Jewish Family Scores $11K Windfall Getting Bumped From Pre-Passover Flights
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
As airlines overbooked flights before Passover (and for good measure, Easter, too), one Jewish family in New York made off like bandits from the travel chaos – giving up seats on two flights in exchange for $11,000 in compensation.
Laura Begley Bloom – along with her husband and daughter – were set to fly Delta from New York to Florida last Friday morning. As the airline grappled with an overbooking problem, she and the mishpacha managed to trade their seats in for $1,350 each.
They rebooked for the next day, but then the same problem emerged. They got another $1,300 a piece, plus free lunch and taxi fare. And then, when it recurred on Sunday, Bloom canceled her family’s plans, and got another $3,000, plus a refund on the initial tickets.
Bloom was in a good place to take advantage of Delta’s overbooking situation – her family lives a short distance away from LaGuardia airport, where they were set to fly out of. And their trip to Florida wasn’t urgent.
Over at Forbes, Bloom, whose day job happens to be as a travel writer, is offering some tips and words of caution about overbooking and how to make it work to your advantage.
Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon
I’m personally matching all gifts to the Forward, up to $36,000. Can I match your gift now?
Hello, fellow Forward reader! I’m Joel Brown, a Forward reader and supporter for more than 15 years, and currently the chair of the board of directors.
I’m an avid Forward reader because it ticks so many of my essential boxes: excellent journalism, Jewish focus and diverse viewpoints. In today’s political climate, what I most appreciate is the Forward’s independence — made possible by the generosity of its membership.
The Forward is committed to bringing you unbiased, nuanced Jewish news. From my position as board chair, I see an exciting future as we expand our position as the definitive independent voice of contemporary American Judaism.
— Joel Brown, Forward board chair
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
