An American Airlines passenger took his wife’s business class dessert back to coach, and a flight attendant confiscated the contraband.
The man says that the crewmember took away the uneaten business class roll and cake when he carried them back to economy, telling him that food could not cross the threshold between cabins. The food went in the trash instead.
The couple was flying from Aruba to Charlotte. His wife received the only available upgrade seat, winding up in 1D, while he remained back in a Main Cabin Extra seat 9D. During meal service she texted to ask if he wanted the bread and dessert she couldn’t eat because of her gluten and dairy allergies.
He walked up to the premium cabin and carried her plate and fork back with him. That’s when a flight attendant intervened. He says she took the plate, walked it back to business and said to another flight attendant, “I don’t know where this came from but he can’t have it.”
Once he explained that it was his wife’s meal, he offered to switch seats with her long enough to eat. The flight attendant said a switch would have to be for the rest of the flight.
The food was discarded. The coach coach flight attendant offered the husband buy on board food for sale, but he declined and ate the free pretzels and cookies instead. Ultimately there are two separate issues: sharing first class meals with a passenger in coach, and sharing a premium seat.
- Passing food back through the magic curtain. There’s no published rule against food traveling between cabins. And there’s no food safety guidelines about it either.
Moving between cabins isn’t necessarily against formal rules either. A coach passenger can walk up tot he premium cabin unless the crew restricts that movement. On domestic flights American has long allowed passengers to use a lavatory in any cabin.
For many years, a TSA security directive required airlines operating international flights to the U.S. to direct passengers to remain in their ticketed cabin and use the lavatories assigned to that cabin (with exceptions for disability or special needs). I believe that was rescinded in 2023.
That said, I’ve often heard from flight attendants that they’re supposed to keep premium cabin food and amenities in the cabin. And at a minimum, it’s easier for flight attendants to manage collection of service items that way. It can be awkward, too, for a coach passenger to be eating first class food and the passengers around them get a bit envious.
When I was a ConciergeKey member, and my flight was cancelled, American overbooked me onto the next flight (they were willing to pay to deny boarding to someone to get me to my destination) and I wound up in the last row of coach. A flight attendant offered me an extra first class meal but told me I’d have to eat it in the forward galley so other passengers didn’t see me. (I declined with thanks.)
- Seats swaps are more challenging. Passengers can’t rotate use of premium seats. That disrupts service, turns one paid seat into a two-person benefit, and can degrade the experience for other passengers.
Several years ago, though, an American spokesperson told me that passengers “can switch seats” and that the airline’s only policy was that they should not do so during meal service.
If you want to do this, ask a flight attendant, make one switch, and stay in the new seats. That’s what the crew offered here. Popping forward only to eat part of the premium meal and then returning to coach is gauche.
What’s weird is that the meal had been served, the wife was entitled to it and couldn’t eat it. Probably the best thing to do would have been to put the bread and dessert in a napkin and to have been a bit more discrete about it? This was a “let them eat cake” moment. And class rules were enforced over a bread roll.
One commenter immediately reacted to the story with “It’s the United manicotti all over again.” Three years ago a United Airlines flight attendant brought a leftover premium cabin manicotti to a MileagePlus 1K member in economy, while another confronted him and threatened him with the no fly list.
*performative outrage*
It’s nice to see the flight attendants finally do what’s right.
In retrospect, he should have wolfed it down, tgen immediately to a huge smelly dump, and handed THAT to the snotty FA, informing her she was welcome to confiscate that.
What a power trip! He paid for the food, what does it matter who ate it?
How very petty, AA flight attendant.
Typical AA Flight Attendant making up their own rules which is why nobody respects them. Suppose the overweight FAs wanted to eat all the leftovers.
Do attendants get any training in positive customer relations? I’m sure that AA marketing are thrilled to have to deal with social media outrage for the cost of a roll.
Patently ridiculous. I was in J on AA TATL with my teenage son in the back. I asked if I could take the sundae back to him and was told, that’s a terrible idea, there will be a mutiny. I did it anyway, there was no mutiny, no one cared.
I’m so sick of power tripping FAs, but I’m locked into the AA ecosystem. Someone avenge me
Look at it this way…….. we are protecting the product. We don’t allow children ticketed in coach to visit premium cabins but their parents are always welcome to visit coach. Same for seat switches. You must sit in the seat you are ticketed in. There is absolutely no seat swapping between cabins allowed during the flight. Food also does not pass beyond the curtain. Again we are just protecting the product. Think of it for a second…..If it’s YOU breaking the rules it’s OK but do you want to be the passenger that paid to sit upfront only to have a constant stream of children running and making noise visiting their parents, food traversing back and forth, passengers constantly switching seats, moving bags, talking on a trans Oceanic flight???? I think not.
Remember this article? November 7, 2023 you said “ American Airlines Reminds Flight Attendants Not To Provide Better Service To Coach Passengers”that flight attendant did exactly what you said they were supposed to do.
@ Gary — This flight attendant should retire and find a job where s/he doesn’t hate the customers.
@Widgethead. Exactly what product are you protecting and, more importantly, exactly how are you protecting it? This is a business class product on a marginal airline with a reputation for aggressively hostile and consumer unfriendly service. If that is what you are protecting no wonder AA is such a sh!tshow of an airline.
Do I want people parading between economy and business? Absolutely not. Do I care if Gladys sends her dessert back to Harold in economy? Not at all.
Damn near everyday, I read these reminders of how American Airlines has descended into being one of the worst airlines. So glad I have options when it comes to air travel. I make it a point to avoid American at all costs
Presumably this desert is what you find on a domestic flight. I thin tiny piece of cheesecake? Give me a break.
And airlines wonder why the flying public has such little respect for their “business” practices.
Food is not permitted to be brought from the premium cabin back to the economy cabin. Unless,, it is for the flight crew to eat.
In the defense of the flight attendants, if they give an inch on this, it will turn into utter bedlam by over-privileged flyers.
Yes, how does Gary know it went into the trash? Like the cigars I got confiscated at customs, I expect someone enjoyed them. I have had this situation where I gave my wife the upgrade, but she walked the desert she was not going to eat back to me. This was not on American.
For a few years I was on a bit of a commute between YYZ/LHR and YYZ/MUC. In those years I was doing about 75k per yr, occasionally in J class but primarily economy.
On one of the flights while waiting to use the Economy washroom a F/A said he had seen me before a number of times on the YYZ/LHR run.
I then encountered him on a few more flights. On one occasion after I fell asleep I found a J class fruit plate and glass of wine on the tray of an empty seat beside me. On another occasion while traveling with my wife he brought me another glass of wine with a napkin over it and apologized he couldn’t get one for my wife.
On another occasion while on a LH flight between KBP/FRA when I boarded ( At that time I was also on a fairly regular commute between those cities, and even when in Economy, on one occasion, I got a note and bottle of wine from the FA working Economy thanking me for my loyalty.
Those were the days.
@jack the ladd: If the bread and dessert did not go into the trash, but were eaten by one of the flight attendants instead, the Shania Twain principle would apply. (“That don’t impress me much.”)
@jack the ladd — Reminds me of LHR T3 transfer security. It feels like they are required to confiscate at least one item, regardless of size or regulations, just as a show of dominance.
@George Romey — Some domestic F desserts are better than others. Sundaes on transcon? #1. United Eli’s Pie in the Sky? Yum. Magnolia Bakery Red Velvet Banana Pudding? Ugh.
@Coolio — Where’ve you been??
Depending on mood, I might just have to say to the FA, regardless of their size, “you certainly don’t look like YOU need it.” Or is that a flight-diversionable thing to say? It’s really just an a—–e thing to say to match the energy.
Those who defend the airline: gfy. A cruddy dessert does NOT reflect any kind of premium product.
Ah, white people problems…
So petty. Perhaps Maude should have asked for a doggy bag, walked it back and Harold should have eaten it discreetly out of it.
@Bradley Whitford — Ah, if only American followed Mr. Calvin Candie’s lead… “Now (passengers), if you care to join (us) in the (First Class cabin), we will be serving h’white cake…”
That was incredibly stupid, and wasteful, by the flight attendant.
As a CK, my wife and I were also+ given FC meals when we were seated in the last row of coach. They did not make me eat it in the galley, but they did cover with napkins when they brought to us and asked us to give the tray to the back gallet FA when we were done.
I don’t blame the FA. Customer should have asked first before bringing back the plate and silverware.
FA is being a NaziFA. Telling the man he can’t keep coming up to the front is ok but let him have his dinner roll that one time.
AA. What else can you expect of an airline w/ American in its name?
These days, the world over, anything American is not to be trusted…
“Probably the best thing to do would have been to put the bread and dessert in a napkin and to have been a bit more discrete about it?”
“Discreet” is the word you are looking for.
Why is it ALWAYS American??
American only hired dominatrix. That makes thrm awesome!
I find the FAs getting worse and worse. I try hard to ignore their often-bad behavior. Many FAs speed speak when they give announcements. Some talk so fast, you can barely decipher what they are saying. Total lack of professionalism or caring.
I usually give my first class (or international business class) seat to my wife since she’s the glue of our family. We swap seats while boarding after informing the closest FA. Never had an issue. I stay in my seat. My wife brought food to me in coach once. I was so worried that an FA would notice. I put a stop to that kindness 🙂
You have a contract with the airline. If the contract doesn’t state that passengers are forbidden from giving all or a part of their meal to a passenger in another cabin then unless the airline can reasonably assert that doing so is in violation of some other provision of the contract they cannot legally forbid you from doing so.
Obviously interfering with the crew in some manner such as by shuttling back and forth repeatedly isn’t permitted but that’s true whether it was to deliver food or for some other reason. So absent a specific prohibition in order successfully claim the behavior was not allowed they’d have to claim it violates more general rule. Given the circumstances as described that seems a stretch.
The passenger in this case could sue for breach of contract. Although damages would likely be minimal they could establish precedent and given how airlines seems to invent rules that are nowhere in their agreement(s) this is the only way to rein them in.
I once carried half of my business class breakfast (I got upgraded after boarding) back to my friend in economy on a flight to Hawaii and nothing happened. I wasn’t that hungry having eaten before the flight (I thought I was going Economy after all and never suspected an upgrade was in my future) She returned the finished dish back later and didn’t get punished. I guess your chances of getting caught and/or in trouble are going to be very subjective and arbitrary depending on the airline and the FAs working the flight.
@Billy Time — Who are we to ‘yuck’ their ‘yum’… (@MaxPower, it’s getting closer to September…)
I have been the sender and recipient of dessert to/from my spouse between classes on United and Virgin Australia. In both cases the FAs were unbothered. The United FA even delivered the sundae to my spouse in economy and offered me a second sundae.
OMG, this insane!
The crew didn’t have anything better to do? What customer service!
I was a Flight Attendant for 23 years & would have not interfered in any anyway with a husband being kind to his wife!
The crew should be place on probation until they understand that kindness is part of their job.