Delta could pay up to $10k: compensation for 'bumped' passengers increases after United scandal
PHOENIX - A big announcement after a few weeks of turbulence for the airline industry: a new, larger payout for Delta Airlines passengers who get bumped from their flights. How does almost $10,000 sound to you?
It's something you have to get used to when it comes to flying. There's always a chance the airline will overbook and you'll be asked to get off the plane. Overbooking is meant to plan for those who don't show up for flights, which in turn, keeps prices low and when it does happen, it's because of that policy.
A public relations nightmare ensues. Just ask United Airlines, which is still under fire after a video went viral, showing four passengers getting kicked off a plane to make room for four employees, who at the last minute, needed a spot so they could make a flight the following day.
Well now competitor Delta is doing its part to ease tensions between airlines and passengers. They announced that agents at the counter can offer up to $2,000 to a passenger who gets bumped, which is up from a previous maximum of $800 -- but their supervisors can offer even more -- up to $9,950 for someone who gets booted. That number is also way up from last year when the max was $1,350. So what do you think?
The Associated Press says over the past two years, Delta handed out an average of $1,118 in compensation for every passenger that it denied a seat. Southwest Airlines paid $758, United $565 and American Airlines $554.
That $10,000 payout is only in certain cases and a Delta supervisor would still need approval from a superior in order to hand over all that money.