A woman who booked her first class plane tickets "fair and square" was shocked when airplane staff told her fiancé he needed to move from first class seat to premium economy.
In the viral series of TikTok's, Danielle Schwab (@watergirl8296) took to the platform when she and her new fiancé, Mikey along with Danielle's parents were on a flight from London to Chicago.
Upon getting comfy in their seats on the United Airlines planes, they were informed by a gate agent supervisor to inform Mikey that "a flight attendant needs this seat."
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"We need to downgrade you," they added as Danielle noted how confused all of them were by this.
Danielle's parents who paid for the tickets as part of a surprise engagement present, then chimed in asking why a crew member needed Mikey's seat, they were apparently informed: "They need this seat so they can sleep."
When Danielle's father asked why it was Mikey in particular that had to move, the gate super advisor shared that Mikey was "the next person on the list," but didn't show the family what list this was.
Despite calling the move "unacceptable," Mikey, Danielle and her family were told "there's nothing else we can do."
Alternative options included Mikey taking the next flight to be able to sit in first class, or, or refund him the difference between a first class and premium economy ticket.
Meanwhile Danielle noted how the gate supervisor's tone was "very pushy, not empathetic and forceful," and in the end of one the family moved to premium economy.
@watergirl8296 #unitedairlines #dobetter #unitedairlinestiktok #fyp
There was also another woman on the flight who was asked to do the same, according to Danielle's father who spoke to her.
Meanwhile, Danielle called the entire thing "confusing," with even the flight attendants allegedly admitting to the TikToker that the entie thing was "handled horribly."
"This surprise was taken away to where all four of us could not enjoy," Danielle added.
After the family landed, another airport worker helped them catch their connecting flight and told the family they could visit United's website to give some feedback on their experience.
@watergirl8296 Heres the full stort in written format to clear up any confusion. #unitedairlines #unitedairlinestiktok
Up to now, Danielle claims that the airline has "not been given any compensation" summing up the entire thing as "beyond unacceptable."
Since posting, Danielle's videos have gone viral, gaining 7.8m, 993,000 and 160,000 views respectively.
In a statement to the Mail Online, United Airlines explained: "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.
"We understand the customer's frustration and are refunding the price difference for their seats and giving them each a $1,500 (£1,200) certificate for future travel."
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