What is American Airlines' stance on overbooking flights?

American Airlines employs a strategy of overbooking flights based on statistical analysis of no-show rates. This approach is designed to maximize seat occupancy, which is essential for the airline's operational efficiency and profitability. By reviewing historical data, American Airlines can predict how many passengers are likely to miss their flights, allowing them to sell more tickets than there are seats available.

This practice is a common industry standard among airlines, as it helps to mitigate potential revenue loss associated with empty seats. When passengers do not show up, overbooking can assist the airline in ensuring that flights depart at capacity, thereby maximizing resource utilization.

The other options reflect practices that either do not align with industry standards or fail to address the complexity of flight management; for instance, booking flights solely based on passenger requests would not consider the realities of passenger behavior, while stating that flights are always booked to capacity ignores the operational challenges and risks of over-scheduling. Similarly, stating that flights are never overbooked overlooks the strategic benefits and common practices utilized by airlines to manage passenger load effectively.