Everyone arrives at the airport hoping not to be promoted to first class – but a flight attendant has now revealed the extreme lengths some people will go to to have a little luxury in the air.
Flight attendant Destanie, who often posts her travel tips and tricks on TikTok, shared what airline crew do when they find someone in a seat class where they shouldn’t be.
According to the 25-year-old, who did not reveal which airline she works for, they would “never allow that.”
“If someone wants to change cabins or even get an upgrade, that needs to be cleared with the gate agent,” the Philadelphia native explained. “Flight attendants don’t care about any of this.”
Flight attendant Destanie (pictured) often posts her travel tips and tricks on TikTok. In a recent clip, she shared what airline staff do when someone tries to move up to first class
The Philadelphia native said flight attendants don’t handle seat changes, gate agents do
She explained that some people have told her that the airline she works for considers even granting upgrades to be theft because the passenger hasn’t paid for the ticket.
“Usually first class is always full,” she added. “So people don’t really have the space to do some stupid things.”
When there are free seats in first class, Destanie, who often shares videos about her life as a flight attendant on TikTok, says there is a sort of tiered system for allocating the free seats.
“If you have a credit card or status with the airline, people usually get upgraded,” she explained.
“There have been several times where men have hit on me because they thought I was moving them to first grade,” Destanie laughed. “Because they told me I was pretty.”
She even shared a story from a few months ago when a man tried this tactic, came up to her and told her she was “so pretty.”
“That is the most beautiful cabin crew I have ever seen,” the man is said to have said.
Destanie said she figured out what he wanted after pointing out that he could spot an empty seat in first class.
“I literally totally looked at him and thought, ‘I’m not going to take that compliment,'” she said.
According to Destanie, if there are free places in the first class, there is a kind of tier system for allocating the free places
Destanie, who often shares videos about her life as a flight attendant on TikTok, says if you want to upgrade, getting a credit card with good perks from an airline is the way to go
TikTok users shared some of their own experiences flying as passengers or even as part of the cabin crew
However, the flight attendant revealed that these were not the first class seats that people usually go for when boarding the plane.
“What attracts people all the time is they’re trying to get to the exit rows,” she shared. “The emergency exits are higher-value seats, and on my airline you get free cocktails if you sit in the emergency exit row.”
She added that exit rows are not immune to people trying to sneak into the seat.
“One time this guy was moving and literally arguing back and forth with me,” she remembers.
Destanie said the man argued “back and forth” and told her he could help in an emergency – which, she stressed, wasn’t how it worked.
“You can’t change to the seat, it’s an upgraded seat,” she explained.
Some TikTok users took to the app to share their own flying experiences and thoughts on the topic.
“I was moved to first class while flying with my newborn and had a hard time!” “The flight attendant was great for that,” one woman gushed.
“Free cocktails in the exit row?” said one incredulously. “I always assumed they wanted sober people in there. ‘I’m worried that when I’m standing in line at the exit I’ll get the side comment for having a few of them.’
“I’m a gate agent and I have a lot of respect for my colleagues in the cabin.” “I can’t imagine sitting with these not-so-nice people for hours,” one TikTok user wrote.
The flight attendant ended the TikTok by saying she was nice but firm when it came to dealing with customers.
“I just want to be nice at first, but you have to move,” she said.