“Increase the offer until (...) its cheaper to hire a car and driver for the employees.”
Nice try with the driving idea, but vehicle time counts as “dead-heading” against the number of “duty hours” the pilot is allowed per day. Oh by the way they have to pay the pilot 100% pay every hour he is in the vehicle as if he was flying. There’s also a rule requiring 10 hour rest period before the duty time begins, with 8 of those being an opportunity for uninterrupted sleep. So if you’re thinking a long drive for that pilot overnight, might be tricky to meet all the rules.
“Can that be done anytime the airline gets a chance to make/save money on a few seats?”
Yes!
Say a bunch of rich company executives have a problem with their corporate jet. They rush to the airport without bags and buy “full fare Y” tickets costing thousands of dollars each before a full flight goes. The gate agents will ask for volunteers and involuntarily bump if needed. The cost difference between bump compensation and “full fare” is large.
Involuntary Bumping is called for in the plane ticket’s contract, and detailed in DOT govt regulations. It’s the law!
Or say a jet gets delayed due to weather or mechanical issues making the crew go past the number of duty hours legally allowed. The airline has to send in a fresh crew, might need to force space for them on a hub flight about to go. Not getting them on means further delays for hundreds of their passengers.
Its good that you have the airlines best interests at heart. They are going to need people in their corner. Many of us feel that they are responsible for their costs of doing business & proper staffing.
The airlines are able to have rules that contravene common sense and take unfair advantage because they have lobbyists. Probably that isn’t going to work so well in future.
Involuntary Bumping should be rare & high $ cost to the airline with reimbursement to the passenger. There should be a reason tied to saftey or emergency which should be documented and subject to review by the licensing agency upon passenger complaint, not just paper shuffling amongst insiders. Trump’s specialty - a little sunshine- coming soon to an industry near you.