Entitled Power Play In First Class: American Airlines Flyer Swipes Outlet From Seat Behind Them

I’m sitting on an American Airlines flight right now as I write this. I’m in first class, which is great, because I have my own power outlet. My last four domestic flights were in coach.

  • One of them was on Southwest, which didn’t have seat power at all. (Some offer USB power, but not enough juice for your laptop.)
  • One was on Delta, where I had to share power with the person seated next to me.
  • Two were on American, where I had to share also.

I always wait until we’re up in the air to plug in. I’m seated at the aisle, and wouldn’t want to impede an exit in the event of an emergency, since the cord stretches from the seat in front of me, and anyone walking into the aisle might trip over it.

You won’t be surprised to learn that my sense of decorum isn’t universally shared, and that on all three Delta and American flights, the person beside me plugged in before I could.

Having to share power in coach has become more of a problem as passengers increasingly rely on their devices – either for inflight entertainment (because American Airlines flights lack screens) or to connect to the world (Delta’s free wifi).

But how about this passenger in first class who seems to need more than one outlet for themselves – and deprives the passenger behind them?

Reached my seat to discover person in 1st row using USB in row 2, best way to approach situation if i need the USB port?
byu/gartoz22 inamericanairlines

Is it any surprise this passenger’s feet are propped up against the bulkhead in front of them, too? I suppose it’s too bad TSA has spent the last 23 years standing for ‘taking scissors away’ because that would be one approach to solve this. A comment responding to this photo makes the simple point,

Unplug, politely state, “Excuse me Sir/Ms., I believe this is yours.” while handing the plug over.

Even having power on planes like on this American Airlines flight is new to part of their fleet. When America West took over US Airways, management actually took power out of planes that offered it because that would reduce weight and save fuel. Several years ago, then-American Airlines CEO Doug Parker suggests he couldn’t remember why the legacy US Airways fleet mostly did not offer seat power (“for.. some reason.. cost, I’m sure”) and said “in retrospect, we should’ve started earlier [installing seat power], we thought we could live with this.

In fact, the CEO of American didn’t want to add seat power. He liked that US Airways customers knew they wouldn’t have it, and had to have their devices charged before they traveled. (Never mind those cross country connections with long delays that outlasted even the best batteries.)

He ultimately changed his mind because customers did not know what to expect when American planes had power but US Airways planes didn’t. He could have removed power (like in the old days after taking over US Airways in the first place) or spread it to the full fleet.

Now, though, we need more than one plug! And coach often doesn’t have even one per passenger.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Everyone who needs USB power from the airplane should carry a USB splitter with them. Personally I always carry a partially charged power bank (fully charged lithium ion batteries are more likely to break down and overheat compared to partially charged ones). I have helped out a fellow passenger before when she was low on cell phone charge, so she could call the people picking her up, as we were taxing to the gate.

  2. No need for a confrontation, destruction of property or a passive aggressive comment. Just discreetly unplug them and leave it hanging in your magazine rack so they are unaware anything changed.

  3. Exactly, I would have simply unplugged it and then hand it to the “Karen” sitting in front of me.

  4. I do NOT miss that bulky power adapter for USAirways & some Continental flights!

    Was a shame when Poug Darker took them out of the LUS Airbus fleet…

  5. Obviously unplug it. My high-watt charger has an A and C port. I use it with C to C for my devices. If I were in a shared situation, the other person can use one of the two ports, they get to choose. I have the cables, if you don’t. Or, offer me a similar deal with your charger. Plus, I carry a UK to US plug, which means I may be the only one to have the ability to plug into the “loose” outlet. I can lend you my power bank, but only if you have proven yourself of worth in our preliminary negotiation.

  6. OK, just like my dating life, I come up with a better reaction. If you don’t need the USB port, let in slide. If it’s not called out by a FA before, wait until they come to talk to you, and look at them a give the “what the heck” look unplug it, and hope the FA puts them in their place if they say something.

  7. Fold up the center armrest on AA First class. Voila, power outlet! Plug the usb into the plug it came with. I’m sure she didn’t know that’s where the outlet was.

  8. An additional option is to carry a portable charger in you purse or carry on. They are about the size of a deck of cards or smaller and will charge a phone multiple times. I always gave at least 2 in my bag and always offer to share one.

  9. Would have simply unplugged it (if you needed the port) and reached forward handing it to her saying something like “here you go, I wouldn’t want you forgetting your cord when we eventually deplane.”
    But, would probably wait until I had another passenger near me or a FA to witness incident to avoid possibly lurid accusations about reaching forward toward a female passenger.
    I’m still perplexed, I only travel by plane maybe once per month, but have always recently had my own USB charger port (even in Economy.) I usually fly Delta because of routing convenience and because their agents usually go out of their way to make situations “right” … even for Economy passengers. Several times recently I had gate agents waive fees for changing my plans. I don’t expect it, but appreciate the airline’s apparent prioritization of garnering goodwill and repeat customers.

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