Not in any hurry to get where you’re going? How about making some extra money for your airline seat? As part of its positive PR campaign following video of a passenger being dragged from a plane, United is launching a program allowing passengers to bid on how much money it will take to give up their seat. As the numbers come in the airline can then decide which offer, usually the lowest, it will pay out. The bidding program will be new to United but a similar one has been in effect for Delta for the past several years. The idea is to get people to voluntarily give up their seat as opposed to being asked by flight attendants. Testing will begin next month but United has declined to say where. In addition, United has also increased the incentive payment offered to passengers asked to give up their seat on an overbooked flight to $10,000. It has also cut back on the amount of paperwork required to reimburse people for lost luggage. You have a choice when you fly, and airlines know it.
About Brian
CBS News Radio national business journalist Brian Banmiller has spent more than 40 years in the news industry, covering business, politics and the economy on television, radio and in print. Currently, his “Banmiller on Business” reports are delivered to an audience of millions nationwide.
