Chapter 9 Overbooking
Xu Cangren was dumbfounded. He had bought the ticket and paid for it, but in the end they said there were no seats left. What kind of bullshit was that?
However, Xu Cang quickly realized the problem and immediately asked back: "Is it oversold?"
The teller's face was not very good either, and he nodded: "Yes, sir! If you like, we can change your ticket to the day after tomorrow and give you an additional compensation of 500 yuan. Is that okay with you ?"
Overbooking is a very common practice in the civil aviation industry, because sometimes passengers cancel their tickets or simply don't show up. At this time, when the plane is about to take off, the empty seats are basically unsold, which will result in a waste of resources.
Therefore, the airline's marketing department will adopt the method of overbooking on these routes, that is, selling 3% to 5% more tickets than the actual number of seats.
However, if everyone arrives and the flight is oversold, some people will not be able to get on. Unfortunately, Xu Cang became such an unlucky person.
In fact, if Xu Cang hadn’t had a good sleep, he might not have been able to check in earlier.
If this happens, each airline will have corresponding compensation measures for passengers, generally a full refund or rebooking, additional cash compensation, free accommodation, etc.
However, Xu Cang did not want to refund or reschedule his ticket. He said directly: "You can just broadcast at the boarding gate to ask if anyone is willing to refund or reschedule their ticket. I still want to go back."
The teller was stunned. He didn't expect that the young man in front of him seemed to know how to deal with overbooking. Generally speaking, if the passenger is unwilling to accept the refund, change or cash compensation, the airline will contact the passengers who have already checked in to ask if there are any passengers who are willing to accept the refund, change or cash compensation.
Some passengers who are not in a hurry may actually be willing to do so in exchange for paying more.
"Sir, please wait a moment." The teller dared not delay and prepared to call his superior for instructions.
Who would have thought that Xu Cang would just put the two bags on the counter and pointed at the luggage: "Check in my luggage first."
The teller put down the phone and said apologetically, "Sir, I need to confirm that someone is willing to give up their seat before I can check your baggage."
"This is your business. Anyway, I must get on the plane." Xu Cang said calmly: "If no one is willing to pay 500 yuan as compensation, then keep increasing it. Increase it to 800 or 1,000 yuan. There will always be someone willing to pay."
The teller was shocked by Xu Cang's words and hurriedly explained: "Sir, the compensation method must be in accordance with the regulations and cannot be changed at will."
"Then I will directly call the Consumer Association or contact the General Administration's complaint hotline, and then see what your company says." The person on the other side was just an employee who was paid to do the job, so Xu Cang didn't want to say anything too harsh, but just wanted her to understand his attitude.
He didn't want money, he just wanted to get on the plane, and he was very determined.
The teller's scalp was numb. This young man looked very difficult to deal with. Since civil aviation was not yet popular, many people did not even understand the procedures for taking a plane, so how could they know the channels for making complaints?
When most people encounter problems, they would at most think of complaining to the airline's customer service, but this approach is sometimes not much different from someone suing me in court.
Airlines fear the most that matters will be reported to consumer associations and government authorities, because that would be fatal.
The teller had never seen a passenger so difficult to fool, and for a moment, he didn't know how to convey Xu Cang's words to his superiors.
Seeing the teller's bewildered look, Xu Cang sighed: "We are in the same business after all, so let's not make things so awkward. Is the crew of this flight two people? If so, I can sit in the cockpit, just put me in the plane."
Xu Cang originally said it casually, but he saw the teller looked thoughtful, and then asked seriously: "Sir, are you a crew member?"
"Crew" is a very internal term. People in the industry usually don't call them pilots, captains or co-pilots, but call them crew. Just like pilots basically don't call flight attendants "stewardess".
"Yes." Xu Cang realized that the teller was actually thinking about the possibility of getting him into the cockpit, and he was speechless: "Can he really get into the cockpit?"
Xu Cang was just saying it casually. There are very strict rules for who can enter the cockpit. In addition to the crew members who are performing the flight, there are also people assigned by the company or the bureau. How can you just put people in there casually?
The salesgirl hummed, "Do you have your ID? I can ask the higher-ups for instructions. But if someone is willing to give up their seat, you definitely don't have to go in."
The implication is that if there is really no space, you can really stuff it into the cockpit, which is unheard of. However, Xu Cang quickly agreed that the current domestic civil aviation is still in the wild era of exploration, and many regulations are not sound at all. Things that are unimaginable in the future may be commonplace now.
Although Xu Cang felt uncomfortable with this somewhat casual approach, he did not object. After all, he just wanted to go home and was not going to do anything bad.
"As for the certificate, I'll give it to you."
The teller took Xu Cang's license and flight attendant boarding pass, confirmed that the names on the two matched, and then made a phone call.
Xu Cang glanced behind him and confirmed that no one was coming, so he leaned against the check-in counter and waited for news. But now that he thought about it, it was a blessing that he didn't return the documents before.
No matter how lax the rules are now, they will only allow "family members" with certificates to enjoy such special treatment.
After about ten minutes, the teller must have communicated well and knocked on the counter to attract Xu Cang's attention. Xu Cang, who was already a little impatient waiting, turned around and saw that the teller had already placed all the documents on the counter , and there was an extra piece of paper.
Xu Cang glanced at the paper. Wasn't this the mission book for the Feiyu Flight 6321 that he was on? What surprised him most was that his name was added to the crew column.
"I've discussed this with the company. This time, you will be counted as a crew member. After landing, you can contact our customer service staff to discuss compensation." The teller pointed in the direction of the security checkpoint and said, "It's getting late, sir. You can go directly to the crew channel."
Although Xu Cang didn't mind where he sat, the airline couldn't do that, so they still had to make compensation afterwards. As for adding crew, it wasn't uncommon to add crew from other airlines in the future. Overall, Feiyu Airlines' attitude was good.
Xu Cang put away all the documents and nodded to the teller: "Thank you for your hard work!"
The teller still had a professional smile on his face: "Sir, I wish you a safe journey."
