“The thing they could have done is kept upping the price until someone took the deal.”
Methinks they don’t want to set the precedent of people stalling for more money. A LOT of people get bumped daily, and there are established caps on how much they’ll be offered. Yeah, $50,000 would have been a whole lot cheaper in this instance, but word gets around and lots of people start holding out for more; that turns in to million$ really fast.
That may be true, but I just don't see it. After all, if you're holding out for a million, you are betting that no one will be willing to take far less than that; if someone takes the lower amount, all you get for holding out is ride your plane to the destination. That's really high-stakes gambling.
I would have been one of the volunteers had they gotten to a refund of fare plus $5000 (actual currency, not vouchers) .. and I'm sure that it would never have gotten to me because someone else would have taken $1000 or $2000 long before the bidding got higher.
In the end, I think cash talks ... there are just too many people out there willing to take the money in-hand ($1000 or $2000) against gambling at losing a higher amount.
Then don’t overbook.
Its the marketplace. Someone will want the $500. Besides if they haven’t boarded the airline can pick volunteers. That’s where the prescribed compensation, $1350 in a case like this, but where the passengers hadn’t boarded yet, comes in.