We think airlines should be forced to offer some tickets on flights that cannot be overbooked - "guaranteed boarding". An airline would then not be able to sell more of these tickets than there are actually available.

Selling more of a product than a company is able to provide might be considered fraudulent in other settings. The justification by airlines is that selling extra seats means tickets are cheaper and planes are less empty. To maintain these benefits, ‘non-guaranteed boarding’ and ‘guaranteed boarding’ tickets could both be available to allow for passengers to accept the higher cost if they choose to. When someone has an event like a funeral to attend, they may wish to pay to guarantee their seat.