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By Soo Kim
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A video of a passenger who declined an offer of $1,500 to give up her seat on an oversold flight has gone viral on TikTok.
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The moment was captured in a clip shared by @collinskaye, which has amassed almost 700,000 views since it was shared on June 19. The footage shows a woman seated on a plane, while a flight attendant announcement is heard in the background.
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A message overlaid on the clip reads: "I hate [that] my [annual] leave ends today, cuz I wanted to give up this seat for that $1500."
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The flight attendant says: "Who's gonna take it? $1,500." A later comment from the poster said the $1,500 was offered in the form of cash. Seconds later, the flight attendant is heard, saying, "Alright...got it," presumably after a passenger came forward to take the offer.
Airlines may sometimes "bump" passengers off a flight that has been oversold. The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) says that the practice of bumping, where airlines oversell their scheduled flights in a bid to compensate for no-shows, "is not illegal."
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The DOT says: "Those travelers who don't get to fly are frequently entitled to denied boarding compensation in the form of a check or cash."
The department requires airlines to give "all passengers who are bumped involuntarily a written statement describing their rights and explaining how the carrier decides who gets on an oversold flight and who doesn't," according to the DOT website.
To be eligible for compensation, you must meet the following requirements, as outlined by the DOT:
- You have a confirmed reservation.
- You checked in to your flight on time.
- You arrived at the departure gate on time.
- The airline cannot get you to your destination within one hour of your flight's original arrival time.
Those bumped involuntarily from a flight are not entitled to compensation in the following cases, as outlined by the DOT:
- A change to a smaller aircraft for safety or operational reasons.
- Weight and balance issues.
- Downgrading to a lower class.
- Charter flights.
- Small aircraft (flights on planes holding fewer than 30 passengers).
- Flights departing a foreign location.
'Given My Seat Up Real Quick'
The caption shared with the post says the airline "offered $1500, a hotel, and a flight back in the morning at 0930 [9:30 a.m.]"
"Would you get off?" the poster asked in the caption.
Several users on TikTok were sympathetic toward the passenger's missed opportunity in the viral video, with many saying they wouldn't have hesitated to grab the offer.
Candase Carey Everett posted: "I would have given my seat up real quick and would have said my flight was having issues lol [laugh out loud]."
Cee noted: "The way I jumped up without a thought."
"Mannnn I would've said my flight got delayed and took that 1500," commented @t3davibe.
"I would have said to my boss 'oh no my plane go delayed and I can't do nothing about it'," wrote exiledgiraffe11.
Newsweek has contacted the original poster for comment via TikTok and email. This video has not been independently verified.
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