Why Do Airlines Overbook? The Real Reason & Your Rights

You're standing at the gate. Your bag is packed, your boarding group is called, and then the agent grabs the microphone and says the words every traveler hates: “This flight is overbooked.” That moment feels like incompetence. It isn't. It's policy. Airlines don't overbook by accident. They overbook because the business is built around squeezing maximum revenue from a fixed number of seats, using systems most passengers never see....