The United Airlines Fiasco and Game Theory
https://www.npr.org/2017/04/13/523726313/how-game-theory-relates-to-airline-booking
In 2017, United Airlines had a public relations disaster on their hands after airport security had to physically drag a man off his flight. This article talks about the common practice of airlines to overbook flights in order to minimize the amount of empty seats. This situation is a perfect example of a game: the airline wants people off the plane but every person wants to keep their seat. The way to solve this issue is to look at it like a game. Game theorists gave airlines the following tips.
Studies show people value things much more once they are in their possession. With this in mind, airlines should never let passengers board the plane and then take their seat away. If this does occur, then they must offer the passenger a lot more money to get them to give up “their” seat. Secondly, don’t make a big announcement asking passengers to give up their seat for a voucher. People are less likely to take up this offer if they see that no one else around them is. To combat this, airlines should send texts to passengers like “We are overbooked on your flight; reply to this message if you would give up your seat for a $400 flight voucher.” Finally, in extreme cases where flights are especially overbooked airlines should definitely start with a big offer. This starts the game. If the airline offers $2,000, too many people will volunteer, forcing the airline to lower the price to say $1,500. Some passengers will stay in the game and some will leave as the price lowers, but the important part is keeping people involved and interested from the beginning. Looking at the overbooking of flights as a game could help airlines to solve this issue and better the overall traveling environment.