July 27, 2026, 5:22 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Perhaps you’ve experienced it yourself: You’re waiting at the gate for boarding when the airline announces that the flight is overbooked. In such cases, airlines often look for volunteers to take a later flight in exchange for a financial incentive. If you don’t have urgent appointments at your destination, you might arrive a bit later but potentially a few hundred euros richer. However, voluntary rebooking doesn’t always go as passengers expect.
The goal of airlines is to fill planes as completely as possible, which is why overbooked flights occur. Airlines assume not all booked passengers will show up, so they accept more bookings than there are seats on the plane. But this calculation doesn’t always work out, and then not all travelers can fly.
A few years ago, there was an unpleasant incident with United Airlines in the U.S.: A passenger was reportedly forcibly removed from the cabin, TRAVELBOOK reported. The images caused worldwide outrage in 2017.
Flying later for compensation in case of overbooking
But it doesn’t have to come to that. Although many airlines’ terms and conditions state that passengers can be denied boarding in case of overbooking–including German airline Lufthansa–in practice, airlines usually try to avoid this. Instead, they look for volunteers at the gate who are willing to give up their booked flight for a financial incentive and take a later connection.
Finding such volunteers is often not difficult. After all, if you don’t have time-sensitive appointments at your destination, you can often manage with a later arrival–especially since there might be money involved. But don’t get too excited if a substantial sum is announced at the gate. As a recent case from Germany shows, the initially promised amount can be reduced afterward.
Lufthansa promised 250 euros but then paid only half
On July 16, 2026, a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Vienna was overbooked. The airline offered a compensation payment of 250 euros to booking guests who voluntarily opted for a later connection via an announcement at the gate.
Among the waiting passengers was a woman who shared her story with TRAVELBOOK–she wishes to remain anonymous. She had already agreed at check-in to fly later in case of overbooking. When the announcement was made at the gate, she was pleased about the extra spending money for the long weekend with her friend. Another traveler also accepted the offer.
However, when the two women arrived at the counter, they faced an unpleasant surprise. The employee asked whether to deliver the good or bad news first. The good: Compensation would definitely be provided. The bad: The previously announced offer of 250 euros was a mistake–in fact, the two travelers were only entitled to 125 euros.
“The reason given was that we would only arrive about an hour later at the destination,” the informant reports. Initially, this explanation was acceptable to her.
But the predicted arrival time didn’t hold–the replacement plane was delayed. In the end, the two women departed more than two hours later than originally planned. “When we then tried to get the remaining 125 euros, we were told that we had entered into a deal,” she says. The later circumstances didn’t change that. Thus, the discussion ended.
Lufthansa explains when compensation is due
As a Lufthansa spokesperson explained to TRAVELBOOK, there are two different situations regarding overbookings: involuntary denial of boarding and a passenger’s voluntary agreement to rebook.
“If a passenger is denied boarding against their will due to overbooking, they are entitled to a legally mandated compensation payment,” the spokesperson explains. The amount depends on the flight distance.
“Free, individual agreement between airline and passenger”
However, the situation is quite different according to the airline’s view when–before a possible denial of boarding–volunteers are first sought who are willing to take a later flight. The EU passenger rights regulation does not contain fixed guidelines for the amount or structure of compensation for voluntary rebookings, the spokesperson says. The conditions are therefore individually agreed upon between the airline and the passenger. Legally mandated minimum amounts or fixed compensation scales based on distance or delay duration are not provided for this case.
Nevertheless, the traveler from Frankfurt was promised 250 euros via loudspeaker announcement. But as TRAVELBOOK learns from a conversation with an expert, she apparently doesn’t have much to hold onto.
Flight Cancellations Due to U.S. Shutdown: A Guide to Passenger Rights
Lufthansa Strike! These 3 Passenger Rights You Should Know
Money offers via loudspeaker announcement are not binding
As attorney Jan Bartholl explains, the initial offer of 250 euros via loudspeaker announcement is to be regarded as an invitatio ad offerendum: an offer with later individualization. “Legally decisive is which specific agreement was concluded with the airline. If travelers sign a new agreement at the counter or explicitly declare acceptance of the changed offer, a new contract is assumed,” Bartholl says.
In the described case, Lufthansa’s subsequent reduction to 125 euros is likely valid. The passengers explicitly agreed to the change. Had they not, they could potentially insist on fulfilling the original offer. According to the expert, the chances in such cases largely depend on whether and how the reduced offer was communicated and accepted, for example, in writing or by email.
Money for flying later–when the deal is worth it
For travelers, it can be worthwhile to voluntarily take a later flight–especially if they are flexible at their destination. This is because an individual compensation or other services from the airline may be offered–though it should be emphasized again that this voluntary agreement is not equivalent to the statutory compensation under the EU passenger rights regulation. However, it is common practice to pay volunteers a few hundred euros for the wait, which can be an attractive trade-off.
But passengers should not rely solely on the amount promised via announcement. What matters is the actual conditions before they agree to the deal and whether these are properly documented. Anyone entering into an agreement should be well-informed in advance and have the terms confirmed if possible. As the cases described show, what starts as a straightforward deal at the gate can later lead to trouble.