A Delta Air Lines passenger has accused the carrier of ‘gaslighting’ him over a voluntary bumping offer, dropping its initial $15,000 offer to $1,500. The passenger, who was flying from Salt Lake City to Palm Springs with his wife and newborn daughter, accepted it before being told the sum was only a fraction of what he was told onboard.

Delta gate agents accused the passenger of inventing the figure, despite multiple witnesses on board corroborating his story. The airline has since stated that the initial $15,000 offer was a miscommunication and has declined to honor the full payment.

Delta Passenger’s $15K Bump Offer Reduced At Gate

As detailed by Elliott Report, Delta passenger Daniel Christiansen had boarded a flight from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) to Palm Springs (PSP) when the airline announced over the aircraft’s PA system that it was looking for volunteers to give up their seats. The offer to be voluntarily bumped was extremely enticing at $15,000, which is well above what airlines usually offer for a last-minute bump.

Christiansen said he called the crew to discuss the offer, with the $15,000 sum apparently confirmed twice. Agreeing to the offer, he left his wife and child and disembarked the plane. However, by the time the aircraft had left the gate, Christiansen was told by Delta gate agents that the offer was only $1,500, and not the $15,000 initially promised to him onboard. He protested the new offer, stating that the Delta crew and other passengers would be able to confirm his story. Christiansen said:

« They treated me like I’d invented the number out of thin air. But the flight attendant, the captain, and even Delta’s own emails later admitted the $15,000 offer was real. I felt humiliated. I’d just abandoned my wife and baby based on Delta’s word. Now they were gaslighting me. »

The Airline Says The Offer Was « Unintentional »

As well as Christiansen confirming the sum on two occasions before deplaning, his wife also claims to have overheard a flight attendant double-checking the $15,000 offer with a gate agent. He did not accept the new offer of $1,500 and contacted airline representatives to pursue his claim for the full amount. Apparently, during email communications with Delta, the airline admitted that the $15,000 sum was offered to him onboard, but put this down to a miscommunication.

Delta informed Christiansen that, as all onboard announcements are recorded, it would look into the incident. However, the carrier ultimately sent him a case resolution email with a final offer of $1,500 plus 20,000 SkyMiles, worth around $200, stating that « continued requests will not yield a different outcome. » The offer of $15,000 is far above US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, which state that airlines can make a maximum offer of $1,550 to $3,800.

However, airlines can go over this offer by offering additional incentives, such as a travel credit. Simple Flying reached out to Delta regarding this incident, with a spokesperson saying that « we are aware of the reports online and are looking into the facts of what may have occurred and why. We will also follow up with the customer directly. »

What Happens Now?

Christiansen did not accept the airline’s final offer of $1,500 plus SkyMiles, so it remains to be seen whether he will ever receive the full amount he was promised. Pursuing legal action is a possible avenue of action, although the law in this case is quite murky, and the legal fees could be much higher than the $15,000 sum.

Christiansen’s initial agreement to give up his seat for $15,000 constitutes a verbal contract, which means it falls under state contract laws. Given that this incident occurred in Utah, the Utah Division of Consumer Protection could get involved. However, with Delta claiming that the $15,000 offer was a mistake, it may void the validity of the verbal contract.

This is not the first time the airline has offered huge sums to passengers voluntarily giving up their seats. Delta has a reputation for higher offers than its peers, raising its upper limit to up to almost $10,000 back in 2017, and offering $24,000 to a family of three on Christmas Day in 2022.