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I’m flying from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG) to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) today on Air France. I took my seat in 2E and was getting settled when a guy in his 20s sat down across from me in 2A. He was decked out in head to toe Gucci and immediately began snapping selfies. This went on for several minutes before the passenger assigned to that Business Class seat arrived. Without a word, he got up and made a dash for the back of the plane.
As he exited the Business Class cabin, I heard a flight attendant (who saw where he came from) ask him if he needed help finding his seat. His reply: “Is 44A this way?” He knew exactly what he was doing.
Even if the rightful passenger holding the boarding pass for the seat never arrived, he would not have gotten away with seat poaching. Flight attendants have manifests and they likely would have seen that their count was off on the ground if they were supposed to have less than a full cabin. Even if they had not, as they made their way through the cabin to take meal orders and check preorders they would have noticed and requested a boarding pass. Self upgrading is not allowed and you certainly can’t move yourself from the back of the plane to the front on a whim.
It’s funny that he bolted as soon as the passenger assigned to the seat arrived. Maybe he just wanted to take some selfies to show off, but more likely he was hoping to ride in the pointy end of the plane without paying for it.
Anthony’s Take: Everyone has their own priorities when it comes to spending money. If this passenger wanted to fly Business Class then I suggest he start saving his miles or buy a ticket. He’d find the money pretty quickly if he had a few less Gucci items from head to toe.
(Seat Map Image: Air France.)
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16 comments
Probably on food stamps as well. Can’t count the amount of times I see people like that guy above at the grocery store pay with food stamps, then see them in the parking lot loading up their lexuses.
Can’t count the amount of times I see people like you make up stories like you just told.
That’s so not relevant at all
You must be a “Santos”, i.e. FAKE!
With all these ‘influencers’ on social media they have to find ways to make it look like they are doing something amazing.
Airlines should just get in on this an offer 5 minute sessions after the plane arrives for $100 for selfies.
There is a very enterprising person who has bought a couple of business jet fuselages and sells photo session time inside for influencers. $500 for 15 minutes snapping selfies, with someone dressed as a flight attendant or pilot?
If this story ever did happen it is totally boring. If the author made it up he or she should seriously try another line of work.
Either way it’s a time waster and sh*t stirrer just get people riled up.
On a site like this, that has a disclaimer, a clickbait teaser probably is AI created and/or fabricated.
Proof that you just can’t buy class. I personally have my doubts about how genuine the Gucci items were.
Totally agree. The assumption that the guy taking selfi’s had planned to stay put is a farce. I may not be in the million mile club like this author, but I’ve seen it all after flying around the country for over 30 years. I’ve seen the “gucci” guy before on other flights… they always immediately move to the back of the plane after taking their pix… accept for one guy who was taken off the flight bcuz of his bad behavior on his connecting flight. I also fly AF regularly… they don’t put up with any S$#T…
Finally a nice answer. It’s funny how on the online world people take a post and find ways to destroy it, it’s really becoming a sport. Anyways, the Gucci guy is a poor civilian and the person who wrote this post has not done anything wrong – and I actually liked the story.
It’s more a selfie, other than taking a bus class seat. No big deal at all :-). Try again…
Just happen on a SAS flight from LAX to CPH, Business board first an when we was done the rest of the passengers starting to come in, I see this guy, 30 something, welldressed come in, look around and take the empty 3A seat. Then the crew come out and serve champagne and stuff and he a got a drink. Then after a few minutes the head purserer started to count and then went over to 3A, the guy was asked to leave since he did not have a Business ticket… The guy protested and said the seat was empty, so what´s the problem ? He spoke swedish and i´m also swedish. After a few minutes of arguing whit now two of the crew, I walked over took out my police badge and asked if there was a problem, then I looked at the man and said that if you don´t want to have problems when we get back to Sweden, you go sit on your seat that you bought. He did. I got excellent service under my flight back home.
Interesting…my husband and I actually had a similar experience on an AF SkyTeam partner airline. We had FC seats and arrived to find another passenger pretending to be sleeping in one of our assigned seats and had drunk the pre-flight water that had been placed there. He “woke up” saying “oh, is this your seat?” Knew full well he was in the wrong. No FC FA nearby or offering to engage the passenger to clarify his seating arrangements, etc. we later found he was seated in the back of coach and was also a non-rev passenger. From what we understand of that airline’s non-rev policy his, was a “benefit” terminating offense.
Fake Gucci, fake personality ,period.
I saw this at least 4 times over the last 10 years. Even Skyping with the girlfriend.