14 CFR Part 250: Oversales
Part 250 governs what happens when an airline sells more confirmed seats than the aircraft has. It does not prohibit overselling, which is legal and routine. What it regulates is the airline’s obligation once an oversale means somebody does not fly.
The core of it is a required cash payment, calculated as a multiple of your fare and capped by a dollar ceiling, scaled to how late the airline gets you to your destination.
Why a passenger would open this part
This is the one part of US passenger-rights law that sets a guaranteed cash payment. Nothing else in Title 14 does.
This summary is ours. The regulation’s own words are quoted below and linked in full.
What 14 CFR 250.5 says
“Compensation shall be at least 200 percent of the fare … or $1,075, whichever is lower … Compensation shall be at least 400 percent of the fare … or $2,150, whichever is lower”Read 14 CFR 250.5 in full
The sections that matter to you
Of the 6sections in this part, these are the ones that bear on what a passenger gets. Which sections belong on this list is our judgement, not the regulation’s.
- § 250.2bCarriers to request volunteers for denied boarding
- § 250.5Denied boarding compensation
- § 250.6Method of payment
- § 250.9Written explanation of denied boarding compensation
The remaining 2 are definitional or administrative
- § 250.1Applicability
- § 250.10Reports of denied boarding
Every time this part changed
- Apr. 25, 2011 76 FR 23162The current two-tier compensation structure takes effect.
- May 27, 2015 80 FR 30147
- Nov. 3, 2016 81 FR 76827
- Jan. 13, 2021 86 FR 2538
- Aug. 2, 2021 86 FR 41381
- Oct. 24, 2024 89 FR 84818Set the ceilings at their current $1,075 and $2,150.
Dates and citations are taken from the source note printed with the regulation. Entries with no description are ones the source note records without explaining, and we do not guess at what changed. All six parts side by side are on the rights timeline.
What this means in practice
Row30 provides data journalism and education, not legal advice. We are not a law firm and do not represent passengers in legal proceedings. For advice about your own situation, consult an attorney.