Originally Posted by
ROCAT
The GA was likely following procedures set out by management and have very little control in the situation.
The millionaire executive will not really be hurt by any financial damage to the airline but the paycheck workers who had nothing to do with the incident will be. The stock price tanking will hurt tons of people that own (possibly not even aware of it) stock as part of a 401K.
If you really want to make a difference call your members of congress and set up a meeting to discuss it. If you are in their district they will listen, I've been in a diffrent staff meeting and witnessed a member toss a lobbyist in order to talk to a constituent that walked into the DC office without an appointment.
I think the GA didn't go higher than an $800 voucher for a VDB offer because that was all the GA was authorized to offer. If that's true, one easy way to try to avoid problems like this is to give the GA more discretion. I guess the $800 was based on the IDB compensation, but this is a situation in which the airline thought it HAD to get these people on board, so I think the GA should be allowed to negotiate until they got space.
Another option might be to put the crew members on another carrier. Could they have gotten them on Southwest? Sent them over to Midway and flown Southwest from there?
After reading some comments above: the flight out of SDF was supposed to go out the next day? So, if the crew members had been put on a limo, would that have timed them out for their flight?