‘Do better, American Airlines’: Customer spends $5,000 on first-class ticket to Honolulu. Then she sees her seat

This first-class, American Airlines customer was in disbelief when she got to her seat.

Boarding a plane is one of the most stark class divides. If you're sitting in economy, you have to pass by first and business class and get to see how those with more means get to travel.

From seats that turn into beds to large format TV screens to not having to sit next to multiple people, it all seems better over first-class land.

But as it turns out, the experience (and money spent) may not be worth it. That's according to a TikTok posted by Andrea (@andreanotfromtrinidad). Her video now has over 780,000 views.

Woman calls out American Airlines

In the TikTok, Andrea (@andreanotfromtrinidad) shares her disbelief as she inspects her first-class seat to Honolulu. She says she paid a whopping $5,000 for it.

"Do better, @AmericanAirlines," the text overlay on the video reads.

Andrea points out that the air vents were dirty, and the filters weren't even properly placed.

"I'm breathing this in for eight and a half hours," Andrea says of the fully visible grey grime and dust particles at the vent.

She then points to the area between her seat and the wall, where she'd presumably put her water bottle or phone. That area also had unidentifiable particles everywhere. On top of that, she notes the pillow she was given had brown marks.

"I mean, did they wash this?" she asks.

In the caption, Andrea added that all of the spaces on a flight should be clean, "regardless of how much you pay for a flight."

Andrea has yet to post a follow-up video, so it's unclear if she said anything to the flight crew about the substandard conditions or if she was able to get any of her money refunded (unlikely but possible).

Commenters react

"For some people flying first class may be a once in a lifetime experience they saved up for. You should have a nice, clean seat regardless," a top comment read.

"That looks like a coach seat in the amtrak! grrrrl, 5K$?!" a person pointed out.

"Are you guys saying IF you paid 5k and saw this you wouldn't be annoyed," another wrote.

"Are you guys sayinI used to be a FA. There is a common misconception that the planes get cleaned between flights. They don’t. They cleaners vacuum the aisle and take trash and that’s it. NOTHING is wiped down or washed," a commenter shared.

How are planes cleaned?

There are different levels of cleanings that happen on a plane depending on the plane's upcoming flights and how long it'll remain out of use.

Here are the three types of cleanings according to How Stuff Works:

• Quick turn clean: When a plane is only docked temporarily and is about to go in the air again, the cleaning is lighter. Staff focus on cleaning common areas and the bathroom and removing trash.
• Overnight clean: Once a plane will remain on land for several hours, there's an opportunity to give it a deeper clean that includes more focus on the area in and around seats.
• Deep clean: It's unclear how often this happens, but it includes removing certain components to really get any grime. Some airlines have special equipment for this level of cleaning.

@andreanotfromtrinidad Cleanliness is important, regardless of how much you pay for a flight. ✈️ #americanairlines #firstclass #trash @American Airlines @DFW Airport ♬ original sound - andreanotfromtrinidad

The Daily Dot reached out to Andrea for comment via TikTok direct message and comment and to American Airlines via email.

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The post ‘Do better, American Airlines’: Customer spends $5,000 on first-class ticket to Honolulu. Then she sees her seat appeared first on The Daily Dot.