Your company’s probably brought in temps for seasonal periods or to get through a massive project, but an English airline brought in 172 people just to sit down and relax. Its reasoning?

A $550,000 payoff.

Flybe, a small-scale British carrier, was in danger of falling short of a 15,000-passenger-per-year goal set at a Norwich airport. Rather than forego the 280,000 pound rebate from the airport, the company decided to hire 172 temps to fly back and forth across England and the Irish Sea to put its numbers over the 15,000 mark.

The temps only earned between 30-40 pounds (roughly $60-80 dollars) each, but were treated to an open bar and free, in-flight movies.

Richard Jenner, the managing director of the airport, said the carrier’s ploy was “ludicrous” and that the target was meant to be hit through regular, fare-paying passengers — not via a plane-full of drunken, poorly compensated temps.

Say what you will about Flybe, but it was only doing the best it can: Before resorting to temps, the carrier requested a partial rebate since it would’ve missed the target by a small margin. It wasn’t until after the airport rejected the idea that Flybe brought in its tiny-bag-of-peanuts-eating cavalry.

Tags: Flybe, Rebates, Top jobs for temps