American Airlines passenger claims girlfriend was kicked out of first-class seat

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts Get Simon Calder’s Travel email Get Simon Calder’s Travel email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy An American Airlines passenger has claimed his girlfriend was “kicked out” of first class so that an off-duty pilot could reportedly take her seat on an Embraer E-175 regional jet flight. In a viral X post, former passenger Jake Williams wrote that, although a gate agent had upgraded the couple to first class, they were later told that his girlfriend’s seat was broken and that they had no choice but to move her “to the back”. “And, all of a sudden, my fiancé, we just got engaged, just got moved to coach.” Although the couple had reportedly booked “ahead of time,” Schwab said that the airline wanted a “part of the crew to sit in first class instead.” She continued: “I understand that the crew works really hard, however, we booked these seats ahead of time and this is not fair. In a follow-up video, she said that airline staff informed her that the plane could be put “out of service if you don’t have enough seats” for flight crew.