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Delta Air Lines is one of the most generous US carriers when it comes to voluntary denied boarding (VDB) situations. Its flight (DL7) from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND) was oversold by 42 passengers and they all showed for the flight. This led to a massive payout for some lucky passengers with flexible travel plans.
When you do the math, $63,000 divided by 42 equals $1,500 per passenger. What I love about the way Delta handles these situations is that you don’t just get a travel credit for the airline. You can choose from gift cards from American Express, Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue, Starbucks, and more. Years ago, I took a bump and got $800 in gift cards. I chose $500 from Saks (to get a pair of shoes) and $300 from American Express.
Delta is extremely generous in this regard as there is a fair amount of spoilage of electronic travel credits, but an American Express gift card will be used much more quickly by the average consumer. With it being Spring Break time, I have recently heard gate agents offering $500, $850, and even $1,200 to get volunteers on recent flights to and from Florida.
Anthony’s Take: While Delta had to pay out $63,000 for this flight, it left with a fully booked plane and revenue that likely more than made up for it. I love the way Delta handles overbooked flights and hope they continue to offer gift cards.
(Featured Image Credit: Delta Air Lines.)
(H/T: Paddle Your Own Kanoo.)
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4 comments
Any reason you didn’t include the fact that it was a weight and balance issue due to significant headwinds? Has nothing to do with “everyone showing up” Cmon man, do some actual research before cut and pasting another lazy bloggers nonsense.
Thanks for the additional context. But wouldn’t it mean that they had everyone there and needed to cut for weight & balance?
First off, props to Delta for doing this. I say that as a spurned formerly rabid Delta fan who will call out Delta whenever they do something wrong. Delta absolutely did the right thing here. I do wonder how long passengers had to wait for the next flight and whether Delta handed out vouchers for food and hotels as applicable. If the next flight was on the following day then sleeping without food at the airport could be pretty unpleasant.
Recent AA flight to Montana for skiing was oversold by 8 and they gave out $2500 apiece in the end. Delta got off easy.