"Sir, there seems to be a complication," she nervously said as she saw at least another hundred angry people behind the irate customer.
"What kind of complication?" he demanded.
"It seems that you're not the only one with a ticket for Seat 11-
D on this flight."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Sir, it seems that the flight has been accidentally overbooked, by about 300 people."
"Well, I have a ticket and a boarding pass . . ."
"So do they, sir."
Delta and American and Northwest and USAir were all experiencing problems at every gate their airlines serviced. So was every other airline that used the National Reservation Service or Saber. Some flights though, were not so busy.
"What kind of load we have tonight, Sally?" asked Captain David Clark. The American red-eye from LAX to Kennedy was often a party flight, with music and entertainment people swapping cities and visiting ex-wives and children on the opposite coast.
"Light," she replied over the galley intercom from the middle of the 400 seat DC-10.