Occasionally, living our day-to-day lives, we accidentally stumble upon great deals. Whether we’re lucky enough to strike a good catch on Black Friday or get cheap tickets to a show of an artist we like, it’s always a good feeling.
Today’s story revolves around one of these cases, but in quite an unusual way. A TikToker named Kaye Collins, a US Army member, rejected a superb $1500 deal for her plane ticket and went viral. Since then, Collins’ video has received over 50k likes and almost 1k comments. As per the date of the article, Collins has gathered over 80k followers on TikTok as well.
More Info: TikTok
Receiving an offer for free money is hard not to take, especially when it’s the last day of your paid leave
Image credits: collins_kai
The woman was already on board her flight back to work when she heard an offer of $1500 to give up her seat, but the woman couldn't
Image credits: Long Zhao (not the actual photo)
In the end, a different passenger quickly accepted the airline's offer, which also included hotel accommodation and a next-morning flight
The story begins with Collins returning to her US Army role from a paid leave. The woman didn’t expect, however, that during her flight back to duty, she would encounter a rather bizarre offer. Collins was already on board the plane when the stewardess suddenly had some news to announce.
The airline offered any passenger $1500 cash in exchange for their seat. Sounds good enough already, right? But the offer doesn’t stop here. It also included an overnight stay at a hotel for the inconvenience. A next-morning flight was added on top of that.
Image credits: Pew Nguyen (not the actual photo)
Naturally, Collins was really tempted to take the plunge and get the money as well as a free flight the day after. Unluckily for the woman, it was the last day of her paid leave and Collins couldn’t just miss her work using the offer she had received as an excuse.
Funnily, the comments under the viral TikTok suggested exactly that or to “white lie”, with one of the netizens cheekily noting “You better than me. I would’ve already been at hotel checking into my room.” Collins captioned the video with “I hate that my leave ends today,” sharing the same sentiment with the commentator.
Image credits: Pixabay (not the actual photo)
Collins' instance of an airline offering hefty sums for passengers to give up their seats isn’t the first time such a thing has happened. Overbooking airplanes is not something unusual in the US. The airlines tend to overbook flights to increase profits and ensure the maximum profit, ensuring that the aircrafts do not leave half-empty.
However, a strategy of this sort can cause predicaments such as the one Collins experienced. If a flight is overbooked, and none of the passengers miss the flight, there are implemented laws to protect passenger interests. This is especially the case for international US flights.
If you're eligible, you can get over $1000 for your inconvenience, as well as a refund, accommodation, and even vouchers for your next flights. Since overbooking is quite common, it is useful to know your rights in such instances.
Image credits: collinskaye
In the end, Collins received a fantastic deal, but couldn't take it. Shortly after, another passenger quickly accepted the airline’s offer. Imagine $1500 in cash in your hand each just to slip away like that.
Of course, Collins could’ve decided to be not so ethical and “white lie”, as per other commentators' suggestions. By and large, Collins didn’t abandon her responsibilities for the extra cash. What do you think about this opportunity? Have you ever had a similar experience? Would you "white lie" if such an opportunity came your way? Let us know in the comments below.
You can watch the full video here:
