OR Forum—OR and the Airline Overbooking Problem

This paper surveys the application of operations research to airline overbooking, a distinctive problem of considerable significance to the public as well as the airline industry, and one which has received great attention in the press. The airlines have been overbooking their flights deliberately for decades, while moving gradually from a posture of categorical denial to a disclosure of their practices. Through the years, they have developed and employed a variety of statistical and tactical models to predict and control the consequences of this controversial procedure for increasing load factors. Yet, the situation still has not been resolved satisfactorily. The article analyzes the problems that motivate overbooking, discusses the relevant practices of the air carriers, and describes significant contributions and implementations of operations research.