A now-deleted social media post documented a crazy travel story that had the online user asking, “Is American Airlines the new Spirit of the sky?”
A traveler’s Threads post claimed an American Airlines flight attendant ripped out seat cushions in exit rows of a plane after passengers started sitting in the spaces with more legroom without paying for the upgraded flying experience. The post included footage of the flight attendant’s alleged destruction.
The Threads post, in part, read:
A passenger went to sit in these empty seats. No one was using the six empty seats. The flight attendant said he needed to move because they were $150. Someone else went to sit there and told the same thing. An announcement was made not to sit in the seats. Two more times ppl [people] went to sit there because it was six seats open, and he literally tore the cushions off.
Travel Noire viewed the original post before it was deleted. In the comments, one user said, “Sit where ya paid for. Fools make flying so hard.” Meanwhile, another implied that they sided with the flyers who moved into the unoccupied, roomier seats. The latter said, “Wouldn’t you… Want someone in the exit row? At least one person?”
Does American Airlines Have A Policy About Moving In Unoccupied Seats?
Exit row seats are considered within American Airlines’ Main Cabin Extra. The carrier notes that those who purchase the seats get three to six inches of extra legroom, early boarding, a free carry-on, free entertainment, Wi-Fi, and complimentary snacks and beverages. American Airlines has several other cabin classes: the Main Cabin, Premium Economy, Flagship Business Class, and Flagship First Class.
View From The Wing claims American Airlines has switched its policy multiple times on flyers’ ability to change their seats during a flight. The airline allegedly told its flight attendants two years ago to firmly prohibit passengers from self-assigning themselves new seats in more pricey parts of the planes.
“While you may allow a customer to move to an available Main Cabin seat after boarding is complete, they’re not permitted to move into an MCE seat unless they are booked in that class,” said a document shared on social media that was attributed to the airline. “So, if a customer asks to move to a seat in a different seat classification (i.e., MC to MCE, MCE to First, etc.) politely decline their request unless there is a customer service or regulatory conflict present.”
— JonNYC (@xJonNYC) November 11, 2022
