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Delta offers passengers almost $10,000 to switch flights: report

A passenger with a ticket on a crashed Delta flight said he and other passengers were offered $ 10,000 to give up their seats and travel at a later date, according to a report by Inc. magazine.

Technology columnist Jason Aten said he and his family recently traveled on a Delta Air Lines flight to Minneapolis and that passengers on the oversold flight were offered a large amount of $ 10,000 in cash, not credit for he wants, to give up his seats.

Delta sought out eight volunteers, according to Athens ’account of the event. “If you have Apple Pay, you’ll even have the money right now,” the flight attendant said, according to Aten.

The incident occurred at a time when passengers are struggling with air delays and flight cancellations, with the The weekend of July 4 is expected to be chaotic for airlines and travelers. About 3.5 million people are expected to fly this holiday weekend amid rising COVID-19 infections, staff shortages and widespread flight delays.

Aten did not volunteer to give up his seat and Delta declined to comment on the incident. But the airline did confirm that it generally offers passengers different levels of compensation in exchange for giving up their seats on overbooked flights, all in an effort to get planes to take off in a timely manner.

“The ability to offer compensation on full flights enhances our employees’ efforts to serve customers and take off planes on time, ”a Delta spokesman said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch.

The maximum payment limit was increased in 2017

Delta increased its compensation limit for passengers changing flights in 2017, according to a CNBC report.

The policy change allowed the company’s customer service agents to offer passengers $ 9,950 in compensation, up to a maximum payment of $ 1,350. Although Athens said it was offered $ 10,000 to change flights, the exact figure was probably $ 9,950, according to Delta policy.

“To strengthen our commitment to our agents and their ability to serve our customers, we will increase the maximum allowable compensation limit for voluntary denied boarding (VDB) throughout the system,” Delta said in a staff note. 2017 obtained by CNBC.

A voluntary denied boarding is when a customer offers to be kicked out of a flight in exchange for compensation.

To avoid headaches at the airportexperts ask travelers to fly directly when possible, avoid baggage check-in and give yourself at least a day or two of booking if traveling for an important event in case your flight is canceled or delayed.

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  • Delta Air Lines

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