Auction Your Airline Seat

There are more signs of an economic crisis among the airlines these days. Delta Air is the latest U.S. airline to announce a desperate scheme to increase revenues. This one involves the common practice of airline passenger overbooking. Already for many years, the airlines have been reducing the number of flights while overbooking on the planes that do fly in order to counter the practice in which consumers change flights or cancel reservations. It's infuriating to be bumped but then, fliers are just as inconsiderate to the airlines by switching reservations at the last hours before flights.

But now Delta will start an online auction for seats with travelers bidding for seats that are currently occupied. If a flight is overbooked, travelers checking in at an airport kiosk or online will see a screen asking them if they'd like to submit a bid for the value of a travel voucher they would take to be bumped. Customers enter a dollar amount, and Delta accepts lower bids first. it seems to me more on the order of chaos than anything else. Supposedly, the other airlines will do the same if the Delta system cuts Delta expenses....and the flier be damned...again.

So no more of those announcements at the boarding gate in which the airline asks for volunteers to be bumped in exchange for a smaller cash amount and a rescheduled flight. By allowing would-be volunteers to submit their names via the bidding process, the airline hopes that will free up time for gate agents since they won't have to seek out volunteers and the agents won't have to work on additional compensation, such as hotel vouchers. If the auction doesn't work then the airline will follow the current bumping rules and regulations in place.

The new plan is simply a hope on the airline's part that it can reduce the expense of bumping passengers. But it will also be another aspect to flying that annoys the passengers and makes loyalty to a particular airline less likely. If Delta was concerned about taking care of passengers they would offer options other than these kinds of gimmick. For instance, t free premier status or free club membership for a period of time. These are things that don't cost the airline as much of anything yet could be seen as positive and a perk by some fliers. The sad scenario of bumping will continue in one form or another because consumers have manipulated the system to anticipate so many flight changes and cancellations.

Already charges for preferred seating, to book round-trip ticket by phone, for priority boarding, ticket change fees, fees to change flight to the same destination on the a same day, and baggage fees, curbside bag check, meal and beverage fees, headset/pillow/blanket fees, pet carrying fees, and unaccompanied minor fees are standard and are already alienating passengers.

Twenty years ago most or none were used by any airline. Rumor has it the next one to become standard may be the one to cause a revolt. The airlines are seriously considering charging a carry-on bag fee (by weight) and a body weight fee.

Now that's enough to make anyone jump out of a plane.