I agree that overbooking should be discontinued. Years ago airlines overbooked because in the era of paper tickets they didn't know who was ticketed and who wasn't, and most fares were refundable, so they ran the risk of losing money when people didn't show up. However, these days 98% of passengers have e-tickets, and 99% have nonrefundable tickets. So, if the passenger doesn't show up they're not going to get their money back, and they're going to pay more to fly on a different flight (that applies to Southwest also, for those of you who are going to jump in and say "Southwest doesn't have change fees....) Most of the lowest fares, I believe, are not valid for a different flight if you fail to call or show up for your original flight.
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