Bumped from a Flight: Overbooking and Denied-Boarding Compensation

Why it happens

Airlines sell more seats than a plane holds because some travelers never show, and most days the math works out. When it does not, or when a smaller aircraft is swapped in, the flight is oversold and someone has to be left behind. That happens in two very different ways — you volunteer, or you are denied boarding involuntarily — and the rules and the payout are not the same.

Volunteering: negotiable, so negotiate

The airline asks for volunteers first and offers a travel voucher to give up the seat. That amount is not fixed by any rule — it is whatever the airline needs to offer to find a taker, so it climbs as the gate agent runs short of volunteers. Before you accept, ask three things: the confirmed seat on the next flight and when it arrives, whether the voucher is cash or credit and when it expires, and whether meals or a hotel are covered if the wait is long. Get the offer in writing. A voucher that expires in a year and only rebooks you 12 hours later is worth less than it sounds.

Involuntary bumping pays by formula

If you have a confirmed reservation, checked in on time, and are at the gate on time but still denied boarding involuntarily, federal rules set the compensation as a multiple of your one-way fare, based on how late the airline's rebooking gets you in.

• Rebooked to arrive within 1 hour of your original time: no compensation required.
• Domestic, 1–2 hours late: 200% of the one-way fare; more than 2 hours late: 400%.
• International, 1–4 hours late: 200%; more than 4 hours late: 400%.
• Each tier is capped at a dollar amount the DOT sets and adjusts for inflation (recently about $775 and $1,550).
• It must be paid by cash or check — you can decline a voucher offered in its place.
• Policies reviewed September 2026.

What the payout does not touch

Denied-boarding compensation is on top of your ticket, not instead of it: you still get flown to your destination, or a refund if you give up. It does not apply to very small aircraft (under 30 seats), to delays or cancellations (a different set of rules), or when you were downgraded rather than bumped. And it is forfeited if you missed the check-in or boarding deadline, which is why arriving early matters on an oversold flight.

If you are bumped

Ask whether the denial is voluntary or involuntary — the word changes what you are owed — and do not accept a voucher for an involuntary bump without knowing the cash figure the formula produces. Keep your boarding pass and ticket receipt. Call (708) 866-8751 and an agent can rebook you across airlines while the compensation is sorted, so you are not stuck waiting for one carrier's next seat.