An American Airlines passenger’s flight from hell has gone viral on social media after he posted images of another flyer’s seat reclining so far back it touched his knees. To make matters worse, he was supposed to be enjoying a first class journey. And for once, it appears it was not anti-social behaviour to blame.
The man, posting on X under the handle @av_cova, shared photo evidence of the way the seat in front of him tilted into his personal space. Using the caption: “First class, Dude is in my lap,” the flyer berated the carrier: “You continue to be awful, @AmericanAir.”
“First Class”
— COVA (@av_cova) November 10, 2024
Dude is in my lap.
You continue to be awful, @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/JbaaZALcrm
Faulty first class seat
It transpired that @av_cova had attempted to address the issue with the passenger seated ahead of him, but the seat was faulty and could not be fixed into a more upright position.
At that point he also asked a flight attendant for assistance, but told Fox News, “He shrugged it off – basically saying, ‘It’s an old airplane; some of these seats are worn out.’ No matter how I positioned myself, the seat was still against my knees. The gentleman in the seat in front of me was very sympathetic, but he was unable to get the seat to lock forward, as it was inoperable.”
To add insult to injury, the flyer had paid an additional $500 for a First Class ticket, especially in order to have more leg room. He let his feelings be known in the series of social media posts, where he continued: “I can’t use my tray table, and no chance of getting up. I’m in 3C, so 2C is clearly broken. Get it fixed before someone else wastes a fortune on first class and gets fucked.”
Maintenance but no refund
American Airlines responded to the social media post apologetically. “Keeping our planes in top-notch shape is always the goal,” they wrote. “We’re sorry for this inconvenience and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We’ll get this right over to the Maintenance folks for review. Our apologies again.”
But @av_cova was not satisfied. “Maintenance isn’t gonna review the money I wasted…” he retorted. At the time of writing, American Airlines had not publicly offered any further recompense – something not unnoticed by other social media users.
We're sorry to hear of any disappointment. We can only offer our apologies for the inconvenience.
— americanair (@AmericanAir) November 10, 2024
“Look at how American Airlines treats a First class passenger paying $500 extra for a first class seat by only offering “apologies” for the outrageous “inconvenience,” said a user under the handle @MelyanaKlue, who describes herself as “a concerned citizen.” “No wonder none of us will ever fly American Airlines again. We are likewise “disappointed.””
