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A video went viral on TikTok in which the airline JetBlue was offering $10,000 for any passengers willing to give up their seats. This happened during a flight to Cancun, and the conundrum lasted for 45 minutes.
The airline firstly proposed a flight credit with no specific value, but none of the passengers were willing to give up their seats. To cut a deal, a proposal of $10,000 was announced. Many would think it’s a wonderful opportunity to change flights (maybe even upgrade to first class), and still have some spare left to buy other flights or flight products as you will. But surprisingly that’s not what happened.
According to the passenger on the video, the whole deal went on and on but no one took the offer. Even though the flight was not cleared to leave, it took some time to fix the situation before the airplane could finally touch the skies on it’s way to Cancun, which is becoming a very popular holiday destination among young Americans with the Cancun International Airport welcoming more than 7 million passengers already in the first quarter, and is now becoming one of the busiest in the world.
The main issue that caused this whole situation was that JetBlue had to transport some of their crew, because their original flight got stuck in a snowstorm. Spring in the US can be very unpredictable, which could be a reason why everyone wants the sandy beaches and blue skies, afterall Cancun enjoys a very pleasant and warm weather all year round, along with some of the busiest nightlife in all Latin America and lots of things to see and do, here are some 6 activities you can enjoy at night in such a spectacular city.
You could argue that it’s impossible not to take such an easy amount of credit for flights but in their situation, would you? There are always two sides of the story although it does seem that everyone really wanted to travel on that flight.
This happened during the spring break in the US, which generally only lasts for a week and it’s a holiday that is usually about partying with friends and celebrating youth, especially in cities like Cancun. The schedule is tight for only a week off and maybe they did not want another unpredictability. Added to the fact that this is the first post-covid spring holiday, it is not too hard to imagine reasons for not wanting to miss it regardless of the payout.
Furthermore the reward was limited to flight credits only redeemable on JetBlue flights. Although it’s a very hot destination among Americans, JetBlue permanently canceled 2 flights from the US to Cancun, which is just the tip of the iceberg compared to the almost 30 routes that will be cut this summer. The reason behind it is that passengers are looking forward to other destinations in other places such as Europe.
A possibility about what happened could always be about negotiation. All passengers knew that the airline needed that extra seat for the crew and nobody volunteered immediately. As no one wanted to lose their flight and they couldn’t be forced out of the plane, they kept their seats and waited for a better deal
Whichever reason, it was a stressful situation for the passengers on board. The thought of looking forward to a vacation for months, and suddenly being stuck on the flight because no other passenger wants to leave the plane for whatever is the amount of money, can only be quite an unpleasant ordeal for those that were staunchly committed to it.
After much consideration, one passenger finally negotiated his way through the deal and got a $15,000 flight credit to leave the plane. In today’s world that sometimes seems to be all about money and negotiations, apparently that’s how it all ended. A good deal and a large amount of money on flight credit, whether the volunteer wanted it or not.
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Benjamin Attar
Tuesday 19th of April 2022
Airline sells a ticket, they have to honor their obligation. They can always charter a private jet to deadhead their crew, they can't make it their passenger's problem.