Your Expert Guide on What to Do if SWISS Overbooks Your Flight

Written By Joanna Teljeur

Last Updated: 2 April 2025

You have a confirmed ticket and you checked-in for your flight on time, but you were still denied boarding by SWISS. The reason? Your flight was overbooked. So, what happens now?

If you were involuntarily denied boarding a SWISS flight because of overbooking, you’re entitled to as much as $2,150 in compensation.

So, in this guide, you’ll learn your rights and what to expect in these situations as well as some helpful tips to avoid denied boarding in the future.

Have your SWISS flight disrupted?You might have a right to compensation - up to $2,150Check Your Flight

What SWISS Owes You for Denied Boarding

Anytime you fly with SWISS in the United States, you are protected by the U.S. Department of Transportation. The rules state that if you are involuntarily denied boarding because of overbooking, SWISS must provide you with the following:

• A replacement flight to your destination at no additional cost
• A refund, if you don’t want to continue with your journey, that must be given to you within 7 days for flights purchased with a credit card, and 20 days if you paid for your ticket another way.

SWISS Compensation for Overbooked Flights from the US

If your SWISS flight is set to depart from the US, and you were denied boarding because the flight was oversold, then you can expect to receive the following amounts based on the amount of time you are delayed at your final destination.

What to Do if You’re Denied Boarding by SWISS

1. Get written confirmation of why you were denied boarding. Ask SWISS gate agents for a document describing why you were involuntarily denied boarding. This should include the amount of compensation you’re owed.
2. Request a replacement flight. Also, you might want to ask about a seat upgrade on your new flight or lounge access if you have to wait. If the denied boarding incident made your travel plans useless, you can also request a full ticket refund and a return flight to your original departure point.
3. Ask for care and assistance if you are forced to wait for hours at the airport for your flight, SWISS will most likely provide coupons or vouchers.
4. Start collecting evidence. Collect as much supporting documentation as possible, including communication with SWISS agents, any documents you were given, and any other information. If, for some reason, you don’t get the compensation you’re owed, you can use this to file a claim.

Why SWISS Overbooks Their Flights

With all the sophisticated tools available these days, you might be wondering why SWISS overbooks flights and why they don’t do more to prevent denied boarding.

Basically, SWISS wants to make sure that each flight is booked to capacity to maximise profits. So, to do this, they employ software programs and many other tools to carefully calculate how many passengers are likely to miss a particular flight. Some passengers don’t make it to the airport in time, others cancel, and another group will miss their flight because of earlier flight cancellations or delays.

This system works well most of the time as the estimations are fairly accurate, but when all travellers show up to board a flight that has been oversold, then SWISS has to work fast to get some of the passengers to take a different flight instead.

What Happens when a SWISS Flight is Overbooked

When SWISS overbooks a flight and all ticketed passengers arrive at the gate to board, they will first ask for volunteers to surrender their seat in exchange for an agreed-upon compensation package. These deals are designed to make it enticing for passengers, so if you have the ability to take a later flight, it might be worth it.

As the flight gets closer to its departure time, SWISS will begin choosing passengers to involuntarily deny boarding if they don’t get enough willing volunteers. Usually, passengers who have checked-in for their flight last will be chosen first along with those seated in the least expensive seats. However, anyone with disabilities, minors travelling alone, and families with small children will not be selected for denied boarding.

When You Won’t be Compensated for Denied Boarding

Not every denied boarding situation will be eligible for compensation. The following list provides a few circumstances when SWISS will not compensate you for denied boarding.

• Intoxication or acting under the influence of illegal drugs
• Interfering with the duties of the flight crew
• Failure to have the correct travel documents
• Posing a security or safety concern
• Engaging in unruly behavior towards the crew and other passengers. An example is physically assaulting a passenger or threatening airline staff.
• Presenting communicable health issues 

Frequently Overbooked SWISS Routes

As a general rule, the most frequently overbooked flights are those with the busiest routes. Also, you might find that overbooking happens more during peak travel and holiday seasons. To help you avoid a denied boarding experience, try to steer clear of the following routes or try to avoid them during busy travel times.

• New York (JFK) - Zurich (ZRH)
• Boston (BOS) - Zurich (ZRH)
• Chicago (ORD) - Zurich (ZRH)
• Los Angeles (LAX) - Zurich (ZRH)

Need Help with a Claim?

If you’ve been bumped from a flight and need help getting compensated, AirAdvisor is happy to assist. We’ve been protecting air passengers’ rights since 2017, and our legal team has a 98% win rate for airline compensation claims. See if your flight is eligible by entering your basic flight details into our free compensation checker.

Figuring out how much you are owed for a SWISS disrupted flight can be complicatedWe're here to help. Let us assess your compensation for you.Check Your Flight