A travel blogger got removed from an international American Airlines flight, after he moved a flight attendant’s carry-on bag, in what can only be described as a bizarre overreaction.
Hopefully American’s newly formed Customer Experience Advisory Board can advise executives that kicking people off planes without good reason, to simply fuel some employee’s power trip, generally isn’t considered to be part of a good customer experience.
Passenger & crew carry-on bag dispute escalates
JT Genter at AwardWallet is an experienced traveler who has logged more than two million flown miles, though on June 9, 2025, he experienced “the most absurd situation” he has ever seen on a flight, on AA106 from New York (JFK) to London (LHR), while traveling with his wife.
They got to their seats in the last row of premium economy, and found all the overhead bin space in the premium economy was full. So he tried to rearrange some bags to make room for their bags, but there wasn’t enough space, and one bag in particular was “far too oversized.”
So JT asked the passengers around him in premium economy if this was their bag, and no one claimed the bag. So he moved the bag to the economy cabin to make space for premium economy bags, given that the overhead bin placard clearly stated “reserved for premium economy.”
Then when the crew made final cabin checks, they discovered that the oversized bag wouldn’t fit in the economy bins. Another passenger “outed” JT as the person who moved the bag. So a flight attendant returned and asked, “you put yours up there? You took down the crew member’s [bag] and put yours up there?”
JT claims this was the first indication that it was a crew member’s bag, as there was nothing else indicating that. He explained that he had asked other passengers about the bag, and no one claimed it, to which the flight attendant responded “first come, first served. We don’t have a specific place. We can put it anywhere we want to.”
At this point, the crew instructed him to place his bag several rows up in business class. However, he insisted it needed to be near him, given the number of electronics, medications, credit cards, and currencies, in the bag. He suggested they instead place the crew member’s bag in business class.
Less than a minute later, two flight attendants came to his seat:
Female flight attendant: “Is this your bag? Is this suitcase yours?”
Male flight attendant: “Did somebody move my suitcase?”
JT: “I asked if anyone here had this bag. This is for premium economy only, is that correct?”
Male flight attendant: “You moved my suitcase. You touched my suitcase and you moved it.”
The flight attendant then reportedly leaned and wagged a finger inches from JT’s face, and barked “you’re outta here,” and then headed to the front of the aircraft. A minute later, the male flight attendant returned with the purser:
Male flight attendant: “It was him.”
Purser: “OK. Do we know who moved this? Who moved the bag?
JT: “I did. I…”
Purser: “Why did you move the bag?”
JT: [explains why he did it]
Purser: “It’s a shared space. He’s got a specific place where his bag has to be, and you moved that. You moved another person’s bag, which is a crew member’s bag, which is not allowed. So go ahead and find another place for your bag.”
Male flight attendant: “No, you know what, Tim. I’ll take it up front.”
Purser: “Put it in my closet.”
Male flight attendant: “But I want you to go to bat for me.”
Purser: “You never… you never… you never move anybody’s bag. Ever.”
Male flight attendant: “You touched my bag!”
Purser: “You moved a bag. You did something wrong. You know what? I’m going to go tell the captain.”
Male flight attendant: “I want him outta here.”
How the passenger ended up being kicked off the flight
About 20 minutes after the situation first started, a supervisor boarded the aircraft and approached JT’s seat, and asked JT to follow her. JT clarified that he didn’t need to bring his bag or passport, and she confirmed that he could leave stuff at his seat.
On the jet bridge, JT explained his version of events. The supervisor explained “my intention is not to remove you from this aircraft. Honestly speaking, and I spoke to the captain before I come to speak to you, it was an honest mistake.”
The supervisor went onboard and then returned. She explained that the flight attendants would refuse to fly if he wasn’t removed from the flight. She then stated, “I will take care of you. I will take care of you. Because… forget about this. I get you on the next flight. I got you.” The supervisor boarded to collect JT’s belongings, and rebooked him on the next flight.
JT had actually audio recorded the whole thing, and claims that he had the supervisor listen to the audio, and she stated it was the most unjust removal she had ever seen. She offered to put him in first class on the next flight in a non-reclining seat, but he refused, and stayed in premium economy.
After reaching out to American, JT was offered 5,000 miles as compensation, and the following apology:
Please accept our sincerest apologies for the experience you had when you were removed from the flight due to a minor misunderstanding. Given that we have standards regarding the customer service our team provides, I can understand your disappointment. That’s never the kind of experience we want you to have when traveling with us, and I am very sorry that we didn’t provide you with a better customer service experience this time around. Please know that we take your feedback very seriously, and we appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your comments with us.
Some flight attendants are simply out of control
This so perfectly captures the toxic attitude and lack of deescalation skills of some flight attendants at US airlines. It’s by no means a majority, but my gosh, when they’re bad, they’re really bad.
Flight attendants work in customer service, but the male flight attendant here sounds ridiculous, with his “I want him outta here” and “I want you to go to bat for me” statements. Dude, you’re on the clock working, this isn’t your private jet where you get to pick which pals you let onboard.
Even worse is that the supervisor seemingly agreed with JT, but was essentially having to mediate, and didn’t want to cause problems with the crew. American has a problem with kicking people off planes due to power trips, and in late 2024, the airline reportedly established new procedures that limit the ability of the crew to kick off passengers. However, it sure seems to me like those procedures weren’t being followed.
Now, while this should in no way have any impact on the outcome, let me say that I wouldn’t have handled this situation the way JT did:
- I would never move someone’s carry-on bag to another cabin just because it isn’t claimed, and for that matter, I would assume it could belong to a crew member, even if there’s no obvious marking
- I also wouldn’t expect that I’m entitled to have my bag near me, because of what’s in it, and I wouldn’t demand that the crew move bags to accommodate mine (as nice as it would be)
That being said, that should in no way have impacted the outcome here, or caused this level of escalation. The complete lack of deescalation skills of this crew is beyond mind-boggling. JT wasn’t being malicious or aggressive (from the sounds of it), and it was an honest misunderstanding.
As a fun follow-up, the flight attendant shared his version of events, which honestly doesn’t do much to dispute the gist of what happened.
Bottom line
American kicked off a premium economy passenger after he moved a carry-on bag that no one claimed. When a crew member found out that it was his bag, he became aggressive, and almost immediately suggested he wanted the guy off the flight.
Despite the supervisor claiming that he wouldn’t be removed from the flight, the crew reportedly refused to fly unless he was removed. If this isn’t the prime example of a crew escalating a situation rather than deescalating it, than I don’t know what is…
What do you make of this American carry-on bag fiasco?
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