Bumped passengers may not be eligible for compensation in a variety of situations, including the following:
Change of aircraft: If the airline determines an aircraft change is needed due to operational or safety reasons, and a smaller plane is substituted, the airline does not have to compensate you if there isn’t room for you on the new flight.
Weight and balance: Flights may be changed and passengers may be bumped on aircrafts with 60 or fewer seats for operational or safety reasons.
Downgrading: If a passenger is downgraded from a higher class of seating to a lower class as a result of being bumped, the only compensation is a refund for the difference in price.
Charter flights: Any changes associated with a contracted flight for a specific trip that is not part of an airline’s regular schedule, does not warrant compensation.
Small aircraft: Compensation is not available on scheduled flights on planes holding fewer than 30 passengers.
Flights departing a foreign location: The EU has its own set of rules for overbooked flights departing from or flying to the European Union.