How to avoid being dragged off a flight

Thankfully, not everyone’s experience with overbooking is as bad as this guy’s, but it’s still never fun to get booted off a plane.

So Virtuoso has released a new survey of advice from its network of luxury agents, and it’s an enviable list of hot tips to making sure your clients don’t get screwed over when travelling.

According to Travel Agent Central, Virtuoso’s surveyed agents had these words of advice:

Establish status with a specific airline and fly either on board this bad boy, or within its alliance partners whenever possible
Reserve seat assignments the second the flight is booked
Check-in online 24 hours before the flight to reconfirm seats
Avoid sitting in the very front or back rows of Economy Class as these seats may be displaced in the event of an equipment downsize. The last row is often reserved for families travelling with small children as well.

Per TAC, Virtuoso’s travel agents reckon passengers rarely get bumped against their will – 30 per cent of surveyed agent’s clients – and especially since airlines like United have totally reformatted its policies since the incident.

But per TAC, Virtuoso agents say that should passengers find themselves in this situation, try the following:

Insist the airline rebook the next available flight, even on another airline
Comply with the request, but politely ask for more compensation than what the airline is offering
Contact travel agents for assistance
Ask for a credit card-issued gift card instead of an airline voucher, especially if not a frequent traveller

“It’s unfortunate that we’re seeing a rash of these stories lately because our findings show that for all the tens of thousands of passengers who fly daily, only a tiny percentage of them have ever been involuntarily bumped,” said Terrie Hansen, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Virtuoso, per Travel Agent Central.

“When an incident does occur, it captures enormous public attention because with any travel mishap, the viewing public immediately imagines ‘this could happen to me, too’ and it’s an unsettling feeling.”

Respondents admitted that 28 per cent of their clients have asked to switch to other carriers as a direct result of the United Airlines incident, however most say travellers won’t boycott airlines following heavily publicised incidents because:

Certain airlines dominate specific routes and airports, leaving clients to feel like they’re without other viable options

The airline’s schedule best suits their travel plans
Clients have status on the airline or its partner airlines, and do not wish to establish loyalty with another carrier or alliance
Clients understand involuntary passenger bumping is not limited to any one airline

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

overbooking united airlines virtuoso