According to travelers, Delta Airlines made an outrageous offer to customers on an overbooked flight leaving from Michigan and heading to Minnesota this week: $10,000 in exchange for giving up their seat.
During the time passengers were entering the aircraft, flight attendants announced the prize over the intercom system. The airline was carrying more passengers than it had seats for, so the airline needed eight volunteers to get off the overbooked trip.
The Offer
The flight attendant reportedly stated if they had Apple Pay, they would even have the money immediately. This information was relayed by Inc. magazine’s tech journalist, Jason Aten, who was also on the flight.
When they found out about the opportunity, Aten and his family were on board, but they decided not to take advantage of it immediately.
On @Delta flight from GRR to MSP and they just offered $10,000 for people to give up their seats.…
Ten. Thousand. Dollars.
— Jason Aten (@JasonAten) June 27, 2022
Aten explained to Fortune the reason they did not immediately accept the offer was due to the fact the airline did not initially specify the number of volunteers who were required.
They would have left if they realized it was eight in the morning. As soon as it became apparent this was the case, approximately four or five others already left.
Todd McCrumb, who was also on the flight, supported Aten’s version of events by providing evidence supporting it.
In a tweet, McCrumb stated the story is real. He also affirmed he was a passenger on that airplane. However, because he was traveling with his wife, who has very poor eyesight, he was unable to take up the offer.
Unfortunately for him, this was the situation. When she goes on trips, it is essential for him to accompany her.
The Trials of Delta
McCrumb stated to KTVB 7 that the airline initially offered customers $5,000 to give up their position on the plane, but it later increased the amount.
A spokeswoman for Delta confirmed the business provides compensation for overbooking, but failed to clarify whether or not the incident actually occurred.
Grabbing my carry on as soon as the flight attendant mentioned $10,000 pic.twitter.com/KeE373f9rF
— cousin faith (@wetsykcin) July 1, 2022
The representative for the company stated remuneration gives their personnel the opportunity to guarantee that oversold flights are able to take care of their clients and then eventually deploy or get the aircraft out on time.
Attempts to get an official statement from Delta haven’t been fruitful. According to the flight tracking provided by Cirium, the plane eventually took off a full 20 minutes after the scheduled departure time.
In recent days, the company has been plagued with flight delays and disruptions as a result of pilots’ picketing over issues pertaining to scheduling, wages, and retirement plans.
As a result of the pilot shortage the airline industry has been experiencing over the past few months, there has been an increase in the frequency of flight delays.
On Friday, about 6,611 flights to, out of, or within the U.S. were postponed. 558 flights were grounded ahead of the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
