I've been offered thousands of dollars but I've always said no to volunteering

[theking]

..to give up my seat. My destinations and time were more important than those offers but for those that need money more, it's not a bad offer to voluntarily get bumped to the next flight due to too much weight or over booked flight:

Heavier Americans Cause United Airlines to Block Out Seats to Meet Weight Requirements

Thanks to Federal Airline Administration requirements, you might have no middle seat weirdo hogging half the armrests on your next United Airlines flight.

Due to a 2019 FAA update of weight averages for travelers, United is nixing three to six middle-seat passengers in 45 of its Boeing 757 aircraft between November 1, 2022, and April 30, 2023.

It’s not just the ever-increasing size of the American waistline that’s the problem; we’re also loaded up with heavier carry-on bags. From the frequent flyer blog Live and Let’s Fly:

[...]

Starting next week, there will be a red sleeve over the seatbelt that says “Seat inoperative – Do not occupy.” The seatbelt will also be zip-tied together.

A memo to flight attendants reviewed by Live and Let’s Fly instructs them to “monitor these seats throughout all phases of flight to ensure they remain unoccupied.” Should a passenger request one of these seats prior to pushback, they are to be referred to a member of ground staff.