According to various media reports, Delta offered $10,000 to each passenger who volunteered to be bumped from the oversold flight out of Grand Rapids.
When Delta announced it was looking for volunteers to get on a later flight, Aten was waiting at the gate for his flight to Minnesota. He said that the carrier offered $10,000 to each of the people who would give up their seats.
The group of eight didn't put their hands up because they didn't know how many people were needed.
We would have left if we knew it was eight. He told the media that four or five people had already left.
One other passenger corroborates Aten's account. The offer was raised from $5,000 to $10,000. He and his wife did not take up the offer, which was paid via Apple Pay or a Visa gift card, but he saw at least four other people take it up.
According to a leaked bulletin to staff, Delta increased the maximum amount it would pay to remove passengers from oversold flights from $1,350 to $10,000.
Demand has returned to pre-pandemic levels after a messy summer travel season with flight delays and chaos across the industry. Staff shortages are one of the issues faced by airlines.
The industry is bracing for more disruptions during the long Fourth of July weekend. More than 35,000 flights were canceled or delayed over the Juneteenth and Father's Day weekends.
Passengers will be able to change their flights for free on the Fourth of July. SkyMiles members have been apologizing for recent flight delays and canceled flights.
"We've spent years establishing Delta as the industry leader in reliability, and though the majority of our flights continue to operate on time, this level of disruption and uncertainty is unacceptable," he wrote.
The beginning of the summer travel season has resulted in 4% of Delta's flights being canceled.
Insider sent a comment to Delta that was not immediately responded to.
In the past, Aten has contributed stories to Insider.
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