An American Airlines passenger, dubbed a Karen on reddit, demanded that a passenger assigned to a window seat move so that her child could have it, became extremely abusive. The woman threatened to sue the airline, and to sue the passenger at the window, when he wouldn’t move.
Finally cabin crew gave into the woman’s demands, accommodating her insistence on the window seat for her kid – by upgrading the passenger who had the window seat to business class. That incensed passenger Karen even more.
The passengers were flying from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic to Miami. The flight was delayed two hours. Once everyone was on board the man seated himself at his assigned window. And the child “starts screaming about how he wanted the window seat.” The mom taps his arm.
[Mother] – Hi! I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind changing seats with [son], as he is all excited about this plane ride and he’s been doing good on his grades!
[Window passenger] – Under other circumstances I would, but I have claustrophob[ia] and in Aisle I would freak out as soon as we take off (that’s bs). Sorry.
…[Mother] That’s a lie! The claustrophob[a] you have is fake. Just give the seat to my kid or else I’ll call the flight attendant.
…[Flight attendant] Is it everything alright?
[Child] – I WANT THE WINDOWS SEAAATTTTTTT!!!!!
[Mother] – Give me a second, mum will get it for you. “This entitled brat won’t give my precious [child] his seat because he is so entitled…to do anything right in his life!
The man insists on staying in his seat. He admits he made up the story about claustrophobia. And the mother demands that the flight attendant throw him off the aircraft or she’ll call her lawyers. She says she expects “an apology from him and the airline in a week, or else you’ll get sued!”
And the flight attendant.. agrees? “Ma’am, we’ll move this man as soon as possible.”
But she manages this by upgrading him to a window seat in business class. It’s not often there’s an empty seat in a premium cabin on American Airlines, and cabin crew don’t usually upgrade passengers either. The window seat passenger is happy to move away from being in the row with this woman.
However the mom really loses it at this point: “T-That’s not fair! He is the one that is behaving the worst! AND YOU’RE GIVING HIM A PRIZE! NOT FAIR!!”
The flight attendant threatened to have the mother and child removed from the aircraft, she threatened to sue, and another passenger unleashed a profanity-filled tirade at the woman. Finally the captain came out. She claimed to have “touched inappropriately.” The captain asked the family to exit the aircraft, and the woman threatened to sue him “SO BAD YOU’LL HAVE TO LIVE IN THE STREETS!”
The mother was ejected. The window seat passenger stayed in business class. The man in the window seat telling the story doesn’t actually mention the airline, but it would have been an American Airlines flight.
- Only two airlines fly Santo Domingo to Miami in scheduled service when the incident occurred: American and SKYhigh Dominicana.
- SKYhigh Dominicana meant an Embraer E-190, which has two-by-two seating in economy, and the passenger identifies coach seating as three-by-three.
- That seating matches the mainline aircraft American uses.
Passengers don’t usually get compensation for the things they endure on airlines. The ticket they purchase doesn’t come with abuse. But here they were able to keep an upgraded seat. And the passengers doling out the abuse didn’t travel on that flight. Their lawyer won’t have been able to help them very much. This was a U.S. airline and 49 USC § 44902 provides broad latitude, within certain bounds laid out by the FAA, for the captain of an aircraft to refuse transportation to a passenger if they feel that passenger might be “inimical to safety.”
The entitlement of people today is staggering. I’m glad the airline treated the targeted passenger well. My comment is how did a FA five a passenger an upgrade. It’s always been written and spoken that FA do not or cannot do this as a matter of policy.
The Reddit story seems fake.
I would have taken out my phone, recorded the whole incident, and told her that she is going to be “View from the Wing” famous tomorrow.
Agreed this is a version of the classic “racist passenger” story from decades ago. Complaining passenger, the target passenger gets upgraded,etc.
Gary may want to check on the date of Reddit postings. The one he quoted is seven years old.
In the comments, OP mentions this was on Spirit and posts his BP. Again, seven years ago.
Where was this flight attendant when my wife and I booked aisle and middle seats around row 10? I prefer the aisle. Another couple booked window and middle seats around row 25 and booked their toddler in the window seat of our row. They insisted that we move instead of one of the parents swapping with the kid. They got the flight attendant involved who moved my wife and I to the back. I’m still steamed about it.
And you read it trolling Reddit about must be true – SMDH!!!!
I love it when people threaten to “call their lawyer” and “I’ll sue”. Especially for silly stuff like that.
My response is usually similar to the one given to the guy who said that, if anyone monkeyed around with his beautiful wife after he was gone, he’d scratch his way out of his grave to haunt them. So, they buried him face down and said, “Let him scratch.”
Any idiot who can pay the filing fee can sue someone. It only matters if the idiot prevails.
I thought I’d heard that before — it was posted 7 years ago.
And I’m with @OtherSteve. It’s fake. No video and impeccably detailed word-by-word recall of the conversation.
@Retired Lawyer — What’s the old saying about those who represent themselves? They have fools as clients.
Cool story bro
@Mantis — Bro, cool *your* story. (Feels like Gary flipped on the autopilot today and took a nap. Good for him.)
I’ll take things that didn’t happenfor $1,000, Alex.
If this is from Reddit I’d trust it as much as I’d trust a bridge made out of paper.
I was recently upgraded by the purser from Premium to Upper class on a Virgin Atlantic flight right after boarding. I didn’t ask for the upgrade. It was a night flight and they had open seats in Upper Class. I have Gold status.
I have a fear of flying and I find aisle seats more comforting. At least that’s what I whisper to an FA when some ahole upgraded pax wants me to swap my F narrowbody aisle seat for a F window seat his wife got upgraded to. It only happened once, but it still ticks me off she just sat in my assigned seat without asking. About 95% of the time, I could have reserved any F seat at purchase. I want my aisle seat, but I’m not against aisle-for-aisle F exchanges (or Y when I’m occasionally flying Y). I’d never use the lie in an attempt to get an aisle seat if I was not assigned one. I’ll use it an excuse to say no. And, whispering it like you are embarrassed helps sell it.
When one is old they don’t need an excuse to remain in the aisle seat, all of us old folks know what it is.
Serves her right. Glad the guy got upgraded.
This is definitely fictional unless the Karen was a celebrity. In which case they would be flying private.