As we're packing up in our hotel, about to venture on to our honeymoon, I ran across this article. Fun stuff. All I can say is that I can absolutely see US Airways agents in Houston doing this (the only airline mentioned here). As a matter of fact, I've seen a gate agent do something very similar. A passenger who was supposed to have been on an oversold flight was told from of our attendants that she thought there were seats available, so she proceeded to exit the plane only to be encountered by the gate agent who brought her back, telling her there were none. Shortly thereafter, a gentleman picked up on that there might be seats available and proceeded to board said flight...although he wasn't originally on that flight (Phoenix wasn't his destination either, but as he rightfully put it...Vegas is a better place to be stuck overnight than Phoenix).
So with that bit of digression, the point is - the airline industry is in a very bad state at the moment. Flights are more reliable at being late than on time...and as much as I hate government interfering with private enterprise...it's about time someone does something.