The top 10 airlines with the most overbooked seats have been revealed – United Airlines only ranks 6th

▲ Southwest Airlines in the U.S. has an even worse issue with overbooked seats (Photo / Wikipedia)

By Rita

A video of United Airlines overbooking seats and violently dragging a passenger off the plane sparked global outrage among travelers. In fact, overbooking tickets is an open secret – just because you book a flight online doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to board smoothly when you arrive at the airport.The well-known travel website Conde Nasthas compiled a list of airlines that are worse than United in frequently overbooking tickets. Although these are mostly U.S.-based carriers, travelers still need to be cautious to protect their rights.

According to the Transportation Department’s latest Air Travel Consumer Report, the worst airline is Southwest Airlines with 0.99 IDBs. A 0.99 IDB rate means that out of every 10,000 passengers, roughly one is at risk of not being able to board their flight – a very high figure. In contrast, Hawaiian Airlines has the best record with 0.05 IDBs.

Below is a list of the top 10 U.S. airlines and their overbooking IDB rates

1. Southwest Airlines 0.99
2. JetBlue Airways 0.92
3. American Airlines 0.64
4. Frontier Airlines 0.58
5. Spirit Airlines 0.58
6. United Airlines 0.43
7. Alaska Airlines 0.40
8. Virgin America 0.12
9. Delta Air Lines 0.10
10. Hawaiian Airlines 0.05