American Airlines flier’s seat wouldn’t recline, so she allegedly took a sleeping passenger’s first class spot instead

A woman traveling on an American Airlines flight from New York to Los Angeles allegedly left her own seat and took a sleeping passenger’s first class spot after finding out her own seat would not recline, according to the passenger she confronted.

Justin Escalona, 27, said the incident happened on his flight out of JFK on Monday, just before the 6 a.m. departure. He recorded parts of the exchange and shared it online.

According to the Daily Mail, Escalona said he was dozing off in his seat when the woman woke him up and asked if he would switch seats with her. He said he agreed at first, thinking she wanted a better view for the five-and-a-half-hour flight.

Passenger says he agreed to switch seats before learning the real reason

Escalona said he only realized what was happening after the woman had already settled into his lay-flat seat. “I thought she wanted a better view but no, hers won’t recline and somehow it’s my fault. She won’t get out of my seat, she’s just in it,” he said.

He then walked down the aisle and began filming as he confronted her in seat 6A, which was assigned to him. “You gotta get out of my seat, this is crazy,” he said in the Instagram video. The woman stared at him without responding for several moments before saying she was headed to UCLA. Escalona replied that he had gone to USC, which he said made the situation “even worse.”

The exchange continued as Escalona pointed out that other passengers were watching. “You’re holding up the entire flight,” he told her, panning his camera to show people around them. When he again asked her to move, she replied, “You were moved sir,” without looking up from her phone. Disputes over airline seating and class are not uncommon, as in a case where a man claimed American Airlines could kick him out of first class.

Escalona then showed his boarding pass on camera, saying, “My boarding pass says 6A, yours says 3F,” and displayed a photo of his ticket in the video. Following that exchange, he said the woman gathered her things and got up. As she left, she was seen starting to say, “You are just such a…” before stopping and shaking her head.

Escalona then sat down in his original seat and turned the camera toward himself, showing his reaction to what had just happened. A nearby passenger was heard laughing and telling him, “You almost got robbed!” For American Airlines, the complaints don’t stop at reclining seats, as the airline once offered passengers $2,250 to give up seats on an overbooked flight. 

The video drew a large response online, with many commenters calling the woman’s actions entitled. One said, “She looks like the president of AirKaren.”Another commenter wrote, “Privileged entitled people feel they can take advantage of you and force you to think they have that right.” A third wrote, “FYI. He didn’t inform attendants. Instead made it into a moment for social media engagement. Typical “influencer””

Escalona said he was flying home to Los Angeles at the time of the incident. He is the founder of streetwear brand 1340 COLLECTIVE. According to his YouTube channel, he started the company with a $100 investment and grew it into a business worth $5 million while he was studying film and TV production at the University of Southern California.