Kit Roberts
A woman was left furious after boarding her flight to realize her fiancé had been downgraded.
Getting an unexpected upgrade on your flight can be a delightful surprise when travelling, but this couple got the exact opposite.
That's because TikToker Danielle Schwab found that her fiancé Mikey was being downgraded from first class to premium economy - despite paying for his ticket 'fair and square'.
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The couple had been flying from London, UK, to Chicago in the US after celebrating their engagement.
And as a way to mark the very special occasion, the pair's parents had splashed out on a pair of first class seats as a surprise treat to help them mark their engagement in style.
Sounds pretty amazing, right?
Well, things took a sour turn once the happy couple and their family had boarded the flight.
They had settled into their seats in first class to fly back the US when they were approached by a member of staff.
The crew member approached the family in the cabin, and informed Danielle's fiancé: "We need to downgrade you."
Understandably, Mikey responded by asking why he was being downgraded, to which he was informed that the seat was required by a member of staff on the plane, with another crew member explaining: "They need this seat so they can sleep."
In a video on TikTok that went viral, Danielle explained how they were told that Mikey had been chosen from a 'list' and that there was 'nothing else' that staff could do other than put him on the next flight or refund him the difference.
Danielle went on to claim that staff had been 'forceful' and 'pushy' during the interaction.
She explained that after some 'back and forth' between the family and staff, another member of the family volunteered to make the switch.
Danielle added that being made to change the seat meant that the family would now not be able to celebrate in first class together, which had been the intention.
She also said that they had 'not been given any compensation', calling the experience 'beyond unacceptable'.
Although Danielle acknowledged that it was a 'first-world problem', she said the 'horrible customer service' should have 'never happened'.
In a statement to the Mail Online, United Airlines explained: "The seats we normally reserve for crew members to take their required rest breaks weren't working on this flight, so we unfortunately had to reassign two customers to Premium Plus rather than cancel the flight.
"We understand the customer's frustration and are refunding the price difference for their seats and giving them each a $1,500 (£1,200) certificate for future travel."