“There’s No Seat for You!” – A Report on a ‘Ghost Ticket’ Purchased via Trip.com for SriLankan Airlines

“There’s no seat for you!” is a famous line from a certain drama. Normally, this would hardly ever be acceptable. Yet, when I tried to board a plane, I indeed found there was no seat available. I would like to report on this incident.

What is Overbooking?

Overbooking, or ‘excess reservation’ in Japanese, is a term commonly used in the aviation and travel industry. In most cases, it refers to accepting more reservations than capacity, anticipating cancellations. However, it also includes situations where reservations are mistakenly duplicated due to booking errors. Either way, it essentially means “There’s no seat for you!”

While airlines accepting overbookings is not a problem in itself, handling it incorrectly post-overbooking can lead to issues. For example, in 2018, Japan Airlines (JAL) failed to manage seating for an overbooked domestic flight, resulting in the flight’s cancellation and distributing at least 20,000 yen as compensation to the would-be passengers.

The issue of “no seat for you!” must be resolved before departure, as planes cannot take off with more passengers than the seating capacity allows. In 2016, All Nippon Airways (ANA) made a departure from the airport with excess passengers, receiving a stern warning from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It goes without saying that this is a universal rule not just in Japan, but worldwide, for safe flight operations.

Apparently, I Was a Victim of Overbooking… Confused

In March 2024, I had planned to travel from Mumbai, India, to Singapore. Among various options, I booked a flight with SriLankan Airlines via Trip.com, which was supposed to take me via Colombo for just under 30,000 yen. Being an Emerald member of the Oneworld Alliance, I preferred flights by its airlines.

I made the reservation five days prior to the flight, but two days after booking, I received an email from what seemed to be the SriLankan Airlines Mumbai office stating <"Flight Overbooked">. The email began with “Dear Sir, Greetings from SriLankan Airlines !!!!!” followed by a roughly pasted string of characters assumed to be from the ‘Amadeus’ reservation system – an appalling way to communicate with a customer.

The email explained that due to overbooking of the Mumbai to Colombo leg, they proposed switching to a direct Mumbai to Singapore flight operated by Singapore Airlines. However, this alternative flight was scheduled for the day before the original, approximately 26 hours earlier. I had assumed that they would provide a closer alternative timing-wise, but perhaps that was too much to expect.

When I inquired via email if it would be possible to switch to a Oneworld Alliance flight instead, I hit a dead end. Engaging directly seemed futile, so I contacted the customer support at Trip.com, where I had booked the ticket. “I just got notified about the overbooking; are you aware?” “We weren’t informed.” I wasn’t surprised. Though it seemed like handing over responsibility, my interaction with Trip.com’s customer support felt comprehensively handled, so I decided to leave it in their hands for the time being.

On the Day Before Departure, “The Overbooking Has Been Resolved!”

Leaving it to them, I received nearly simultaneous notifications from both SriLankan Airlines and Trip.com that “the overbooking had been resolved.” Known for their <"ghost selling" issues> a few years ago, I didn’t hold much trust in either Trip.com or SriLankan Airlines, but with an uneasy feeling, I decided to trust them for now, after considering a few alternatives, of course.

Due to scheduling, I arrived at Mumbai Airport about two hours before departure. There was anxiety over the possibility of not having a seat, so I wanted to head to the check-in counter as quickly as possible, but had to balance this with prior commitments. At that point, I held a faint hope that despite all the issues, boarding would be possible.

“No Seat After All” → Fierce Protest → The Outcome?

As feared, upon arriving at the SriLankan Airlines check-in counter at Mumbai Airport two hours before the flight, my bad feeling was confirmed. There was no seat arranged for me as initially promised – the merciless reality of “overbooked, no Mumbai to Colombo seat available” was disclosed. So much for all those fruitless exchanges. Though part of me wanted to lash out for the wasted efforts, I held back. Resignation was the more prominent emotion at that point.

Trying to stay calm, I asked about alternative arrangements. The response was a direct Singapore Airlines flight. The next available flight was leaving Mumbai around noon, but it was nearly 1 a.m. Even if a hotel to wait at was arranged, considering transport back and forth to the airport, getting sound sleep seemed unlikely. My trust in SriLankan Airlines was already depleted, and I could hardly take their word for a flight 10 hours later.

I desired to earn Oneworld Alliance status points, so a Singapore Airlines option was out of the question. There was only one close alternative on a Oneworld airline: a Qatar Airways flight to Doha. From Doha, I could connect to Singapore and earn status points. The estimated arrival time was not significantly delayed, so it seemed like a good option.

However, the staff initially said no, citing time constraints. The Qatar Airways flight was leaving at 3:10 a.m., and it was past 1 a.m. They mentioned they could arrange it for a flight the next day but gave a disheartened response with that remark. In hindsight, it felt like an utterly unmotivated comment, but getting angry wouldn’t help. After tenaciously negotiating, they said they could make it work if given about an hour.

“You can sit anywhere you like in the meantime,” was the less-than-assuring comment I received. Nevertheless, not trusting them, I waited around the counter. True to their word, within an hour, a Qatar Airways ticket was issued. It was past 2 a.m. Although completely exhausted, the sole motivation to board a plane was all I clung to, despite not expecting such a turn of events.

The check-in for Qatar Airways went smoothly without any issues of missing seats mentioned. The flight to Doha was almost full, but it departed on time. The transit in Doha was surprisingly easy, and I could finally head to Singapore without further ado. Thus, the unbelievable day came to an end somehow.

Epilogue and Reflection

Later, when I checked the accrual status on JAL Mileage Bank (JMB), I found that miles for the Qatar Airways flight had been credited. However, compared to the original booking on SriLankan Airlines in booking class V (JMB accrual rate 50%), the transferred booking to Qatar Airways was processed in booking class V (30% accrual rate), which made me feel slightly shortchanged. Certainly, there were bigger losses than just miles.

Reserving a flight on SriLankan Airlines via Trip.com five days ahead and being informed of the overbooking three days later made me speculate whether the ticket was a “ghost sale” from the start. Given my past experiences with delays, cancellations, and destination changes, I managed to navigate through, but honestly, such handling does not encourage a recommendation for SriLankan Airlines, nor does it help to forget the Trip.com <"ghost selling" chaos> from years ago.

Moreover, there has been no follow-up from SriLankan Airlines. Not that I plan to fly with them anytime soon, but it makes me wonder about their customer appreciation, even as an Emerald member of the Oneworld Alliance. Trip.com did follow up, but since I reached my destination, they expressed that compensation was not possible. This feels like a reasonable stance for a travel agency…

Finally, a bit of grumbling, but upon receiving the overbooking notification, it seems I was automatically signed up for SriLankan Airlines’ Mumbai branch email newsletter. Being periodically reminded of the overbooking situation is something I could really do without. And with no instructions on how to unsubscribe, it’s truly bothersome. I wish SriLankan Airlines would get their act together…