A new study by the Upgraded Points website has taken a deep dive into Department of Transportation data and come up with a list of the airlines most likely to bump you, and the airlines most likely to pay you to give up your seat.
And it also surveyed thousands of passengers to find out just how much you’d be willing to sell your seat for if the airline made an offer.
The study looked at data for all of 2023 and the first quarter of this year to calculate the rate of denied boarding per 10,000 passengers for the ten largest carriers. Overall, it found 0.47 involuntary bumps per 10,000 and 2.85 voluntary.
Looking at the data, some interesting patterns appear.
- Delta, the airline with the highest rate of paid-off bumps at 7.49 shared the lowest rate (0.0) of involuntary bumps, indicating fairly aggressive offers to passengers on oversold flights.
- Ultra-low-cost carriers had a wide split; Allegiant had 0.0 for involuntary and 0.59 for paid voluntary bumps, while Spirit and Frontier were near the top on both types.
Upgraded Points graphic
Upgraded Points also asked their survey panel how much money might tempt them out of their seats. The average was $599, with passengers from California naming the highest amount, $832. Surprisingly second was Iowa at $799.
