American Airlines passenger with first class seat lowered so off-duty pilot could sit
The passengers thought this man should check his flying privilege.
An aggrieved passenger claimed American Airlines pulled his girlfriend out of first class so an off-duty pilot could take her seat, after claiming the seat was broken.
He detailed the alleged act of tremendous cheating in a X post taking off online.
“You all are terrible,” Jake Williams said in the post, which occurred on an unspecified flight of the Embraer E-175 regional jet operated by AA.
The flyer claimed that the gate agent had upgraded him and his girlfriend to first class, only to kick her back to cattle class due to an alleged “broken seat.”
Then, in a shocking twist, an off-duty pilot sat in said seat, according to the publication.
The accompanying footage, filmed by Williams, shows the off-duty airman crouched in the chair. “Here is the pilot in the broken seat that they kicked my girlfriend out of,” the passenger laments in the clip.
Interestingly, commentators overwhelmingly sided with the airline, with many stating that Williams should have checked his flying privilege.
“Imagine crying on @X because they took away your free update,” criticized one X commentator. “Hope@AmericanAir take note and never offer you another free upgrade.
Another furious, “Complaining about an update. I hope they ban you for life. That’s why airlines don’t offer upgrades to entitled people like you!
Others, surprised by the steering wheel, did not behave like a gentleman and let their girlfriend take the remaining first class seat.
“A real man would have offered his seat to his girlfriend and then gone on to train himself,” declared one critic.
A customer service representative has since intervened in the situation in X, writing: “Oh, we’d like to take a closer look. Find us in DM with your record locator.”
Many times uniformed pilots sit among passengers because they are in a state of shock, also known as charge for flying to another airport to work despite not being on active duty,” according to the travel blog “A view from the wing.”
Unlike other crew members who fly coach during standstills, American Airlines pilots are allowed to fly first class due to a union contract (with the logic that more comfortable accommodations allow airmen to get better rest before from work).
Accordingly, dead pilots have priority over passengers when it comes to upgrades.
“If there was a broken seat that the pilot was inthat pilot will be ahead of the upgraded passengers at the gate to get a first class seat, and American will have to downgrade the last upgraded passenger,” AVFTW wrote.
