A travel expert has explained why buying a plane ticket doesn't always guarantee you a seat - after a man was 'booted off' a Ryanair flight following a money-saving hack.
It shouldn't be unreasonable to assume that booking a ticket on a flight should guarantee there will be a seat for you once you make it to the departure gate.
Unfortunately, this isn't always the case, as one traveller recently discovered after he was refused boarding on a Ryanair flight from Birmingham to Mallorca.
Advert
Gym coach Scott McCormick and partner Helena Boshwick were due to fly out to the Spanish island last month for a week-long holiday and gym mentorship event. Given the relatively short flight, the pair decided to save money by foregoing the option to choose their seats, something which most of us do when flying abroad.
However, once they arrived at the departure gate, the couple were informed there was only one seat left on the flight.
Not wanting to travel separately, Scott and Helena decided to catch the next flight together - only to face additional fees after being told they were only eligible for one ticket.
The pair posted about their ordeal on social media, which saw other travellers come forward to claim this is due to airlines overbooking flights.
Advert
Ryanair has since denied this claim, saying the shortage of seats was due to a last minute change in aircraft which is outlined in its terms and conditions.
What do travel experts say about alleged 'flight overbooking'?
Weighing in on the case during a recent interview with MailOnline, Rory Boland, travel editor at consumer group Which?, explained that last minute changes in aircraft and overbooking are more common than we think.
"If an airline ends up with too many people at the gate, it can't just bump someone from the flight because they didn't pay extra to reserve a specific seat," he said.
Boland went on to claim that certain airlines purposely overbook under the assumption that not every passenger will show up, however, he didn't name any particular carriers.
Advert
"Sometimes a last minute change of aircraft might mean less seats available than planned for, in other cases some airlines actively overbook, betting on 'no shows' to balance things out, while maxing their profits by charging for more seats than the plane can actually accommodate," he continued.
"So long as the flight is either departing the UK, or flying into the UK on a UK or EU based airline, the airline is legally obliged to ask for volunteers before resorting to forcibly denying boarding.
"If there are no volunteers, only then an airline can choose to deny a passenger boarding."
What has Ryanair said about Scott and Helena's experience?
A Ryanair spokesperson previously told LADbible: "This flight from Birmingham to Palma de Mallorca (1 May) was not ‘overbooked’ - it was scheduled to operate on a 737-8200 (197 seats) but for operational reasons had to be swapped to a 737-800 aircraft (189 seats).
"As a result, 1 passenger was unable to travel on this flight, and was reaccommodated onto the next available flight to Palma de Mallorca.
Advert
"Mr. McCormick’s travel companion was not refused boarding but chose not to board and travel on this flight from Birmingham to Palma de Mallorca and was required to pay a Missed Departure fee (£100) to be booked onto the next available flight.
"Mr. McCormick was notified by email on the day of travel (1 May) that he was entitled to claim back reasonable receipted expenses, however Mr. McCormick has yet to submit any expense receipts to Ryanair."
Brenna Cooper