Smoke, I agree, the agents should have offered an explanation AND compensation. It's called denied boarding compensation and it is given if the airline cannot get you to your destination within 4 hours of originally scheduled. (It can also be quite lucrative for the passenger.) I also agree that a passenger shouldn't necessarily know all their rights and obligations, but in this case it certainly would have helped. I also agree that it seems reasonable to arrive at an airport 2 hours before an international destination but IF the airlines policy is three hours you can get screwed by not showing up according to their rules. Airlines overbook ALL the time, according to the routes flown because they know from experience that X percent of passengers will not show up for that flight (have you ever changed your plans?) If they fly 1/3 empty, they lose any profitability. I have a feeling that the yield management department in QR is not doing a great job in calculating their overbooking factors. I also suspect that the agents are playing fast and loose with the very specific rules about what to do in an over-sold situation. Denied boarding is supposed to be in strict accordance with guidelines. First, non-rev (industry) passengers come off. Then passengers are offered compensation to voluntarily give up their seats for a later flight. If not enough volunteers are found then award tickets are bumped. Then those who didn't meet the guidelines (i.e., show up late.) Then they take from the bottom of the fare categories. It does NO good to complain to the airline that the flight was oversold, they will say, so what, it's legal. But if you show them that the denied boarding procedures were not followed and you will file a complaint - THAT will get attention and compensation. Again, I suggest, know your rights and know airline procedures. It's in YOUR best interest.
Mandi
Smoke, I agree, the agents should have offered an explanation AND compensation. It's called denied boarding compensation and it is given if the airline cannot get you to your destination within 4 hours of originally scheduled. (It can also be quite lucrative for the passenger.) I also agree that a passenger shouldn't necessarily know all their rights and obligations, but in this case it certainly would have helped. I also agree that it seems reasonable to arrive at an airport 2 hours before an international destination but IF the airlines policy is three hours you can get screwed by not showing up according to their rules. Airlines overbook ALL the time, according to the routes flown because they know from experience that X percent of passengers will not show up for that flight (have you ever changed your plans?) If they fly 1/3 empty, they lose any profitability. I have a feeling that the yield management department in QR is not doing a great job in calculating their overbooking factors. I also suspect that the agents are playing fast and loose with the very specific rules about what to do in an over-sold situation. Denied boarding is supposed to be in strict accordance with guidelines. First, non-rev (industry) passengers come off. Then passengers are offered compensation to voluntarily give up their seats for a later flight. If not enough volunteers are found then award tickets are bumped. Then those who didn't meet the guidelines (i.e., show up late.) Then they take from the bottom of the fare categories. It does NO good to complain to the airline that the flight was oversold, they will say, so what, it's legal. But if you show them that the denied boarding procedures were not followed and you will file a complaint - THAT will get attention and compensation. Again, I suggest, know your rights and know airline procedures. It's in YOUR best interest.
Mandi