Major South African airline says overbookings are good

FlySafair chief marketing officer Kirby Gordon has warned that airfares would rise if airlines were forced to stop overbooking flights.
Speaking to 702, Gordon responded to the National Consumer Commission’s investigation into its overbooking practice, saying the airline is confident that the practice is legal.
“If we didn’t do it as an industry, it would ultimately impact upon fares, and you’d probably find that the leniency in terms of those rules around missing a flight would be dropped,” said Gordon.
“In our instance, if you genuinely miss a flight and you arrive at the airport because you were stuck in traffic or whatever the case may be, even though that seat departed without you, we have the opportunity to put another person on that flight.”
Gordon said that because of how the system currently works, they can afford customers some leniency by trying to get them on the next available flight at a discount.
Therefore, regulators should take care when considering banning overbooking or “breakage” in the industry, as the knock-on effects could go far beyond pricing.
Gordon’s response comes after the National Consumer Commission (NCC) announced an investigation into overbookings following an incident in early January 2025.
A passenger who had booked a seat on a FlySafair flight was booted due to the plane being overbooked.
The incident left passenger Thato Miles Nsala stranded despite having paid to secure a seat on the flight.
“The NCC has initiated an investigation into the conduct of overbooking and/or overselling by FlySafair to assess and review compliance with provisions of the Consumer Protection Act,” the NCC said in a statement.
“The NCC has established communication with the airline and required relevant information to kick-start the investigation.”
However, Gordon said the airline isn’t too fazed by the looming investigation as the practice of overbooking is legal.
“Our terms and conditions and all policies are developed in conjunction with strict legal counsel. It is a very common practice in aviation across the world, but not only aviation. You see the same in the space of car rentals and hotels,” said Gordon.
“The Consumer Protection Act has a specific section that deals with the particulars pertaining to this.”
He noted that FlySafair adheres to the regulations provided in the Consumer Protection Act, adding that the airline’s overbooking practice is conservative compared to other airlines.
Gordon said that when a passenger is blocked from boarding an oversubscribed flight, they are immediately paid R1,000 cash for the inconvenience before being rebooked on the next available flight.

Overbooking flights is common practice
Despite Nsala taking to X to voice his frustration at being booted off of a seat he had paid for, industry experts have backed FlySafair, saying the practice of overbooking is common in the space.
“So we show up at the airport, and FlySafair says we don’t have seats for the same flight we paid for,” Nsala said in a post.
Aviation analyst Guy Leitch said overbooking isn’t just done by FlySafair. He also alluded to a specific section in the Consumer Protection Act with provisions for the practice.
“Overbooking is, in fact, not just FlySafair’s problem; it’s a worldwide problem. On a typical flight, let’s say there are 183 seats; inevitably, two or three people aren’t going to make it,” said Leitch.
“So, during peak times, it makes sense, financially and practically, for airlines to sell 185, maybe 186 seats, out of the 183 available.”
He said overbooking was done to account for scenarios where not everyone arrives for the flight. Many airlines will offer cash incentives to passengers who are not in a hurry to take the flight.
“I spoke to FlySafair about this, and they say they actually give cash envelopes to anybody who’s prepared to take the next flight,” said Leitch.
“For the most part, this is actually considered a win-win, and I can tell your viewers that this is not considered a problem by the Consumer Protection Act. There are specific provisions for it.”