United Offers $10K To Downgrade From First Class

Business class reclined seats of airplane
  • Nine travelers on a recent United flight from Newark to Hawaii were given a voucher worth $10,000 each to downgrade from first class to premium economy
  • The flight’s airplane had to be switched from a Boeing 777 to a Boeing 767-300, which didn’t have enough first class seats to accommodate everyone on the flight
  • The only real difference between first class and premium economy is that the ladder doesn’t have seats that lie flat
The Full Story:

Nobody likes getting bumped from on inconvenienced on a flight, but in some cases airlines will at least offer folks money or miles as an incentive to get folks to agree. And while usually that offer is a few hundred dollars, some travelers on a recent United Airlines flight got compensated very well for their trouble. 

According to a recent report, nine travelers on a recent United flight from Newark to Hawaii were given a voucher worth $10,000 each to downgrade from first class to a lower class of service. Apparently the offer was made after the 11-hour flight’s airplane had to be switched from a Boeing 777 to a Boeing 767-300, which didn’t have enough first class seats to accommodate everyone on the flight. 

First class travelers booked on the original flight were offered $10K if they’d downgrade to a premium economy seat, which offered several of the same amenities as first class, like extra leg room, premium meal options and an amenity kit, but didn’t have seats that lie flat like first class. 

United did confirm they offered vouchers for the downgrade although they wouldn’t confirm the amount, noting, "Occasionally we have to change aircraft at the last minute and when that happens, we try to make the impact to customers as minimal as possible.”

Source:Travel & Leisure


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