Post says Air Canada, others unlikely to bump regulars2015-05-19 09:00 ET - In the News The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition overbooking is a risk the airlines are willing to take to make more money. The Post's Kristine Owram writes algorithms, combined with better capacity management, are allowing airlines to fill more seats than ever before. Their efforts have paid off. In the first quarter, Air Canada filled 81.5 per cent of the seats on its planes. Fifteen years ago, that number was 68.6 per cent. Yields are also higher. Software helps maximize the amount of money it makes per flight. "Every airline tries to forecast demand for every seat for the next 365 days," said Fred Lazar, an economist at York University's Schulich School of Business. However, using the past to predict the future is an imperfect system. "Inevitably what happens is the past data don't always give you an accurate prediction going forward, so all of a sudden, 'Gee, more people showed up than we anticipated or more people tried to book at the last minute than we anticipated ... so now we have to start bumping,'" Prof. Lazar said. "The ones who get bumped are going to be your infrequent travellers who buy the lowest discount fares. Airlines need them, but they're barely tolerant of them."