First class passenger kicked off plane for trying to sneak free shots to pals in economy

Fiona Simpson16 May 2018

A first class passenger who ordered six shots on an American Airlines flight was removed after trying to take some to his friends travelling in economy.

The man ordered the complimentary drinks “before the doors had even closed” on flight 1862 from Philadelphia International Airport on Saturday.

He then attempted to take some of the tipples to his friends flying in economy class before being removed from the plane, the airline confirmed.

An American Airlines pilot confirmed seeing a strange object while flying over southern Arizona
PA Archive/PA Images

He was offered to rebook onto a different flight but declined and was given a full refund, a spokeswoman added.

Fellow passenger Katie Genter revealed the incident in a series of tweets and on travel blog The Points Guy.

She said the man was offered a pre-departure drink and ordered a "double shot on ice".

He then proceeded to order a further two drinks claiming one was for himself and the other was for the lady next to him, she added.

The man then reportedly picked up the drinks and walked towards economy class before telling flight attendants he needed to use the bathroom.

Ms Genter wrote: "The man sat back down with both drinks and seemingly texted his friends to come up to “use the bathroom.” The flight attendant stopped them at the threshold between economy and first and told them to use the bathroom at the rear of the plane.

"After downing one of the doubles, (the man) seemingly gave up on his idea of providing PDBs to his economy friends and returned the other full drink to the flight attendant."

According to Ms Genter he was then asked to step off the plane to speak to a member of staff and did not return.

The blogger wrote in a tweet during the incident: “AA manager pulled him from the plane to "talk to him". We'll see if he returns.”

Just three minutes later she added that he had not returned to the plane before doors were locked for take-off but his companions had been allowed to stay on the train.

A final tweet read: “And he's out of here. Friends stayed. Door closed.”

Ms Genter clarified the glasses had contained "three doubles on ice".

"He called them shots," she said.

A spokeswoman for American Airlines confirmed the customer was removed from the flight "for causing a disruption during the boarding process."

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