Passenger removed from American Airlines flight for ‘moving a flight attendant’s carry-on bag’

The carry-on drama unfolded after travel blogger JT Genter moved a flight attendant’s bag on a flight from New York City to Heathrow

A frequent flier has claimed that he was tossed from an American Airlines flight for "moving a carry-on bag" that belonged to a flight attendant.

Travel blogger JT Genter said that after boarding an American flight from New York City to London Heathrow last Monday as a premium economy passenger, he discovered that there wasn't enough room in the overhead bin for his carry-on.

In a post for AwardWallet, he claims that the space was taken up by two small carry-on suitcases, so he asked nearby passengers if they were the owners. When no one claimed ownership, and noting that there weren't any flight attendants around to flag the situation to, he moved one of the bags to the economy cabin.

However, the crew discovered that the bag wouldn't fit in the economy bin and a premium economy passenger "outed" Mr Genter as the person who moved it.

The situation then rapidly escalated.

Mr Genter, a popular travel blooger, was told that moving a flight attendant's bag was 'not allowed' (Getty/iStock)

The male flight attendant who owned the bag said to Mr Genter: "You moved my suitcase. You touched my suitcase and you moved it."

Mr Genter claimed that "[he then] wagged a finger inches from my face and barked 'you're outta here'”.

The chief flight attendant then told Mr Genter: "You moved another person's bag, which is a crew member's bag, which is not allowed."

The crew asked Mr Genter to move his bag to business class, but he pushed back, arguing that he needed his bag to be close by as it contained medications, currencies and credit cards.

An American Airlines supervisor was eventually summoned, the blogger claimed.

After telling Mr Genter that he would not be removed from the flight, the supervisor was then told that the crew would refuse to fly unless he was tossed, despite the captain's observation that it was an "honest mistake".

Mr Genter claims that he was bumped to the next flight and offered a first-class seat by way of compensation — as long as he didn't recline it. He refused the offer and accepted a premium economy seat instead, though his checked luggage was transported on the original flight.

Mr Genter describes the reaction of the American Airlines crew as "absurd", adding: "Over the more than two million miles I've flown across almost 1,200 logged flights, I've seen and experienced a lot — from rejected takeoffs to medical emergencies and even an emergency landing. However, this [was] the most absurd situation I've ever seen on a flight."

Several AwardWallet commenters remark that Mr Genter should not have moved the bag without speaking to a flight attendant first, but the consensus among them is that the crew overreacted.

In response to the blog, a commenter on the View From The Wing site claiming to be the flight attendant whose bag was moved argued that the reason Mr Genter was tossed from the flight was "because he indicated that he did not have to comply with crew member instructions".

Jay Robert — who has worked as senior cabin crew for Emirates and who runs the popular Fly Guy's Cabin Crew Lounge network — defended the crew, telling The Independent: "Passengers often assume their ticket includes guaranteed overhead bin space directly above their seat, but it doesn’t.

"Overhead space is first come, first served. Flight attendants are the first on board and place their bags where they can easily access essential items required for the flight. For example, I carry medication, a CPR pocket mask, and my company-issued tablet containing emergency procedures, all of which I need close to my station.

"Unlike many airlines outside the U.S., North American flight attendants typically don’t check luggage into the hold. Instead, they travel with about three bags each, as they often live out of these bags while working multiple days in a row.

"In this recent incident, the passenger’s sense of entitlement wasn’t the reason for removal. According to the statement by the flight attendant whose bag was moved, the passenger was removed for failing to comply with crew instructions. His behavior appears consistent with the attitude described by the crew member. U.S airlines tend to act swiftly when they perceive a potential security risk."

Mr Genter asked American Airlines for a comment before publishing his blog, but the airline declined to make one.

A customer services representative, however, wrote to the traveler and said: "That's never the kind of experience we want you to have when traveling with us.”

The Independent has also requested a comment from American Airlines.