This first-class American Airlines customer was amazed when she got to her seat.
Boarding an aeroplane is one of the most obvious class divisions. If you’re in economy, you have to go through first and business class and see how well people can travel.
From seats that turn into beds to big TV screens and the fact that you don’t have to sit next to multiple people, everything seems better in first class.
But it turns out the experience (and the money spent) might not be worth it.
That’s according to a TikTok video posted by Andrea (@andreanotfromtrinidad). Her video has already been watched over 780 000 times.
Woman slams American Airlines
On TikTok, Andrea (@andreanotfromtrinidad) shows her first class seat to Honolulu, saying she paid $5,000 for it.
“@AmericanAirlines, you need to do better,” the text over the video says.
Andrea says the vents were dirty and the filters weren’t even in the right place.
She says she’s been breathing in all that dirt and dust for 8.5 hours.
She also points to the area between her seat and the wall where she’d probably put her water bottle or phone, and there were brown stains on the pillow she’d been given.
She says, “I mean, did they wash it?”
She says that all areas of a flight should be clean, “no matter how much you pay for a flight”.
Andrea hasn’t posted a verification video yet, so we don’t know if she told the crew about the poor conditions or if she got some of her money back (unlikely, but possible).
Commentators’ reactions
“For some people, flying first class can be a once-in-a-lifetime experience that they’ve saved up for. They should still have a nice, clean seat,” said one commenter.
“Sounds like an economy class seat on Amtrak, grrrrl, $5,000?!” one person commented.
“You mean if you paid $5,000 and saw that, you wouldn’t bother?
“Are you saying I was FA? People think planes are cleaned between flights, but they’re not. Cleaners just vacuum the aisle and the corridor, and that’s it. They don’t clean or wash anything,” commented another.
So, how are planes cleaned?
Well, there are different levels of cleaning, depending on the flights planned and how long the plane is out of use.
Here are the three types of cleaning, according to How Stuff Works: (Via)
Quick cleaning: when a plane is only temporarily grounded and is about to fly again, cleaning is easier. The team focuses on cleaning common areas and restrooms, as well as removing waste.
Then there’s the deep cleaning, which is when the aircraft is on the ground for a few hours and they really go to town on the seats and other hard-to-reach areas.