Damn I feel a bit silly now, as if I just lost 1200 euros.
We came back from Thailand yesterday. When we arrived to Bangkok airport and were at the check-in desk, the clerks asked us if we'd like to move our flight tomorrow (ie. today). Apparently they had overbooked the flight.
I naturally felt "Hell no! We had to wake up 4:30am this morning to make it in time to the airport, no way I want to do that all over again tomorrow!". I was almost angry to them for even suggesting it.
Anyway, they continued that the carrier (Finnair) would be willing to compensate 600€ per ticket if we moved our flight, and also pay for our hotel night. So, 1200€ money back, just for spending one more night in some hotel?
I guess I become kinda confused at that point, what should I do what should I do, but I was so tired that I just wanted to get to the plane, there were lots of people waiting behind us, and I wasn't fully sure if I'd made it in time because I have to be somewhere this afternoon, so I still rejected it.
Needless to say, in about 5 minutes I was already regretting my decision, and the more I thought about it, the more I was proverbially kicking myself to the head. Fjuck, I just rejected 1200€ easy money! Apparently someone wanted our tickets much more badly than I did. Maybe I could have even negotiated business class seats, like I once got before? If only they had e.g called us, before we took the ride to the airport?
Then again, if I had accepted it, being so suspicious and all, I would have demanded the tickets for tomorrow already, and some kind of written verification that I will really get the promised money so that there wouldn't be any sudden surprises there. Somehow I wouldn't have been surprised that I would be now standing somewhere in the BKK airport, without a ticket, and no idea how to get back to Finland. At least I am now safe and sound back at home, maybe that was worth the 1200€... And frankly, at this point I am not even sure if they meant that I was supposed to buy completely new tickets with that 1200€ (which is about what they would have cost actually, I think), but they were talking about moving the flights, not selling the tickets back to them.
Maybe this special price was because the whole flight was shock-full of Thai peasants on their way for seasonal work in Finland, picking berries (mostly blueberries and cowberries, the forests are apparently now full of them but no one picking them up) and maybe some mushrooms too. That's probably why the Finnair flights were overbooked right now.
I feel kinda sad for those Thai berry pickers, I've heard the reports this is all a big gamble for them, ie. if there are not enough berries to pick, many of them will actually lose money, not even be able to pay for their flight tickets. I wish they'd be better off. Having to come all the way to Finland, just for that. :(
Post edited July 19, 2013 by timppu