. Also, they’ll pay interest and refund incidental costs.
US Regulations — Department of Transportation
US carriers are responsible for providing care to passengers inconvenienced by flight overbooking. Additionally, these regulations mandate US airlines to compensate you for flight delays and cancellations.
The Importance of Customer Feedback
Airlines usually collect customer data and analyze it to satisfy customers in their next purchase of products and airline services. Even after an airline overbooking a flight, customer feedback plays a crucial role in helping the airline improve its compensation policy. The airline can improve its policy in these ways:
Identify Passenger Needs and Meet Expectations
You probably value comfort, convenience, and safety more than the price of your air travel. Airlines can collect customer feedback to know their needs and meet or surpass their expectations.
Provide Satisfactory Services and Compensation
The airline can collect feedback to identify services needing improvement and reward loyal customers with vouchers and discounts.
Comparing Services and Compensation Policy with Competitors
If more customers give dissatisfied feedback, the airlines should compare their services with their competitors to make adjustments. They can do the same with their overbooking compensation policy to offer a more satisfying compensation.
Methods for Collecting and Analyzing Customer Feedback
An airline isn’t a profitable company without a substantial, loyal customer base behind it. They’ll collect and analyze customer feedback to improve their compensation policies. The airline can use these methods to collect customer feedback and analyze it for improved products and services:
Reading Social Media Reviews
Passengers usually leave feedback on an airline’s social media pages, especially if their services don’t satisfy them. Airlines can read the reviews for analysis to improve their services next time.
Conducting Surveys
Surveys are the most effective customer feedback collection method. Customer Satisfaction and Customer Effort Scores are surveys an airline can use to collect feedback. These surveys are easy to distribute and analyze, making them more efficient.
Conducting Interviews
An airline can also conduct one-on-one interviews with passengers to collect feedback. Although this method provides a deeper customer understanding, some passengers may shy away.
Implementing Changes Based on Customer Feedback
Customer feedback forms a framework for airlines to implement better policies. Airlines will take various steps to implement changes based on the collected data. The steps could include the following:
Prioritize Emerging Issues
Customers will raise various issues. Their airline should prioritize issues needing immediate addressing. If more passengers complain about flight overbooking, the airline should implement changes to address overbooking first.
Develop an Action Plan
An airline has to devise an action that will satisfy passengers denied boarding a flight due to overbooking. First, the airline has to use updated systems to analyze and correctly predict no-shows. The airline can offer the next flight to passengers denied boarding a flight. Also, it can provide meals, accommodation vouchers, and transportation to the hotels.
Equipping Employees with Skills
Airlines can also train and empower employees to use customer feedback to make necessary changes.
Conclusion
Your feedback can help you receive overbooking compensation quickly. If you’ve fallen victim to flight overbooking, it might help to know that airlines have compensation policies to alleviate your inconvenience and stress. Airlines may use various methods to collect your feedback.
Whichever method they use, provide feedback to help streamline overbooking compensations. They could use social media, interviews, or surveys to get your feedback. Since various regulations mandate airlines to compensate you, you should provide feedback.
