Southwest sets implementation date for no-show policy

Simply, either use it or lose it.
This is an example of forcing the passengers to respect the business of any airline company.
Actually, it is not only respecting the airline business, but also making the product available for other passenger to possibly use it.
Personally, I strongly support the new no-show policy. However, cases like death of immediate family members should be considered as valid reason for exemption.
Date: 29 April 2013 commenting on http://www.travelweekly.com/

Bumped? Blame the government

The perishable nature of an airline seat prevents the lost revenue from seats that fly empty from being recovered. The substantial amount of revenue that can potentially be lost through spoilage makes overbooking an essential part of revenue management. In fact, passenger no-shows were the first practical problem that scheduled airlines sought to address as they began to adopt revenue management techniques. All tickets were initially fully refundable and airlines needed to overbook in order to remain financially viable. Overbooking is still extremely important to an airline’s financial performance. According to Robert L. Phillips in his book “Pricing and revenue optimization,” American Airlines estimated that in 1990, they saved $225 million through overbooking.

Date: 18 November 2009 commenting on http://www.forbes.com/