Overbooking flights is a small but growing issue as airlines struggle to meet demand due to huge demand and limited supply.

Discover Travel has recently heard stories from Kiwi travellers in Europe and Asia being told at
check-in that their travel agent had sold them a “standby” seat, and being threatened with being ‘bumped’ or not given a specified seat number until the gate.

This is not correct. Only an airline can sell a “standby” seat – all bookings made by a travel agent are firm seats – another good reason to always use a travel agent! Despite this, we do urge our clients to pre-book their specific seats (even when the airlines charge an additional cost to do so), to check-in early (online if possible rather than at the airport) and remind the carrier of the ‘firm’ status of their bookings!