Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has considered taking steps to prevent the overselling of seats on commercial flights.

Overbooking is a widespread commercial practice amongst airlines to reduce the number of empty seats, given the likelihood that a proportion of passengers will not check in. By reducing the number of empty seats, overbooking keeps fares lower than they would otherwise be.

However, the Government understands the frustration of passengers who are being denied boarding due to overbooking. Regulation (EC) 261/2004, with its passenger compensation levels set at levels penalising the industry, was introduced to discourage industry practices that were detrimental to the passenger. The Regulation requires air carriers to provide overbooked passengers prescribed minimum levels of financial compensation, which in particular on short-haul flights may exceed the flight ticket price. Additionally the passengers have a choice between re-routing and reimbursement.

The Government considers the consumer protection regime as sufficient deterrent to overbooking and has not considered further legislation.