One of the most dreaded parts of air travel is the possibility of being bumped from your flight — and one airline tends to bump more than others.
A study from travel site Upgraded Points revealed that Frontier Airlines is most likely to bump fliers, surpassing other major airlines by far, reported Travel + Leisure.
Bumping, or denied boarding, happens when airlines overbook a flight and there are more passengers than available seats on the plane.
The low-cost carrier involuntarily bumped 3.21 passengers per 10,000 travelers from the beginning of 2023 to 2024 — 400% more than any other U.S. airline, the study found.
“Few travel experiences are more frustrating than being bumped from a flight after purchasing a ticket. Yet it happens frequently since airlines routinely sell more tickets than available seats in anticipation of no-shows,” Keri Stooksbury, editor-in-chief of Upgraded Points, said in a statement to T+L.
“We studied this industry practice to give travelers a heads-up on which carriers are most likely to have this issue.”
American Airlines came in second after Frontier, bumping 0.6 per 10,000 people, and Spirit Airlines bumped the third-most passengers with a rate of 0.43 per 10,000 travelers.
The airlines with the fewest number of involuntary denied boardings were Delta Air Lines and Allegiant Air, which both had zero bumps.
However, Delta had the highest number of voluntary bumps at 7.49 per 10,000 fliers.
While airlines tend to offer a form of compensation to passengers willing to give up their seats on overbooked flights — whether it be cash or a flight upgrade — the study found that the amount that travelers are willing to accept to miss their scheduled flight varies from state to state.
In Arkansas, travelers would agree to be bumped for an average minimum of $382, while in California passengers would only agree to much more — $832.
