Saranyu Winaipanit, a pop idol and movie star better known as "Ice", almost did not make it to his concert. Earlier this year, he was denied boarding on a return flight from Ethiopia because it was overbooked.
Saranyu 'Ice' Winaipanit almost missed a concert when his flight was overbooked. (Bangkok Post file photo)
"I went to Mekelle, Ethiopia for a trekking trip with my two singer friends. On our way back, we had to catch a flight from one city to the main airport in Addis Ababa. When I checked in, they didn't tell me the fight was overbooked. They just told me we could not check in through to Thailand. We had to check in again during the transit in Addis Ababa airport," he says.
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"When we arrived at Addis Ababa, the check-in staff of the airline told us that the flight was overbooked. We could not board the flight. They would put us on the next flight the following day instead."
Ice, however, insisted he had to fly that day because he was scheduled to perform in a concert the next day. "I told them it is impossible. After a long argument, I was the only one allowed to board the plane. They had to vacate one of the seats reserved for a crew member for me," he added.
His two friends were not as lucky. They could not board the same plane with Ice. They had no choice but to accept the refund and book another flight home via a different route which took eight hours longer than usual.
After arriving home, Ice posted his experience on Instagram, later shared by his big fan base. Less than one week later, an airline representative sent him a message offering his apology with a bouquet of flowers.
"They said they would offer me an upgrade next time I fly with them but this was done verbally. When I attempted to book a flight with them again, I mentioned this offer to an agent but she said the company couldn't guarantee a business class seat and they had nothing in writing to prove this," Ice said.
Ice was upset but his experience pales in comparison to what happened to Dr David Dao, a 69-year-old passenger who was manhandled from his seat on a sold-out United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville earlier this month.
Dr Dao and three other passengers were ordered off the plane after four airline employees showed up at the last minute and demanded seats so that they could be in place to operate a flight the next day in Louisville.
Refusing to volunteer to be bumped from the overcapacity flight, Dr Dao was violently dragged down the aisle by security officers. The scene -- which was caught on another passenger's smartphone -- went viral, causing a publicity nightmare for United Airlines.
"Denied boarding is common in our day-to-day operations. Airlines usually oversell seats because there are always no-show passengers. But the UA case is unusual because they should have settled everything at the gate, not after the passengers boarded the aircraft," said a station manager of an international airline who asked not to be named.
"This incident has many Thai passengers aware of the possibility of denied boarding and their rights," said the station manager, who has worked at various overseas airports in more than two decades in the aviation business.
UNAWARE OF OVERBOOKING
"Overbooking is normal for airlines. We oversell 2-3% per flight. But when we face overbooking, we will negotiate compensation until the passengers volunteer to give up their seats by offering other benefits or credit vouchers, ranging from US$500 to $3,000, depending on the flight," said an executive of an American airline who asked not to be named.
BRUTAL: A video screen grab shows Dr David Dao being dragged off a United Airlines plane. photo: Jayse D. Anspach via REUTERS
"We have to ensure that the passengers agree with our offer. We are very careful. We don't want to force any passenger off the plane because if the passenger takes legal action against us, that can be a nightmare.
"Overbooking is necessary because some passengers don't show up. Overbooking reduces the number of empty seats because every seat incurs added operation costs."
Before the no-show, no-refund clause, the number of no-show passengers was around 20-30% per flight.
After the no-show, no-refund rule came into effect, the number of no-show passengers dropped. But airlines still oversell to avoid empty seats, the executive said.
"American passengers are more aware of overbooking than Thais. Chances are they may be asked to volunteer every time they travel," the executive added.
Under the law, airlines can ask passengers to leave the plane for various reasons, particularly security concerns when safety cannot be compromised.
However, when the airline has to bump passengers because of overselling, they have to ask for volunteers by offering incentives.
"We recently raised the authorised offer limit to passengers who are denied boarding. I cannot tell you how much because we cannot disclose our ultimate offer during the negotiation with the customers," the executive said.
Station managers at the airport will decide the maximum compensation during negotiations with passengers. Compensation can take the form of mileage or cash vouchers.
As for the incident in Chicago, people in the airline business have asked why United Airlines didn't raise the offer when no passengers accepted their $800 offer for volunteers to give up their seats.
NEGOTIATE COMPENSATION FIRST
Assoc Prof Kannapha Amaruchkul, a lecturer in the logistics management programme at the Graduate School of Applied Statistics at the National Institute of Development Administration (Nida), has conducted research with her PhD students on denied boarding rates in the US.
The research was conducted as part of the course on revenue management. The course focuses on what to do to maximise income following the strategy of "sell the right product to the right customer at the right time for the right price".
The airline business is the main focus of the course.
When the company can segment customers by different levels of willingness to pay, each group of customers will be charged a different price. Airlines usually separate passengers into different classes: first class, business class and economy class. Even in the same class, the price that each customer pays can vary.
Customers who book a ticket close to the travel period generally have confirmed schedules to meet, such as business travellers who have arranged meeting or conference dates.
Passengers who book well before the travel date are usually leisure travellers.
By nature, leisure travellers are a price-sensitive group. However, they are more flexible with their schedules. They usually book far ahead in order to get the best deal. Therefore, even in economy class, the price of the ticket can differ depending on the booking period and the terms and conditions of the ticket.
"If the airline sells a lot of cheap tickets, they will have no tickets left for those who come later. But if they don't sell enough cheap tickets, the plane will not be filled," Kannapha said.
The overbooking rate for each flight depends on the previous statistics of that particular flight. Determining whether or not the flight will have a high overbooking rate is based on the number of people who cancel that flight. The airline will then try to find a way to fill the plane with overbooked passengers who are on standby.
The US Department of Transportation has released its April 2017 Air Travel Consumer Report, compiling air carrier data for February 2017. The report contains denied boarding (oversold) data for the October-December 2016 quarter, as airlines report denied boarding numbers on a quarterly basis.
Carriers cancelled 1.5% of their scheduled domestic flights in February 2017, an improvement over both the 1.6% cancellation rate posted in February 2016 and the 2% rate in January 2017.
Carriers posted an on-time arrival rate of 82.6% in February 2017, down from the 83.6% on-time rate in February 2016 but up from the 76% mark in January 2017.
Data for October-December 2016 show that United Airlines denied boarding to 15,595 voluntary passengers and 891 involuntary ones out of a total of 22,398,395 passengers. The involuntary denied boarding rate per 10,000 passengers stood at 0.40.
The Department of Transportation determined that all US airlines must have an involuntary denied boarding rate of 0.5-1.5 per 10,000 passengers. But for voluntary, they are allowed 15-20 passengers per 10,000 passengers.
"The chances that passengers will be denied boarding are one in 10,000 among US airlines," Kannapha said.
Thailand doesn't follow the same guidelines regarding controlled denied boarding rates. However, the Royal Gazette of Nov 5, 2010, specified that airlines in Thailand that deny boarding will have to pay compensation starting from 1,200 baht to their passengers plus accommodation and other fees that arise.
Some airlines have a notification system for passengers who check in online. Passengers might get denied boarding but the airlines are willing to pay compensation.
Passengers are then allowed to determine the compensation they want if they are denied boarding.
Denied boarding doesn't mean the airline stops you from travelling. The airline will put such passengers on the next flight, which can be one hour later or the first flight the following day.
"What makes the United Airlines incident evil is not overbooking -- what is evil about it is the way they handled the situation. The airline has the legal right to remove passengers but that doesn't mean they can force passengers off the plane the way they did," Kannapha said.
"The best way to handle overbooking is to negotiate compensation before passengers board the plane. It should be done either at the check-in counter or at the boarding gate."
SHIFTING THE BLAME
An official from the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand said passengers on domestic scheduled flights are entitled to compensation when their flights are delayed or cancelled. As for compensation for overseas flights, this would be subject to the regulations of airports in individual countries.
"Passengers can seek compensation based on the Transport Ministry's announcement in 2010." However, passengers should also be aware of the conditions stated on the ticket because they would determine the compensation they can ask for.
"Some cheap airline tickets clearly set limited conditions that won't allow passengers to seek certain rights," the official added.
Some airlines claim they do not practise overbooking. "Thai AirAsia currently does not pursue an overbooking policy for ticket reservations. Passengers who have made a purchase where the transaction has already been processed will receive a confirmed booking with a seat guaranteed," said Tassapon Bijleveld, chief executive of Thai AirAsia.
"When a flight is fully booked, it will not be present in the booking system and hence unavailable for anyone to buy a seat on that full flight. Should a situation arise where passengers desire to travel on a fully booked flight, they are required to go through a standby system on a first-come-first-served basis at the sales counter at each airport to await the chance that some passengers may not show up."
An executive of a tour agent said the United Airlines case prompted a meeting with staff after the extended Songkran holiday.
"We did not know that the airline could ask passengers to leave even after they are already seated," the tour agent said. "Before I would try to ensure that our passengers have secured their seats," the executive said.
"You should have your seats assigned before the departure date by checking in online or asking the airline staff to assign the seat before the travel date. It's more unlikely for an airline to bump you once you are seated."
If passengers are denied boarding, she said she would help them to negotiate the best offer. "Sometimes the airline promises the customer one thing and then fails to honour the promise. Make sure that you have everything in writing," she added.
The station manager said it is regrettable seeing security staff dragging passengers off the aircraft.
"We have to ask passengers to give up their seats almost every day. But we try to tell them as soon as possible. Everything must be settled at the gate. Once they board the plane, we would not ask them to leave, unless for security reasons," the manager said.
RESEARCH: Prof Kannapha Amaruchkul is studying denied boarding rates. PHOTO: CHAIYOT YONGCHAROENCHAI