4 ms·

Delta’s had this since 2011: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/how-delta-masters-the-game-of-overbooking-flights/ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sens

Delta’s had this since 2011: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/how-delta-masters-the-game-of-overbooking-flights/ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/how-delta-masters-t...

fencepost 9y ago
More significantly, Delta does this at check in time and solicits bids, aka 'volunteering.' Because the people involved have volunteered, Delta can accept the lowest bids AND because people have volunteered there's a big reduction in legal protections of that becomes significant - they volunteered and surrendered their seats, they weren't bumped.
- chx 9y ago
  United is also soliciting volunteers at check in. I got $400 in Austin in 2014 to fly a day later. Sweet! Their first offer was $120 which I refused. But certainly Delta has been paying more, it was a 3000+ ppl computer conference ending and some sports event at the same time so the airport was a total gong show and Delta paid a friend of mine $1200 to not fly to New York.
  - Jonnax 9y ago
    Is that real money or vouchers? If it is vouchers, do you still need to pay fees on top of that?
    - paulmd 9y ago
      Also, vouchers can usually only be redeemed directly through the airline, which usually means you'll be paying a "full price" fare. That $300 flight you buy on Orbitz is considered a hugely discounted fare. The same seat at "full fare" would be $900-1000. So in this example, if you got a $400 voucher for being bumped from another equivalent trip, the expected value of the voucher is -$200 because you would have to pay the airline ($900 - 400 = $500) to book that $300 seat. You would need to combine multiple vouchers before it made financial sense.
      - chx 9y ago
        I respectfully disagree and even question how experienced you are with the flight industry. The reality is that the lowest fares are often found on the airline website and the airline website only and the voucher is good there. There are sometimes but rarely real good offers on these OTAs but it's literally getting rarer and rarer day by day.

Delta’s had this since 2011: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/how-delta-masters-the-game-of-overbooking-flights/ http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/how-delta-masters-t...

fencepost 9y ago

More significantly, Delta does this at check in time and solicits bids, aka 'volunteering.' Because the people involved have volunteered, Delta can accept the lowest bids AND because people have volunteered there's a big reduction in legal protections of that becomes significant - they volunteered and surrendered their seats, they weren't bumped.

chx 9y ago
United is also soliciting volunteers at check in. I got $400 in Austin in 2014 to fly a day later. Sweet! Their first offer was $120 which I refused. But certainly Delta has been paying more, it was a 3000+ ppl computer conference ending and some sports event at the same time so the airport was a total gong show and Delta paid a friend of mine $1200 to not fly to New York.
- Jonnax 9y ago
  Is that real money or vouchers? If it is vouchers, do you still need to pay fees on top of that?
  - paulmd 9y ago
    Also, vouchers can usually only be redeemed directly through the airline, which usually means you'll be paying a "full price" fare. That $300 flight you buy on Orbitz is considered a hugely discounted fare. The same seat at "full fare" would be $900-1000. So in this example, if you got a $400 voucher for being bumped from another equivalent trip, the expected value of the voucher is -$200 because you would have to pay the airline ($900 - 400 = $500) to book that $300 seat. You would need to combine multiple vouchers before it made financial sense.
    - chx 9y ago
      I respectfully disagree and even question how experienced you are with the flight industry. The reality is that the lowest fares are often found on the airline website and the airline website only and the voucher is good there. There are sometimes but rarely real good offers on these OTAs but it's literally getting rarer and rarer day by day.