Easy Money

I was waiting to board my flight to Chicago from Kansas City this afternoon when I heard the announcement for volunteers to be bumped to the next flight. First, it was $100, plus the fare paid for that leg of the journey. The crowd responded by totally ignoring the notice.

Then, a few minutes later, they raised it by another $100. I’ve never had any luck being bumped for money, but I tried anyway. I was the first one to the counter — and the only one at the counter. The next flight was 40 minutes after this one and I was guaranteed on the last flight of the day to Chicago. Sure, why not. The total to me was $315. Within 30 minutes, that decision turned out to be a good one. My original flight was delayed and I ended up making it on the very next flight. I made it to Chicago within 10-minutes of the original flight with $315 extra in my pocket. Not a bad day on Southwest.