A video showing Delta Airlines auctioning '$700 to $1,200' vouchers for passengers to be bumped off a flight went viral, and people online say they'd take it in a heartbeat

14.08.2023 - 07:31 / insider.com / John F.Kennedy / Airlines

A video showing a man listening to a Delta Airlines gate agent auctioning cash vouchers to bump passengers off a flight has gone viral, and people online say that it's a good deal. 

The video, posted by a user named Simone Aldredge on TikTok, shows a man who the user claims to be her husband at John F. Kennedy International Airport waiting to board a flight. The video was posted on July 10 and recently went viral again, garnering over three million views at the time of writing.

In the background, a gate agent could be heard making announcements inviting people to take vouchers in exchange for their seats on the flight. 

"Please see me at the podium, this time I'm offering $700, ladies and gentlemen," the agent could be heard saying in the video. But there were "no takers," so the agent "kept raising the offer," Aldredge wrote in the video. 

The agent then raised the price to $1,100 for passengers to volunteer to be bumped off the flight, adding that he was looking specifically for passengers who were heading to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to take up the offer. He later raised the offer to $1,200.

"You'll receive your compensation in the form of a gift card — American Express, Mastercard, Visa, Amazon, Best Buy, Airbnb, just to name a few. It's your choice," the agent said. According to the video, the agent's first name is Karl. 

Drake Castañeda, a Delta spokesperson, confirmed to the Daily Dot that the airline offers travel vouchers in exchange for passengers' seats in the event of overbooked flights. 

Airlines often oversell flights so they make money on every seat, even when some passengers don't show up for their flight. It's a way for airlines to avoid empty seats, which causes them to lose potential revenue. 

Users online said they would take the offer in a heartbeat, and that the money offered is worth missing the flight for. 

"Hubby and I pocket 1400 for an hour delay to ATL. Best investment ever," one user wrote, referring to a flight to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. 

Another user commented: "We got $1200 each plus hotel, dinner and airport vouchers once. Worth it if you can do it!"

A few users were skeptical, with some saying that these offers which are in exchange for being bumped off a flight never happens where they live.

"Why do US airlines seem to always over sell the flight? I don't think this happens in Aus at all," the user wrote, referring to flights in Australia. 

Delta and Aldredge did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular office hours.