Aimee Walker
A former air hostess has taken to TikTok to explain why you shouldn’t ever accept vouchers if you find yourself bumped from an overbooked flight.
Sandra Jeenie Kwon, who was an air hostess for Emirates for two years, has advised customers to decline vouchers if offered when bumped from a flight. In fact, she said you could be entitled to a fair bit of cash, depending on how long you are delayed.
With her 3.7 million TikTok followers, the former air hostess from Vancouver, said: “If you are flying within, to, or from the United States and you are involuntarily bumped off your flight due to an overbooking, don’t accept the voucher!
“Not only are the airlines required to find you an alternative flight, but depending on the length of the delay, you are entitled to cash.”
Although this isn’t exactly a secret, many people weren’t aware of this until watching Sandra’s informative TikTok post.
The US Department of Transportation states: “Passengers who are denied boarding involuntarily due to oversales are entitled to compensation that is based on the price of their ticket, the length of time that they are delayed in getting to their destination because of being denied boarding, and whether their flight is a domestic flight or an international flight leaving from the United States.
“This is called ‘denied boarding compensation’ or ‘DBC’ for short.
“Most bumped passengers who experience short delays on flights will receive compensation equal to double the one-way price of the flight they were bumped from, up to $675.
“Passengers experiencing longer delays on flights will receive payments of four times the one-way value of the flight they were bumped from, up to $1,350.”
If you’d like further information on the compensation structure and exemptions, you will find it on the US Department of Transportation website.
In other news, British Airways is investigating a mystery stewardess who is advertising “sex between flights and onboard experiences”.
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