You have a valid point, Jim, however as the number of seats on a given flight dwindle the fare one pays goes up and up. The last several seats sold are usually in the highest fare bracket and are usually the refundable fares. The last few seats sold are also those that account for the over-sale. So by your own logic the airline is still doing as they always have. The over-sale is to hedge against those with flexible tickets who are likely to change plans at the last minute without any penalty to do so. Since the OP stated they were only looking for one volunteer it looks like the airline's prediction was almost spot on this case.
|