This woman couldn’t contain her disbelief after an airline double-booked her seat.
Imagine you’re at the airport waiting to board. Then, they start announcing that the flight is overbooked and they need two volunteers to give up their seats. They get four, but no one else wants to give up the spot they paid for.
Some people are going to a wedding, others can’t miss their work trip, one is on their way to a funeral, and several just want to go home.
No one else is volunteering, and that’s when the airline workers start deciding who’s getting involuntarily put on standby—and you’re one of them.
That’s what happened to this woman.
Woman gets kicked off flight
In a viral video with more than 4 million views, world traveler Lola (@lolasol__) shared the upsetting experience she had while trying to board a plane.
In the video, the flight attendant tells Lola that she’s the only person who was taken off of the flight and put on standby. Standby travel means the passenger is waiting for an available seat to open up on a flight in case someone doesn’t show up.
“POV: you are randomly chosen as the only passenger to fly [standby] because the airline overbooked the flight…” the text overlay on the video read.
Lola’s travel partner asked to be refunded if her friend wasn’t going to be let on so they wouldn’t get split up. However, they denied her.
“What do you mean, no?” Lola said, laughing nervously.
“So she’s here alone in Athens?” her travel partner continued.
“AIRLINES PLEASE STOP DOING THIS,” Lola urged in the caption.
Viewers slam the airline
“Overbooking should be punishable by law, they’re selling the same seats twice,” a top comment read.
“This is extremely dangerous to have a women separated from her traveling partner and be left alone. Sounds suspicious,” a person said.
“If airlines want to gamble with overbooking, they shouldn’t get to just pull a passenger off the flight- they should always have to offer big $$ deals to get someone to voluntarily get off,” another added.
“Stop laughing and start yelling,” a commenter wrote.
Why do flights get overbooked?
Overbooking is a common practice done by airlines. This is to ensure each aircraft is as full as possible (aka, is the most profitable). Overbooking is done with the presumption that some passengers won’t show up or will cancel/change their trip last minute.
Can they bump your seat?
Before bumping people off a flight, an airline must first ask people to give up their seats voluntarily. Passengers do so in exchange for compensation.
If not enough people volunteer, then yes, they can bump you, according to the Department of Transportation.
This is technically called “involuntary denied boarding.”
How much compensation is given to give up seat?
In 2022, Delta gave eight travelers $10,000 each in cash (well, likely delivered electronically) to give up their seats. Passengers at New York’s LaGuardia Airport were offered up to $3,000 for their seats, Time reported.
But these numbers are the expectation. The amount given for involuntarily bumped passengers will depend on the original ticket price, length or delay, and type of flight (domestic or international). While there is no cap on how much compensation an airline could give, there are minimums, according to the Department of Transportation.
For most short delays, passengers will get double the price of their one-way ticket, and many airlines cap the compensation at $1,075.
Did Lola make it on the flight?
In a follow-up video, Lola does show that she was eventually allowed on the plane.
@lolasol__ AIRLINES PLEASE STOP DOING THIS #travel #travelfail #standby #vacation #girlstrip #airportstress #funny #imjustagirl #airlinetiktok #airportlife #albania #bulgaria ♬ original sound – lolasol__
The Daily Dot reached out to Lola for comment via Instagram and TikTok direct message.
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