Figuring out whether flight is sold out

[travelplanner70]

I have gone to the web page that lists flights and numbers of seats remaining. However, it does not jive with the schematic of available seats that the airline shows. Which is accurate? (The web page shows no remaining seats. Delta shows that there are two or three seats left.) Thanks for your insight.

 

[Icarus]

Neither

Available seats on the seating chart is not the same as available inventory.

Most airlines keep some available seats for gate assignment only. Some people don't reserve seats before check-in.

Airlines have complex models that tell them how many seats to sell for any given flight. On any given flight, there will be some no-shows, so they routinely overbook flights. Most of the time, it's not a problem.

So, the flight is sold out only if there's no available inventory to sell.

-David

 

[Dave M]

I agree with David.

Also, it's possible that the flight might be sold out with Delta still being willing to sell more seats. That happens for two reasons.

The first is that the airline can oversell the number of seats available because it knows that not everyone with a reservation will show up for the flight. Some will cancel. Some will oversleep or get caught in traffic. Some will miss connections from another flight. Some will reschedule for another day.

The second reason is that Delta will sell those last seats at full coach fares, significantly more than some of the other seats that were sold. If too many people show up on flight day, Delta simply offers a few hundred bucks to get a volunteer or two to take the next flight. Meanwhile Delta has the extra revenue from selling those extra seats at full fare.

Delta's not alone. All airlines, except for one or two of the low-cost airlines, operate that way.

 

[travelplanner70]

Thanks for your insight. I am hoping my flights are sold out.

 

[BeantownFlyer]

Plus if you are not an elite level Delta Skymiles member you will not see the seats reserved for elite members. Most of the seats toward the front of the plane and exit row seats can only be preserved for DL Silver, Gold or Platinum Medallion members.

What's your flight itinerary - I can look at the entire seat map as a Gold Medallion.

 

[travelplanner70]

Beantown Flyer - you have email