Delta Offers Up to $10,000 for Passengers to Give Up Seats

In September 2023, a Delta flight from Boston to Rome was significantly overbooked, leading to a dramatic scene where a flight attendant offered passengers thousands of dollars and a hotel room to voluntarily give up their seats. The incident was captured on TikTok, showcasing the flight attendant pleading with passengers, saying, “Come on guys, $3,500, can somebody take one for the team? We’ll get you a hotel if you guys show up for us.” According to the video's poster, 13 passengers received between $2,000 and $4,000 to surrender their tickets and take a later flight.

This scenario is not an isolated incident. From January to March, 26,879 Delta passengers voluntarily gave up their seats in exchange for vouchers and travel perks. Airlines often overbook flights to ensure full capacity, which can lead to passengers being compensated if they are bumped from their flights. According to the Department of Transportation (DOT) rules, airlines must compensate passengers 200% of the one-way ticket cost for a flight delayed up to two hours, and 400% for a flight delayed more than that—a sum that can amount to up to $2,150. Airlines must provide this compensation on the same day as the bumping incident.

Amidst travel disruptions and cancellations, U.S. air travel has remained robust. As the airline industry experiences record travel days, passengers are seeking good deals, including compensation for delayed flights. Finance content creator Sam Jarman shared his experience of getting paid to wait a few hours for a later flight, noting that the next generation of travelers, particularly Gen Z and millennials, are likely to take advantage of these perks. “Getting a flight voucher is almost like getting cash compensation, in my mind,” Jarman said.

Getting bumped from flights was not always seen as an airline perk. In 2017, a United Airlines passenger was forcibly removed from an overbooked flight, sparking widespread outrage and media attention. The incident highlighted the need for airlines to improve their compensation practices for overbooked flights. United Airlines spokesperson Charlie Hobart responded at the time, stating that the airline had asked the passenger several times to leave the plane, but he refused.

The incident led to significant changes in the industry. Airlines dramatically increased the compensation they offered to passengers to volunteer for later flights, avoiding the need to forcibly remove passengers. Delta increased its compensation for overbooked flights to up to almost $10,000, while American Airlines updated its policies to prohibit removing paying passengers who had already boarded. United implemented a policy requiring flight crew to check in an hour before flights to avoid displacing passengers in overbooked situations.

The DOT also intervened, bolstering its denied boarding compensation rule to prohibit airlines from denying boarding to passengers who checked in before the deadline. As a result, United substantially lowered the number of yearly involuntary denied boardings since 2017. Despite these changes, the relationship between airlines and passengers remains tenuous, with travelers often feeling short-changed by the industry.

Clint Henderson, managing editor of a travel blog, noted that the industry's profitability has been affected by various factors, including Boeing aircraft delivery delays, inflation, labor shortages, and safety incidents. Despite record travel numbers, airlines have yet to see increased profits. Henderson expressed concern about trends that may lead too many travelers to take advantage of overbooking rules, but data shows that the number of passengers denied boarding due to overbooked flights has actually decreased.

The amount of tickets an airline offers for an overbooked flight is based on its own predictions of no-shows and its need to turn a profit. Ultimately, compensation for overbooked flights is seen as another way for passengers to tip the scales of airline economics in their favor, especially when they feel short-changed by the industry giants. Henderson believes that while it's getting harder to maximize one's battle against the airline, passengers continue to seek ways to benefit from overbooked flights.