I initially thought it was a hoax, but it turns out Air Canada will auction off seat upgrades on some flights. Passengers often get angry at being crammed into tiny spaces with almost no leg room or arm room or that they have to pay for meals or extra charges that seem to keep mounting.
Will they be happy to join a bidding war to get a better seat and meal? Will the passengers who paid the full amount for the better seat will be happy that someone else paid less for the same seat? Air Canada clearly thinks some will like the auction program.
The goal is to make more money
The way it works is that on some flights, passengers who are in economy class can go online and offer to pay money to upgrade to premium economy or business class. There is a sliding scale with upper and lower limits as to how much they may bid and the computer program will tell them how likely their bid is to succeed.
If the bid is accepted it is non-refundable.
An Air Canada spokesman told CBC News that the program is designed to generate additional revenue.
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