A United Airlines passenger says he was almost put on the no-fly list for eating a first-class meal in economy

08.08.2023 - 21:23 / insider.com / Airlines

A United Airlines passenger said he was thrilled about being served a first-class manicotti meal in an economy-plus seat — until he says it almost landed him on a no-fly list.

On August 3, Sam, who requested to be referred to by his first name only out of concerns for privacy, was heading from Madison, Wisconsin, to Seattle, Washington, with a layover in Denver, Colorado. 

Sam, who told Insider he's a loyal United flyer and one of the airline's MileagePlus Premier 1K members, was upgraded to first class for the first leg of his trip.

His first-class flight to Denver was mistakenly not catered, he said, so the passengers didn't receive a meal. Besides that, the flight "went off without a hitch" and he spent part of it chatting with a flight attendant.

Sam said that when the flight landed in Denver, he discovered that he'd be flying to Seattle on the same plane with the same cabin crew, though he was seated in economy plus for the second leg of the trip. Before leaving the plane for his layover, he said he approached the flight attendant he had chatted with and asked for a manicotti meal on the trip to Seattle if there were any to spare. 

"At no point did I actually think she was going to do it. And if she did do it, great," he said. "I shot my shot."

After the 40-minute layover, Sam said he boarded the plane again, and when he spotted the flight attendant, he said something along the lines of, "Don't forget about me."

According to Sam, the cabin manager overheard the conversation.

Sam said after a few minutes, he was approached by the cabin manager, who told him "confrontationally and very rudely" that he would not be receiving a meal since it was against United's policy to get a first-class meal in an economy seat. United Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. 

Sam told Insider that was the last he saw of either flight attendant for the next 90 minutes. But after the first-class meal service was finished, he said, the friendly flight attendant brought him a plate of manicotti and a fork.

"It was very discreet. She dropped it down, winked at me, and I said, 'Oh my gosh, thank you so much,'" Sam said. "And that was it."

Sam said he took his first bite of manicotti, and that's when the cabin manager walked over to him.

The cabin manager "then begins to verbally berate me in the most condescending, unprofessional, and disrespectful tone informing me that she is 'writing me up,'" Sam said. He added that she also planned to write up the flight attendant as well. 

"The big points of what she said to me were that I was being documented, I was being disciplined, and that discipline could lead to being put on United's do-not-fly list," he said.

Sam said the cabin manager also