Originally Posted by Often1

I also think that with VDB payments moving into the stratosphere, the IRS will start taking notice and treat payments which are retained by the employee as income when the ticket is paid or reimbursed by the employer.

Originally Posted by Auston

OP Here ...

First, I really appreciate the feedback from everyone, as it gives me ideas on what I should have perhaps done differently, as well as what I might want to think about moving forward.

A few follow-up points for those offering perspectives …

• I attended my meeting via teleconference, so all turned out fine
• I’m self-employed, so any costs I bear personally
• I inquired about booking me on another airline, but the Redcoat said she could not help me, I would need to use the black phones in the terminal to make the request
• By the time all of this happened, it was 9:30 at night, so alternative routing options were limited, plus I was tired and knew if I traveled via an alternate carrier or to another NY airport getting my luggage in time for my meeting would be extremely challenging

The Redcoat called me to follow-up while I was driving home (which I appreciated). She explained this situation as this:

• The alternative flight she offered showed wide open before she came on the plane to ask for volunteers
• But, once we were off the plane, the system would not allow her to put anyone on the alternative flight as confirmed
• At that point, she couldn’t get us moved ahead of the standbys and the other folks who were delayed as a result of the issues throughout the day
• They also tried, but could not get a hold of anyone who had more power to prioritize us
• She indicated that this had never happened to her before

Hopefully, that gives a bit more clarity to the circumstances.

Originally Posted by kitkat77

This, I doubt. They haven't come after things like SkyPesos, choice benefits value, upgrades... if all of my tickets are paid for by my employer then all of those perks should then also be taxable income by that argument.

Also, it's really hard to track this. Work-related tickets are sometimes paid for on a personal credit card, then reimbursed in a non-itemized deposit. How would they know that it's reimbursed without an extensive audit of an employer's expense system? And, it's possible that it was *my* time that was given up (say on the way home), non-billable time, so is that really taxable if I choose to accept a gift in exchange for my time, but not taxable if someone else does just because they paid for their ticket and were not reimbursed?

Originally Posted by btonkid12345

Hopefully the Red Coat, at a minimum, learns to hold space prior to making such offers, when flights are otherwise full and weather is bad.

Originally Posted by kitkat77

I would have hoped that a Red Coat already knew this.

Heck, I offered up my seat last week and the GA immediately preemptively booked me on the next flight (showed up in my app before I sat back down). Even though I was told to board, and did, he didn't release it until we were taxiing for takeoff.

Originally Posted by flyerCO

However they had a passenger name to hold one for in your case. In OP case, the RC didn't know who would be willing to volunteer to place holds for.

Originally Posted by Auston

Here’s what happened to me late last night.

Flying from DTW to EWR. Flights delayed all day, including mine. Finally boarded for takeoff 3.5 hours after original departure time. Just before pushback, a Redcoat came on board and made an announcement that the pilot informed her we were critically overweight (CRJ-700), and they needed 3 volunteers to immediately deplane. We would be accommodated on the next flight to EWR, which was only leaving 30 minutes later (due to all the delays). In exchange, we would receive $1,000 Delta dollars.

I sprung up and volunteered. After all, what was 30 more minutes of my time?

So, 3 of us make our way back to the gate area and the Redcoat begins to work feverishly on our rebooking and vouchers. After about 15 minutes, she calls us up to the counter. Unfortunately, “the system” will not allow her to rebook us on the EWR flight she promised, and the standby list is full. I say fine, put me back on my original flight then, as I needed to travel that evening to make my morning meetings. No go, as the jet bridge has pushed back. There is nothing she can do. She was very apologetic.

Needless to say, we were agitated and perturbed. Attempts to route us to other NYC airports were futile, so I ended up going back home and calling it a night.

Delta is refunding my ticket (as there is no reason for me to travel any longer since I’ll miss the meeting) and I have my grand in Delta bucks.

So, here are my questions for the experts …

1 – If presented the same situation would you have volunteered?

2 – Should I be satisfied with my compensation, or should I pursue more (FYI, I also incurred a 1-night hotel cancellation penalty)?

Looking forward to your thoughts!

Thanks.

Originally Posted by kb9522

I hope your boss is more understanding than I would be... Good luck.

Originally Posted by Auston

I attended my meeting via teleconference, so all turned out fine
I’m self-employed, so any costs I bear personally

Originally Posted by Howste

The boss completely understood the entire situation.

Originally Posted by flyerCO

Never know. Split personalities

Originally Posted by Howste

The boss completely understood the entire situation.