Airline passenger shares photo of 'reclined' seat debacle: 'Dude is in my lap'

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Airline travelers reveal what happens when you see 'SSSS' on your boarding pass

Two travelers from Arizona speak to Fox News Digital about the four letters "SSSS" that may be printed on your airline boarding pass.

Trapped in first class sounds like a first-world problem, but that’s actually what happened to an American Airlines passenger on a flight from Dallas to Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Sunday, according to his post on X.

"First Class." Dude is in my lap," user @av_COVA posted along with a photo of the seat in front of him reclined so far back it appeared to be pressed into his knees.

"You continue to be awful @AmericanAir."

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Fox News Digital reached out to American Airlines for comment.

A passenger was stuck in his first-class seat on an American Airlines flight and posted a photo on X, leading the airline to apologize. (@av_COVA)

After paying significantly more for a first-class ticket on AA1851, @av_COVA expected to have a comfortable seat for the more than two-hour flight. Instead, he was immobilized and frustrated, he said.

"I can’t use my tray table, and no chance of getting up," @av_COVA posted.

"I’m in 3C, so 2C is clearly broken. Get it fixed before someone else wastes a fortune on first class and gets f-----"

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@av_COVA, who requested his name be omitted for privacy reasons, told Fox News Digital that he alerted a flight attendant to the problem.

The passenger said he told a flight attendant about the problem, but the crew member shrugged it off by saying "it's an old plane." (@av_COVA)

"He shrugged it off – basically saying ‘It’s an old airplane; some of these seats are worn out,'" @av_COVA said of the crew member's response.

"Something was definitely awry as domestic first-class seats, and specifically American's first class seats on the Airbus A320, aren't designed to recline that far," Gary Leff, a Virginia-based travel industry expert and author of the blog "View From the Wing," told Fox News Digital.

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American Airlines responded to the passenger's post, writing on X, "Keeping our planes in top-notch shape is always the goal. We’re sorry for this inconvenience and appreciate you bringing this to our attention. We’ll get this right over to the Maintenance folks for review. Our apologies again."

Gary Leff, a travel expert, said something may have been wrong with the seat because first-class seats on the American Airlines Airbus A320 are not designed to recline that far. (Gary Leff)

@av_COVA replied, writing, "Maintenance isn’t gonna review the money I wasted."

The passenger said he felt his money was wasted because he anticipated at least a suitable amount of legroom after spending $500 to upgrade to first class.

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The passenger said he could not get comfortable, and the man seated in front of him tried everything he could to adjust the seat, but it would not lock in the forward position. (iStock)

"No matter how I positioned myself, the seat was still against my knees. The gentleman in the seat in front of me was very sympathetic, but he was unable to get the seat to lock forward, as it was inoperable," @av_COVA said. 

Leff said while maintenance problems like this one aren’t very common on a majority of flights, they do happen.

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"They're certainly not uncommon, especially on American's old Airbus A320s, some of which date to America West times and which didn't see a real update to their interiors after US Airways took over American nearly 12 years ago," Leff said.

American Airlines responded to the tweet apologizing for the inconvenience and noting they would alert maintenance about the issue. (iStock)

Last month, a viral video from a flight that departed Denver shows an irate passenger shaking the seat in front of him and pushing it with his feet to stop the passenger from reclining.

In the video, posted on Instagram, a flight attendant intervenes to deescalate the situation, as people have the right to recline their seats, Leff wrote in a blog post about the incident.

Leff said that when someone pays extra for first class, they should get what they paid for, which includes extra legroom and added personal space. 

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And that doesn’t seem to have happened this time in @av_COVA's case, he added. 

A passenger (not pictured) aboard an American Airlines flight found himself trapped in his first-class seat, leading the airline to send him an apology via X. (iStock | @av_COVA)

"The airline provided transportation only, but that's what you get from a coach ticket," Leff said.

"The passenger ought to receive either the difference in price between cabins as a refund or miles sufficient to cover a future first-class ticket. Unfortunately, airlines, and the terms written into their contracts of carriage, don't see it the same way." 

In their view, Leff added, while airlines advertise a premium product, they do not owe that to customers who purchase it.

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@av_COVA said American Airlines did not offer him a perk or refund.

"They said all they can offer is their apologies," he said.