When offered $800 to give up seat, traveler admits he would have done free

One traveler admitted he would have done it for nothing after being offered $800 to give up his seat on an oversold flight.

Airlines are back to their old tricks because of the return of airline travel. Airlines usually oversell their planes in the hopes that passengers won't show up, which means more for the bottom line.

If all the passengers show up, airlines begin to give passengers money in order for them to switch flights later in the day.

Delta oversold their small plane on the flight to Seattle. There wouldn't be any more flights until the morning.

Patrick was going to visit his girlfriend in the nearby town ofRichmond when he arrived late at the airport. We decided to end the night with a gourmet dessert at the new Chili's because we hadn't seen each other in a long time. It was a special occasion that we went there to celebrate.

The gate agent was already up to 800 by the time he got to the gate. She was trying to get people to volunteer their seats. I've never heard such desperation in a person's voice. The passengers around me said that they were stuck because they had to be in Seattle that night, but she started out at $200, then went to $400, $600, and now $800, just to stay one more night in the area.

The money wouldn't be taken to stay another night in Pasco. I would have taken it for nothing.

If he stayed until the morning, he would get $800. The airline would put him up in a hotel for the night to make sure he got back to the flight in the morning.

He wasn't sure if his luck was real. He told his girlfriend that the flight was delayed and that they could have another night together.

The best part of the story is that the hotel that Delta Airlines was giving for the overnight stay was next to a restaurant.

I left $800 richer after having a second dessert with us. It couldn't get better now.