4 ms·

Yeah I saw that. That's brilliant. First thing is getting people thinking about getting money, so they are already primed, fantasizing about it. Then the hint a

by rdtsc 10y ago

Yeah I saw that. That's brilliant. First thing is getting people thinking about getting money, so they are already primed, fantasizing about it. Then the hint about "Delta will pick the lowest bid first". Those interested already are willing to play but now have to think of others outbidding them so they lower the bid. And lastly and most importantly, it lets people who never want to participate (such as well, doctors who have to be there for their patients) not participate.

JumpCrisscross 10y ago
I fly Delta. They've paid me over $1,000 in cash [1] to bump me off a $500 flight. I don't think United pays that much. Instead, they get aggressive. [1] American Express gift card
- fastball 10y ago
  Actually, airlines in the US are mandated by USDOT to pay you 4x the ticket price or $1350 (whichever is lower) for a domestic delay >2hrs or an international delay >4hrs. If the bump delays you by <2hrs (generally unlikely), it's 2x ticket price or $650 (again, whichever is lower). You were probably entitled to $1350, so you really didn't do that great. That is also how much the United passenger is/was entitled to.
  - JumpCrisscross 10y ago
    Blows me away that American regulators decided to cap compensation in the event of denied boarding [1]. [1] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/04/18/08-1145/oversales-and-denied-boarding-compensation https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/04/18/08-1145...
  - flukus 10y ago
    Are they mandated to pay cash? I've heard from a few threads on reddit that many will pay in vouchers, a dozen $100 vouchers that can't be used together.
    - soneil 10y ago
      Here's the fun part. The cash/cheque option is available if it was involuntary. But the option only has to be available, usually you have to ask for it. Not telling you that option exists is legit, telling you that option doesn't exist isn't. But if it was voluntary, the monetary option is not mandated. So when they ask if anyone wants to volunteer for a voucher, accepting that offer is volunteering, and writing yourself out of the cash option. (The airline can still offer it, but they no longer have to offer it).
      - vijayr 10y ago
        Not telling you that option exists is legit How can this be ethical? The customer is doing a favor by giving up their seat, shouldn't they at least tell them what options are available? If I were an airline employee, I'd need to draw out a flowchart to remember all this.
  - 1024core 10y ago
    > are mandated by USDOT to pay you 4x the ticket price In the case of United, if by "pay" you mean give you a voucher (or N vouchers of value 1/N of the total, only 1 of which can be used at a time) for travel on their airline, to be used in 1 year, not to be combined with other offers, yada yada... No wonder no one wanted to take them up!
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
    - tedsanders 10y ago
      Incorrect. By law, at least, cash is mandated. Not a voucher. Relevant text: >Except as provided below, the airline must give each passenger who qualified for involuntary denied boarding compensation a payment by cash or check for the amount specified above... The air carrier may offer free or discounted transportation in place of the cash payment.... The passenger may insist on the cash/check payment... Full text: >Except as provided below, the airline must give each passenger who qualified for involuntary denied boarding compensation a payment by cash or check for the amount specified above, on the day and at the place the involuntary denied boarding occurs. If the airline arranges alternate transportation for the passenger's convenience that departs before the payment can be made, the payment shall be sent to the passenger within 24 hours. The air carrier may offer free or discounted transportation in place of the cash payment. In that event, the carrier must disclose all material restrictions on the use of the free or discounted transportation before the passenger decides whether to accept the transportation in lieu of a cash or check payment. The passenger may insist on the cash/check payment or refuse all compensation and bring private legal action.
  - rz2k 10y ago
    Are we searching for the utility minimizing solution? There are times when I wouldn't choose $1,350 to have my flight delayed by 30 minutes, and times when I'd happily take $100 to have a 2 hour wait shifted to before my flight rather than after my flight. Auctions maximize utility for the sellers and buyers of the inconvenience. A fixed price means that there will be a surplus or shortage of willing passengers. That means there will be some situations where an airline pays more than it should and people are disappointed they weren't chosen, and some situations where there are irate passengers that inevitably result in violence. JumpCrisscross did well, by definition, because JumpCrisscross is happy with the transaction. A lot of people would be very unhappy with $1350 for a delay depending on the day. Considering that $1000 was a positive outcome, I fail to see how $13.50 (1% chance of being chosen for $1350 award) is preferable.
- AznHisoka 10y ago
  Do you have to pay taxes on that?

by rdtsc 10y ago

JumpCrisscross 10y ago

I fly Delta. They've paid me over $1,000 in cash [1] to bump me off a $500 flight. I don't think United pays that much. Instead, they get aggressive. [1] American Express gift card

fastball 10y ago
Actually, airlines in the US are mandated by USDOT to pay you 4x the ticket price or $1350 (whichever is lower) for a domestic delay >2hrs or an international delay >4hrs. If the bump delays you by <2hrs (generally unlikely), it's 2x ticket price or $650 (again, whichever is lower). You were probably entitled to $1350, so you really didn't do that great. That is also how much the United passenger is/was entitled to.
- JumpCrisscross 10y ago
  Blows me away that American regulators decided to cap compensation in the event of denied boarding [1]. [1] https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/04/18/08-1145/oversales-and-denied-boarding-compensation https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2008/04/18/08-1145...
- flukus 10y ago
  Are they mandated to pay cash? I've heard from a few threads on reddit that many will pay in vouchers, a dozen $100 vouchers that can't be used together.
  - soneil 10y ago
    Here's the fun part. The cash/cheque option is available if it was involuntary. But the option only has to be available, usually you have to ask for it. Not telling you that option exists is legit, telling you that option doesn't exist isn't. But if it was voluntary, the monetary option is not mandated. So when they ask if anyone wants to volunteer for a voucher, accepting that offer is volunteering, and writing yourself out of the cash option. (The airline can still offer it, but they no longer have to offer it).
    - vijayr 10y ago
      Not telling you that option exists is legit How can this be ethical? The customer is doing a favor by giving up their seat, shouldn't they at least tell them what options are available? If I were an airline employee, I'd need to draw out a flowchart to remember all this.
- 1024core 10y ago
  > are mandated by USDOT to pay you 4x the ticket price In the case of United, if by "pay" you mean give you a voucher (or N vouchers of value 1/N of the total, only 1 of which can be used at a time) for travel on their airline, to be used in 1 year, not to be combined with other offers, yada yada... No wonder no one wanted to take them up!
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
  - tedsanders 10y ago
    Incorrect. By law, at least, cash is mandated. Not a voucher. Relevant text: >Except as provided below, the airline must give each passenger who qualified for involuntary denied boarding compensation a payment by cash or check for the amount specified above... The air carrier may offer free or discounted transportation in place of the cash payment.... The passenger may insist on the cash/check payment... Full text: >Except as provided below, the airline must give each passenger who qualified for involuntary denied boarding compensation a payment by cash or check for the amount specified above, on the day and at the place the involuntary denied boarding occurs. If the airline arranges alternate transportation for the passenger's convenience that departs before the payment can be made, the payment shall be sent to the passenger within 24 hours. The air carrier may offer free or discounted transportation in place of the cash payment. In that event, the carrier must disclose all material restrictions on the use of the free or discounted transportation before the passenger decides whether to accept the transportation in lieu of a cash or check payment. The passenger may insist on the cash/check payment or refuse all compensation and bring private legal action.
- rz2k 10y ago
  Are we searching for the utility minimizing solution? There are times when I wouldn't choose $1,350 to have my flight delayed by 30 minutes, and times when I'd happily take $100 to have a 2 hour wait shifted to before my flight rather than after my flight. Auctions maximize utility for the sellers and buyers of the inconvenience. A fixed price means that there will be a surplus or shortage of willing passengers. That means there will be some situations where an airline pays more than it should and people are disappointed they weren't chosen, and some situations where there are irate passengers that inevitably result in violence. JumpCrisscross did well, by definition, because JumpCrisscross is happy with the transaction. A lot of people would be very unhappy with $1350 for a delay depending on the day. Considering that $1000 was a positive outcome, I fail to see how $13.50 (1% chance of being chosen for $1350 award) is preferable.
AznHisoka 10y ago
Do you have to pay taxes on that?