Your waitlisting questions ANSWERED

Travel related queries answered by CWT experts

Q: It seems that recently every flight I try to book is full or I have to waitlist. What’s happening?

A: It’s all a question of supply and demand. In times of reduced demand such as we have seen since the global economic slowdown began, airlines will reduce capacity on certain routes in order to maximise their revenues. This can take the form of either reduced frequency of flights or replacing larger aircraft with smaller craft – both resulting in fewer seats available. When demand for airline seats returns, it takes the airlines some time to increase capacity again. Then they often need to see a sustained trend over a certain period of time before they will act. In the last few months of 2009, some companies relaxed their travel policies and demand for airline seats on certain routes was higher that what was available. This has resulted in more travellers having to waitlist for their preferred flights or select alternative dates, routes or airlines. The more seats that travellers waitlist for, or if they make several bookings for differing dates or routes, the bigger the problem gets. At CWT we recognise this is a challenge for travellers and have automated and manual processes in place to try to secure seats for travellers at the best value for money possible.

It is also worth noting that when the supply of seats is higher than the demand, airlines often offer lower fares to attract travellers. When demand increases, access to these lower fares is no longer possible and fares return to pre-downturn prices.

Q: How do the airlines manage waitlist bookings?

A: Most airlines now have sophisticated inventory management systems to maximise their yield. Seats will be made available by these systems based on many parameters, including the number of seats already sold, number of days to departure, revenue opportunity, the country where the ticket is sold, historical booking patterns and passenger frequent flyer status. Waitlists will be cleared by the system (or manually in some cases) as the departure date gets closer and seats are released based on airline decisions on the parameters above.

Airlines may also release seats in different booking categories. For example, some airlines have up to 10 booking categories in economy class alone. Higher booking categories have more flexible conditions and are more expensive. The higher the booking category, the better the chance of your waitlist clearing, as airlines will try to maximise their revenue.

Q: Can I waitlist for hotel accommodation?

A: The global distribution systems (GDS’s) used by travel agencies around the world do not allow waitlisting for hotels. Similar to airlines, hotels control inventory by releasing rooms at various pricing levels based on demand, however, waitlisting has not yet become technically feasible. If your choice of hotel is not available, your CWT travel counsellor will suggest other hotels based on your company’s hotel programme, or will advise you of CWT rates available for hotels in the same location.