[airhead]

I am sorry to hear about your experience and I am also sorry to tell you that other airlines are not much different in the way they conduct their business. I know American has a policy of not allowing a dog in a seat. But they too overbook flights.

I don't get the concept of of selling 170 seats to a 150 seat airplane. To an extent I understand that some people may not show up. But is a margin of error of 10% or so going a bit extreme? Much of the time, both employees and passengers confuse an oversold flight with a weight restricted flight. Often, weight restriction occurs when bad weather is in the equation. More fuel is needed to make up for the possibility of flying longer. That added weight means less passengers and bags. That makes it difficult when the rest of the day's flights are full. How many of those passengers are going to make it to their destinations? Especially when a flight cancels. That adds to the pool.

I am sure those wonderful vouchers issued minus the $30 face value (for airport tkt fee) cost less on the books and gives the customer an opportunity to come back again in the future for more adventure.

To avoid being put on stand by, get seat assignments when the reservation is made. If none are available, check in as early as possible within 24 hours. Do it on the first hour of that period! I know many seasoned flyers who do this. Good luck to you.

The thing that really puzzles me the most is the reputation of airlines' customer service and yet people still fly them by the millions every week. Perhaps the bad experiences are far, few and in between. As a front line employee, I witness many of the things mentioned on this site on a daily basis but it is hard to calculate approximately what percent on average the bad things happen to said passengers. I guess the it doesn't happen often enough for the rest of the public to boycott. Even with a weakening demand, the demand is still large enough to control the value of the supply.