A passenger who booked an 8-hour international business class flight on American Airlines says his seat began reclining on its own during takeoff and continued malfunctioning for most of the flight, even while holding a lap infant.
Writing under the username sendit4theboys on Reddit this week, the air traveler described an experience he slammed as “terrible” on a long-haul Flagship business class route.
The original poster (OP) said his lie-flat seat reclined without being touched during departure and continued to shift between upright and flat for four-to-five hours.
“The seat kept going from upright to reclined on its own,” he claimed.
“Eventually a [flight attendant] watched it happen and said it looked like an electrical/software issue.”
Misbehaving
Despite the problem apparently being observed by crew members, the passenger said he was told no other seats were available and that he’d need to remain in place with the seat misbehaving.
The passenger, who was traveling with his spouse and lap infant, also noted that the seat stopped moving on its own roughly two hours before landing—only to become stuck upright.
“So: no lie-flat on a long-haul in Flagship and couldn’t have the baby in my seat for the whole flight, which is the entire point.”
According to American Airlines’ customer support documentation, complaints can be submitted through their Customer Relations page. The airline notes that travelers must provide flight numbers, dates, confirmation codes and a full description of the incident to receive a response.
The OP said the only response received from the airline was an offer of 10,000 AAdvantage miles as compensation. He called that inadequate and said he attempted to push for more, but was contacted by the carrier and told, “they wouldn’t give me anything else.”
Escalation Urged
Fellow Reddit commentators chipped in with further action: “10k is the standard AA AI response,” one remarked.
“Reply and say that you don’t accept and see where they go next.”
Another urged formal escalation: “This is a safety issue. Report to FAA and DoT.”
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, passengers can report, “unsafe and unauthorized aviation activity that violates an FAA regulation, order, or any other provision of Federal law related to aviation safety,” through its hotline or by submitting complaints online.
The agency provides whistleblower protections and encourages the reporting of anything that could endanger passengers.
The issue of faulty premium seats may appear minor to some, but in a cabin where lie-flat beds are a key selling point—especially for those flying with children or requiring medical support—malfunctions can carry broader implications.
The traveler said he documented the incident with a 10-minute timelapse of the seat shifting on its own, but apparently did not receive any acknowledgment that the footage affected American Airlines’ decision-making.
Airline’s Response
The OP remarked in the thread that he “argued” with the airline via email for a while, “rejected 10k and then I got a phone call from a real human just to tell me that they were refusing to increase their offer from 10k miles.
“I gave them a mouthful on the phone, but not sure where to go from here.”
Newsweek has reached out to sendit4theboys for comment via Reddit, as well as American Airlines for comment. We could not verify the details of the case.
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