A LAWYER has revealed how passengers can get food, drinks, a hotel stay and even cold hard cash from their airline.
Erika Kullberg has shared a video explaining how passengers are entitled to freebies from an airline if a flight is overbooked.
Airlines often intentionally overbook flights in anticipation that some passengers won’t show up.
But if they do show up, then there aren’t enough seats for each person so some people get bumped from the flight – this is more common on US airlines.
Erika revealed that if you volunteer to be bumped, you can receive free food, drinks, hotel stay and cash from the airline for your trouble.
She made a Tiktok video where she and a flight attendant had a conversation about compensation.
She said: “Hi, I heard you’re looking for volunteers to give up their seat since this flight is overbooked? I’d probably do it for cash.”
The flight attendant then said: “We’re legally only allowed to give out vouchers.”
Erika said: “Actually I’ve read the terms and I know that if I volunteer to give up my seat you can give me cash or vouchers or other things.
“There are no legal restrictions, it’s all up for negotiation.”
The flight attendant said: “Fine, we’ll give you $200 cash and rebook you on the next flight tomorrow morning.”
Erika said: “I’m going to need a little more than that.
“My friend Erika gave up her seat and you have her $1,000 cash, plus a hotel room for the night, plus free meals, plus transfers between the hotel and the airport.”
The flight attendant said: “Fine, anything else?”
Erika said: “Oh I almost forgot. For the flight you’re rebooking me on tomorrow, can you put me in first class?”
The flight attendant said: “Sure.”
The video has been watched 3.2m times and had nearly 350k comments from grateful viewers.
One person said: “I did this and got business class [flights] back to the US from Japan, as well as $200, vouchers and free hotel!”
Another wrote: “I did try this and got first class on the nest flight!”
But one person did make a good point: as the airline is asking for volunteers, if other passenger offer to leave the flight for less money, you might miss your chance.
Someone wrote: “If it’s solely up to negotiation then it can just go to the lowest bidder. So you could get burnt this way.”
Here’s how much compensation you’re entitled to if you can’t get a seat on the plane.
A flight attendant has shared another way to get free drinks on a plane.
