Overheard at airport, at an overbooked flight. Man #1: “I’d give up a seat for $500.” #2: “$500?!? I’d do it for le...” #1: “Bro do you see anyone else up here. They need two seats. (To agent) He will do it for $500.” I like this guy.
-
-
Business practices for #1 differ, but at the airlines I use, the usual mechanism is to conduct a reverse auction at the gate: offering (depends on airline) a voucher for future travel or a generally-useful gift card at lowest prices required to induce volunteers.
Show this thread -
Because the damage to an airline from a delay is far greater than the prices typically discussed here, the gate agent generally has discretionary authority up to
$X, for a higher X than most people would believe they can negotiate in two sentences.Show this thread -
At the risk of stating the obvious: gate agents don’t give a fig what the company spends to buy those last N seats back. It isn’t their money. This is an edge case and they are not compensated on cost control. Also stating obvious: of course there is a spreadsheet here.
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
EU regulations are far more equitable and passenger-focused regarding an airline’s obligations, including compensation. I always book with an EU airline, not an American one.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.