United pays passenger $10,000 to get off plane (Update Q&A) Traveler takes to Twitter to explain how it happened

United paid a passenger $10,000 to give up her seat this week. United paid a passenger $10,000 to give up her seat this week. Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close United pays passenger $10,000 to get off plane (Update Q&A) 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Allison Preiss's airport ordeal started out with a tweet from the gate at Dulles International Airport at around 8 a.m. on March 21, She was on her way to Austin, Texas for a bachelorette party.

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"United is offering $1K in travel credit for an oversold flight. If nobody bites, they will kick off the lowest fare passenger by pulling them out of the boarding line. For a flight that THEY oversold. Unreal."

Sounds like some pretty bad news, but it gets better. It gets $9,000 better. (A number confirmed to me by United.) UPDATE: See below for a quick Q&A with Preiss added after publication of this post)

So in the meantime, let's follow the story through the subsequent tweets that led to a juicy $10,000 flight voucher from United:

"I AM THE LOWEST FARE PASSENGER."

"They are kicking me off this flight."

"They can't board me on this plane because there is a broken seat."

"UNITED IS THE WORST."

"United tried to get me to sign a document that says I volunteered my seat on this plane when I was involuntarily denied boarding. Sketchy."

"On the upside, I wasn't physically dragged off the plane and my dog wasn't killed on board, so I've got that going for me...which is nice."

"They really do not want to give me cash. They just offered me $10,000 in travel credit. TEN THOUSAND."

Then she posted evidence of the big payout:

This is how badly United didn’t want to give me cash: pic.twitter.com/sI7vmbeB2Q — Allison Preiss (@allisonmpreiss) March 22, 2018

"I also got two $10 meal vouchers. I am going to go INSANE at Pizza Hut"

When the airlines raised the maximum pay out for voluntary bumping last year to $10,000, I doubted any airline would ever have to pay that much. I figured at least one person per oversold plane would take the money and run for a much lower number. But in this case, it appears United has kept its word, and a lucky passenger is walking away with a pretty nice prize.

You can follow Preiss's tweets here...don't miss the comments from her followers and even United.

UPDATE 3/24: I contacted Preiss after this story originally ran for a quick Q&A-- here 'tis:

What type of plane was it (if you recall).

Not sure. I never boarded. They scanned my ticket and I was pulled out of the boarding line because I was the lowest fare passenger.

Were you traveling alone?

Yes, though I was supposed to travel with a friend. Our original flight was cancelled so I was rebooked on this flight and she was on another. (East Coast snow storm = high demand, I assume).

What was your alternate flight? When did you finally get to your destination.... about how long were you delayed?

I got on a flight four hours later off standby. Otherwise I would have been on a flight five hours later (so about nine hours after the original).

Did United reach out to anyone else and try to bargain with them?

They went on the plane (I think) to offer a $2k voucher for a volunteer and nobody bit.

Has United contacted you since this story broke? What did they say?

No.

Are you a regular United flyer? Or do you use another airline more often? What's your preferred airline?

No. My favorite is JetBlue but I usually just go for whatever's reasonably priced and out of Washington-DCA.

Any significant restrictions on your voucher?

Not that I can tell but it has to be used within a year.

Where do you plan to use it? One big trip, or a bunch of small ones?

Probably some combination of the both. Hawaii is at the top of the list.

Anything else about the experience you'd like to add?

I think it's a positive that United is empowering their agents to make their customers happy and to make a situation right. Obviously that doesn't necessarily mean a $10k voucher - I honestly just think I got lucky - but I walked away from the situation feeling pretty good. Also: I'm very frequently delayed when I travel!

Thanks, Allison! And Aloha!

Have you ever heard of a payment this large for a bumped passenger? What would YOU do with a $10,000 voucher from United? Please leave your comments and experiences below.

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Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.