Attorney Erika Kullberg also known as “Fine Print Erika” has become the social media friend we all need after dropping one of the travel industry’s best-kept secrets when it comes to the compensation you’re possibly owed when an airline overbooks a flight.
In her TikTok video that has more than 2 million views, she acts out a scenario of what to do if an airline bumps you off your flight.
“Hi, it looks like you bumped me from this flight I was supposed to be on?” she says as a passenger in the video.
The airline agent replies, “Yeah, we overbooked it, basically we sold more tickets than seats on the plane.”
When the passenger asks, “what can be done in this situation?” the agent replies, “we’ll try to get you on the next flight in a few hours but there’s nothing else I can do, sorry.”
It’s a reason social media is calling her “Fine Print Erika” because it turns out, the airline could be legally required to do more.
According to Kullberg, if this happens to you, it’s called involuntarily denied boarding. She explains that according to the Department of Transportation, if the next flight the airline can get you on results in a more than two-hour delay, passengers are entitled to 4 times the costs of the one-way fare.
If you paid $250 for the one-way fare, the airline owes you $1,000.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsShoutout to Erika, fine print free game 🤍 pic.twitter.com/C1H7frasCy
— sza’s lost album (@breeashhh) December 27, 2021
It’s free game that Black Twitter is applauding and might just get Erika invited to the cookout.
Some Twitter users are skeptical about it working at certain airports and airlines.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsSpirit Airlines: pic.twitter.com/AhMIZjJjzw
— JR Ewing (@run_tale_DAT) December 27, 2021
And others warn that it’s not that simple, especially if you book through third-party sites.
According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), an airline is required to compensate you after involuntarily bumping you from an oversold flight in certain situations.
Bumped passengers are not eligible for compensation when there’s an aircraft change, weight and balance issues, downgrading from a higher class to a lower class, and on smaller aircraft holding less than 30 people.