Qantas has a new solution to flight overbooking

Airlines’ policies of selling more seats on a flight than there are seats available could become less unpopular, if a new initiative from Qantas proves successful.

The Australian carrier, like many airlines, overbooks flights in the hope that it can predict correctly the number of “no-shows” and extract more revenue from in-demand flights.

But Qantas is now trying to reduce the number of passengers who are denied boarding by persuading travellers on heavily booked flights to switch a week ahead of departure.

The Australian Frequent Flyer blog says that “Qantas Flight Switch” invitations are being sent to some passengers by text message or email. They are offered a flight voucher, typically for A$70 (£), to travel on an alternative departure – often, with a choice of travelling earlier or later.

The invitation is issued to passengers about a week or so in advance of departure. Qantas Flight Switch applies on routes with multiple daily services, such as Sydney to Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne.

One traveller, “JohnK”, was booked with a companion on a 6pm flight from Sydney to Brisbane, and was offered the $70 voucher to both passengers to travel on the 4pm, 4.30pm or 5pm departure.

Australian Frequent Flyer checked the loads and found that only five seats remained on the 6pm, with many more available on the other departures.

The airline reduces the risk of involuntary offloads and can hope to sell the seat for significantly more than $70.

The editor of Australian Frequent Flyer, Matt Graham, told The Independent: “I think that Qantas offering vouchers in exchange for passengers changing to a less popular flight is a brilliant move.

“It allows Qantas to manage overbooking situations with minimal impact on customers, and minimal cost to the airline’s bottom line. It also gives the airline an opportunity to re-sell seats on highly-popular flights while filling more seats at less popular times.”

“The key to the success of the Flight Switch offer is that the customer can choose not to accept it, although invariably some will. It’s a win-win for both the airline and the customer, who is rewarded for their flexibility.”

A spokesperson for the airline said: “For Qantas, it’s not about managing oversold flights – it’s about giving customers who can be flexible about when they travel the choice to change their flight time and be rewarded for doing so, while simultaneously giving a customer who has an urgent need to fly at a specific time the opportunity to make a booking once capacity becomes available.

“It’s currently offered on less than 100 domestic flights a week out of a weekly average of 4,300 flights. Given it’s a choice, not all customers want to switch, but for those who do, feedback has been positive so it’s something we’re continuing to offer and will look to build on to give our customers a better travel experience.”

The Qantas policy is a variant on the concept of “callable” flights, in which at the time of purchase a traveller is invited to commit to selling the seat back to the airline for more than the original fare if the flight becomes overbooked and the carrier “calls” the flight. No airline has yet tested this approach.

Some UK airlines have been criticised for the way they handle overbooked flights. Just before the New Year, Charlotte Barton from Exeter was told to leave the aircraft on an easyJet Bristol-Geneva flight because it was double-booked.

Unlike in the European Union and the US, Australia does not have stipulated compensation for passengers bumped from overbooked flights