I'm just as curious as you -- I can kinda see the math behind sloppily overbooking and paying $3-500 occasionally for the operational cost savings, but I have a

I'm just as curious as you -- I can kinda see the math behind sloppily overbooking and paying $3-500 occasionally for the operational cost savings, but I have a tough time seeing how it adds up once you're paying out 10s of K$. Here's a thread of people discussing it: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta-air-lines-skymiles/2085020-10-000-bump-grr-msp.html https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/delta-air-lines-skymiles/208... Including a reasonable hypothesis: The next available flight was 2-3 days later. So the amount of money could cover 3 days of hotel, food, and lost income. Of course, most people have a drivers license and could rent a car and drive -- but not everyone.