A woman was left seething after she boarded her flight only to discover that her fiancé had been downgraded from his seat. Imagine the excitement of receiving an unexpected upgrade on your flight. Now, imagine the opposite. That’s exactly what happened to TikToker Danielle Schwab when she found out her fiancé Mikey had been moved from first class to premium economy, despite having paid fully for his first-class ticket. The couple had just celebrated their engagement in London, UK, and were flying back to Chicago, USA. To make their trip extra special, their parents had generously gifted them first-class tickets.
All seemed well as the newly engaged couple and their family settled into their luxurious seats, ready to head back to the US in style. However, their joy was short-lived. A flight attendant approached them and told Danielle’s fiancé, “We need to downgrade you.” Mikey, confused and upset, inquired why he was being downgraded. He was told that a crew member needed his seat to rest. A viral TikTok video shared by Danielle (@watergirl8296) detailed how Mikey was selected from a ‘list’ for downgrading and there was ‘nothing else’ the airline staff could do. They offered to place him on another flight or refund the difference in ticket price.
Danielle described the airline staff as ‘forceful’ and ‘pushy’, adding that the situation involved quite a bit of argument back and forth before another family member volunteered to switch seats. She lamented that this seat change disrupted their plans to celebrate their engagement in first class together, emphasizing that no compensation was provided initially, which she found ‘beyond unacceptable’.
@nursedani82
While recognizing the issue as a ‘first-world problem’, Danielle criticized the ‘horrible customer service’ they received, stating it should have ‘never happened’. In response to the incident, United Airlines issued a statement to Mail Online explaining, “The seats we normally reserve for crew members to take their required rest breaks weren’t working on this flight, so we unfortunately had to reassign two customers to Premium Plus rather than cancel the flight.” The airline acknowledged the inconvenience caused and compensated the couple with a refund for the difference in their ticket prices along with a $1,500 (£1,200) certificate for future travel.