A video of a man who “got food and drinks for free” following a business class flight upgrade, while his girlfriend sat in economy class, has gone viral on TikTok.
The clip was posted by Anni, who did not share her last name, from Anni & Paula (@happysundaez), the TikTok account of two 26-year-old best friends and colleagues in Berlin who work in marketing and event management.
The video, which has had 1.2 million views since it was posted on February 29, took place on a recent British Airways flight traveling from New York to London, Anni told Newsweek.
A message overlaid on the clip says “POV [point of view]: Your boyfriend gets upgraded to business class but you don’t. I had to sit while he got food and drinks for free in the business lounge.”
The footage shows Anni and her boyfriend walking through an airport. The man is later seen heading towards a business lounge area upstairs, before he’s shown laying back in his business class seat on a plane.
Anni told Newsweek: “During the flight we thought about swapping seats, but didn’t dare as it was a night flight, the lights were switched off and the curtains between economy and business were closed. Shortly before landing, I visited him in the business seating area.”
According to Anni, her boyfriend “felt bad about being the only one to get an upgrade,” as it also meant they couldn’t sit next to each other. However, she “encouraged him” to take the seat, saying it “was fine with me.”
@happysundaez/TikTok
Business class seats have been prioritized by some airlines in recent years, cutting back on first class seating due to dropping demand and to make more room for business class seating.
Back in October 2022, American Airlines said it would be getting rid of first class seats on international flights, replacing it with business class seating, which more travelers are willing to pay for.
In a conference call with investors, Vasu Raja, the airline’s chief commercial officer, reportedly said: “The first class will not exist … at American Airlines for the simple reason that our customers aren’t buying it,” CNN reported at the time.
“The quality of the business class seat has improved so much. And frankly, by removing [first class] we can go provide more business class seats, which is what our customers most want or are most willing to pay for,” Raja said at the time, according to CNN.
Delta Air Lines and United have also reportedly nearly halved their first class seats in the last decade or so.
‘One of Us Had a Good Night of Sleep’
Anni said that when the couple first arrived at the airport check-in desk and were told that only her boyfriend had been upgraded, “we discussed how we should deal with this situation, but decided together that he should keep it.”
She’s not sure why only her boyfriend got the upgrade but suspects it could have been because economy class was overbooked. “We booked and paid for our flights separately, so the system probably didn’t know we belonged together and therefore only upgraded us,” she noted.
The boyfriend offered his business class seat to Anni but “we weren’t sure if it was even possible to switch because of passport control when entering the plane,” she said, adding that: “I was also glad he had this opportunity and didn’t want to take it away.”
The man also tried to bring his girlfriend to the business class lounge as his plus one, but the couple were told “that wasn’t possible,” she said. “So I went back to the gate while he went to the lounge and got us both drinks and snacks, then we met back at the gate.”
A message overlaid on the latest viral clip says: “At least one of us had a good night of sleep.” The footage shows the boyfriend watching a program on the in-flight entertainment system, while having a drink. He later lays back while reclining his seat before the video ends.
‘My Girl Would’ve Had That Upgrade’
The video has sparked debate among users on TikTok, with some saying they would have given the upgrade to their partner.
User badmilk_za said: “Ain’t no way,” and min meow meow wrote: “and he went and not you?”
“Couldn’t be me…we either together or we’re not going anywhere,” said justice.
Ryan vandevelde noted: “The only correct answer in this situation is to decline the upgrade,” and wick wrote: “My girl would’ve had that upgrade without me having to even think about it.”
Others were not bothered that the boyfriend took the upgrade, such as stege101 who asked: “Why should he give her the seat? Am I missing something?”
Kaisen asked: “‘why didn’t he give up his seat?’ i mean, can’t he have something nice for himself? plus, the girl is not bothered by it.”
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Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.