{"id":5302,"date":"2026-07-25T06:08:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T06:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302"},"modified":"2026-07-25T06:08:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T06:08:29","slug":"american-airlines-passenger-accused-of-stealing-fellow-first-class-travelers-seat-because-hers-was-broken","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302","title":{"rendered":"American Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler’s seat because hers was broken"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Well aisle be damned.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An American Airlines passenger was accused by a fellow traveler of taking his first class seat because hers wouldn\u2019t properly recline during a flight from New York City. <\/p>\n

Read more No matter what she does, Caitlin Clark can\u2019t win<\/a><\/p>\n

Justin Escalona made the allegations in a now-viral Instagram video, detailing the sitatuaion that allegedly unfolded aboard AA flight 171 on Monday to Los Angeles. <\/p>\n

Escalona, 27, said he was sitting in first class for the five-and-a-half-hour flight thanks to an upgrade and was abruptly awoken from a snooze by another passenger.<\/p>\n

The woman asked to swap seats because hers was apparently broken, he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was because she wanted a better view or something,\u201d Escalona said in the video. \u201cBut no, it\u2019s because her seat doesn\u2019t recline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Escalona later clarified on Instagram that he would have been willing to swap seats with the woman for a sentimental reason or if she possibly wanted a better view, but when he found out \u201cshe didn\u2019t like her chair\u201d, he thought \u201cno thank you!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t even say please or thank you! Just bolted over to my chair & wouldn\u2019t get up,\u201d he later wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if she was polite about it, maybe I would\u2019ve said whatever, just take it I\u2019m feeling nice. Sadly not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

The unidentified woman allegedly told everyone that because Escalona didn\u2019t pay for his seat, he had to move.<\/p>\n

Escalona said he scored the upgrade to first class because of he\u2019s an AAdvantage Executive Platinum member \u2014 the highest publicly available elite status tier within the airline, showing a screenshot of his boarding to back it up. <\/p>\n

Read more Trump plays comedian-in-chief at rescheduled WHCA dinner: photos<\/a><\/p>\n

In the now-viral video, which has amassed almost five million views, the woman is seen clutching her forehead, refusing to get out of Escalona\u2019s seat. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s like, it\u2019s somehow my fault? And she won\u2019t get out of my seat. She\u2019s just in it. Like what?\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman let out a sigh and said she is \u201cgoing to UCLA,\u201d to which Escalona joked, \u201cI went to USC so that makes it even worse.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou gotta get out of my seat, this is crazy,\u201d the dumbfounded traveler pleaded with the woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are holding up the entire flight,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The traveler told the 27-year-old that his seat was reassigned \u2014 which Escalona vehemently disputed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMy boarding pass says 6A, yours says 3F,\u201d he told the seat hog.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the woman started to gather her belongings and snarked \u201cyou are such a\u2026\u201d before the video cut off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Escalona was able to return to his seat and the passenger across the aisle quipped to him, \u201cbro you almost got robbed!\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump cracks jokes, honors heroes of White House Correspondents\u2019 Association Dinner shooting at glitzy rescheduled gala<\/a><\/p>\n

The Post reached out to American Airlines for comment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An American Airlines passenger was accused by a fellow traveler of taking his first class seat because hers wouldn’t properly recline during a flight from New York City. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5301,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAmerican Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler's seat because hers was broken - Metro Transit Review<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"American Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler's seat because hers was broken - Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An American Airlines passenger was accused by a fellow traveler of taking his first class seat because hers wouldn't properly recline during a flight from New York City.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Metro Transit Review\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-25T06:08:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"headline\":\"American Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler’s seat because hers was broken\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-25T06:08:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302\"},\"wordCount\":508,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/398005c54a8e20fe2dcdf6e45226f05f.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"US News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302\",\"name\":\"American Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler's seat because hers was broken - Metro Transit Review\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/398005c54a8e20fe2dcdf6e45226f05f.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-25T06:08:29+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/398005c54a8e20fe2dcdf6e45226f05f.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/398005c54a8e20fe2dcdf6e45226f05f.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":799},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?p=5302#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"American Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler’s seat because hers was broken\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Metro Transit Review\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/metrotransitreview.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"American Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler's seat because hers was broken - Metro Transit Review","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"American Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler's seat because hers was broken - Metro Transit Review","og_description":"An American Airlines passenger was accused by a fellow traveler of taking his first class seat because hers wouldn't properly recline during a flight from New York City.","og_url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302","og_site_name":"Metro Transit Review","article_published_time":"2026-07-25T06:08:29+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"headline":"American Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler’s seat because hers was broken","datePublished":"2026-07-25T06:08:29+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302"},"wordCount":508,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/398005c54a8e20fe2dcdf6e45226f05f.webp","articleSection":["US News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302","name":"American Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler's seat because hers was broken - Metro Transit Review","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/398005c54a8e20fe2dcdf6e45226f05f.webp","datePublished":"2026-07-25T06:08:29+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/398005c54a8e20fe2dcdf6e45226f05f.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/398005c54a8e20fe2dcdf6e45226f05f.webp","width":1200,"height":799},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=5302#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"American Airlines passenger accused of stealing fellow first class traveler’s seat because hers was broken"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/","name":"Metro Transit Review","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7cd7bd9683106710eed62ba5da559b14","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/metrotransitreview.com"],"url":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}