I remember when I was 5 my childhood friend Gary told me, "you always want to give 1 penny to someone if they'll give you 2 back."
I nodded in agreement...not totally understanding what he meant (I was 5). Now, I'm sure Warren Buffett would've built an entire company by the time he got home for his sippy cup but that's why I pay someone to grow MY crypto...uh... I mean pennies.
Delta Offered 2 Pennies...Actually $10,000 Dollars if Flyers Gave Up Their Seat
Yes, my esteemed travelers of fine taste and more intelligence than yours unruly. Last summer, Delta Air Lines 'reportedly' offered passengers $10,000 on a flight from Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids (GRR) to Minneapolis St. Paul Airport (MSP) if they would voluntarily give up their seat since the flight was overbooked.
'Reportedly' is the key word here, since Delta has not confirmed the offer (more on that in a jiffy). But, there were several passengers on the flight that confirmed it...one being a writer for Inc. Magazine named Jason Aten...
On @Delta flight from GRR to MSP and they just offered $10,000 for people to give up their seats.…
— Jason Aten (@JasonAten) June 27, 2022
Ten. Thousand. Dollars.
Another Twitter user, Todd McCrumb, confirmed the offer, and even said flight attendants told him they would pay 'instantly' via Apple Pay.
Now THAT'S cash flow baby!
I smell a business opportunity here.
Oh, not so fast...
Why Would Delta Dish Out 80K for 8 Seats?
I thought the same thing. Apparently, dishing out some (in this case) serious coin outweighs delaying the flight and possibly (?) pissing off some loyal Delta customers that were already booked.
Keep in mind, airlines are allowed to oversell flights, but it's another thing altogether who you may deny getting on that flight.
My guess is (actually my certainty) we'll never know.
Delta never confirmed any of this. I'm sure they don't want word getting out that they're acting like P-Diddy and throwing' C-Notes and crackin' bottles of Moet & Chandon.